A proposal to push back re-leasing and showing regulations until January for Madison properties was referred by the Madison Common Council Tuesday.
Under the current ordinance, landlords can ask tenants to renew their lease as early as Nov. 15. The proposed ordinance would extend that time until mid-January so students could have more time before making a decision.
Many students spoke in favor of the new ordinance, arguing it would take the pressure and rush out of rent.
The main problem is the ""overall atmosphere created by lease season,"" ASM Vice Chair Adam Johnson said.
Johnson said students receive e-mails from Madison property companies in September and early October claiming apartments were ""going fast"" or, in some cases, completely gone.
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said both students and Madison residents are affected by the early renting seasons. She said Madison landlords target freshmen heavily.
""[Young students] are preyed upon by the marketing efforts of some of these companies,"" Maniaci said.
Later lease dates would create more chaos among renters if pushed to January, according to Bill White, attorney with the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin.
""It [would create] tension and chaos the moment the green light comes on,"" White said.
Many in opposition to the proposal, such as former Madison resident Margaret Watson, said the city needs, ""education, not regulation.""
Verveer said the current ordinance is not likely to change soon. The ordinance will reappear at the Oct. 19 Common Council meeting for further discussion.
In addition, the Common Council voted against a substitute tax incremental finance amendment proposed by Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. The amendment would have included four additional blocks in the Mansion Hill neighborhood in the expansion of a downtown TIF district for the Edgewater Hotel.
The TIF district 32 boundary consists of upper State Street, the James Madison Park District and part of the Mansion Hill district.
Verveer proposed the amendment as an alternative to the plan approved by the Board of Estimates last Monday. Verveer said Edgewater development plans were supposed to benefit the Mansion Hill area.
""The bottom line is my constituents were promised some benefits from development,"" Verveer said.
