Spearheaded by GOP legislation, landlords, apartment associations, and those in the construction and building industry, Senate Bill 107 was conceived on May 26.

In November, SB 107 will be reviewed and voted on. Said bill will technically take away a tenant’s right to privacy, giving the landlord unnecessary power and information, outside the jurisdiction of the government, that can be used to deny people housing that need it most.

SB 107 poses arbitrary demands that would heavily benefit the landlord, but severely hinder the tenants, who, by and large, are those who are living on the fringes of society, barely hanging on.

SB 107 will create large rifts between and in relation to landlords and tenants and deny those that need homes most. The bill would prohibit local governments from enacting laws that prevent a landlord from infringing on a tenant’s rights. Any such laws that are currently in place would be removed. This, in short, would give the landlord the ability to do as they please.

Things that the government can’t infringe on include – but are not limited to – landlords being able to examine a person’s credit, past or current criminal convictions, previous housing information and social security number. They can also use a persons income, occupation, rental history, court and credit information to deny a person the use of their property, according to the Wisconsin Legislature website.

On July 1, the Wisconsin Realtors Association stated the bill would “significantly improve the way landlords can screen potential tenants.”

The WRA also states that they support the bill because it “provides needed authority for property owners and managers to fairly review a prospective tenant’s financial, rental and legal background to protect themselves as well as other tenants.” This seems heavily contradictory, because a lot of people who have to rent, have issues in one or more of these areas.

On the other hand, we also have to keep in mind that the landlords and property owners are trying to make money too. Like the WRA says, “good screening is an essential ingredient for a successful residential lease agreement between a property owner and a renter.” Even though they are trying to make money, there’s still something that needs to be said about privacy.

Also, according to the Wisconsin Legislative website, SB 107 would allow landlords to show property and enter into new lease agreements while a person is still living on the property, without limitation from the government, which can be embarrassing. However, we still need to keep in mind that landlords are running a money-making business.

This bill is waste of time and money. The government could spend their time concocting something to help the people instead of limiting them even more. SB 107 will directly impact students and many other disadvantaged groups.

The WRA says that SB 107 “[will] remove unnecessary limitations some Wisconsin communities have placed on the ability of residential landlords and property managers to properly screen prospective tenants.” The funny thing about this is that Wisconsin communities put those “unnecessary limitations” there for a reason! Seeing as there’s a GOP legislation in effect, this bill most likely will pass in November. So we have to ask ourselves – where do we draw the line? When does business become a breach in privacy? When do a few arbitrary rules become just another excuse for discrimination?