IMPORTANT: UPDATE REGARDING THE CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT (CTA) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE.

In the spirit of "who's on first, what's on second", once again here is the latest on the on-going CTA litigation that has been taking place this month.

Below is an excerpt from the official FinCen.gov website that speaks specifically to what is currently going on...

On December 23, 2024, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a stay of the district court’s preliminary injunction entered in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland, pending the outcome of the Department of the Treasury’s ongoing appeal of the district court’s order. FinCEN immediately issued an alert notifying the public of this ruling, and recognizing that reporting companies may have needed additional time to comply with beneficial ownership reporting requirements, FinCEN extended reporting deadlines. On December 26, 2024, however, a different panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating the Court’s December 23, 2024 order granting a stay of the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, as of December 26, 2024, the injunction issued by the district court in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland is in effect and reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN.

You can read the entire update from FinCen.gov here...

FinCen-Beneficial Ownership Reporting/Filing Deadline Changes...Again

The bottom line is that this is likely to go on for some time and each person has to make their own decision with the advice of their attorney/accountant as to whether they should just sit and wait this litigation back and forth play out, or just volunteer to file now. 

We will continue to monitor this as it unfolds in the court system...

Admin

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin

 

Corporate Transparency Act Update:

Please be advised, as we reported to you on December 4th the Corporate Transparency Act has been challenged on several fronts since it's inception.  Below is the latest news on this Act, with new "extended filing deadlines" that everyone should be aware of as we look to the new year.

This article was published in The National Law Review as indicated below.

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The National Law Review

By: Kyle R. Freeny, Marina Olman-Pal, Tiffanie Monplaisir of Greenberg Traurig, LLP -  Financial Regulatory & Compliance News

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

On Dec. 23, 2024, a Fifth Circuit panel issued an order staying the nationwide preliminary injunction a district court in Texas issued against the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), reinstating the effectiveness of the CTA and its implementing regulations in their entirety pending appeal, including, but not limited to the Jan. 1, 2025, deadline for filing of beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports by reporting companies formed prior to Jan. 1, 2024.

In response, FinCEN issued guidance which, among other things, extends a modest additional grace period for pre-2024 companies to file BOI reports. In particular, pursuant to this FinCEN guidance, entities formed prior to Jan. 1, 2024, will have until Jan. 13, 2025, to file BOI reports with FinCEN. Though short-term, this may be welcome relief for existing reporting companies worried about their ability to file over the holidays.

FinCEN also issued the following guidance for companies created prior to Jan. 1, 2025, but after Sept. 4. 2024:

• Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after Sept. 4, 2024, that had a filing deadline between Dec. 3, 2024, and Dec. 23, 2024, will have until Jan. 13, 2025, to file their initial BOI reports with FinCEN.
   
• Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after Dec. 3, 2024, and on or before Dec. 23, 2024, will have an additional 21 days from their original filing deadline to file their initial BOI reports with FinCEN.

The Fifth Circuit must still review the merits of the appeal. In the meantime, absent further relief by the courts or U.S. Congress, reporting companies should ensure their compliance by the dates indicated above.

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This link will take you directly to the article:

CTA UPDATE: Fifth Circuit Reinstates Corporate Transparency Act; FinCEN Grants Modest Grace Period for Filings

We always encourage you to consult with your own Attorney or CPA in matters such as these, but please do so knowing that at least for now the filing deadlines have been extended as highlighted above.

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin (AANW.org)

BREAKING NEWS !!

Please make sure you are speaking with your accountant and or attorney to understand what your reporting responsibility is regarding The Corporate Transparency Act.

For most eligible businesses, the filing deadline is January 1, 2025. Those who fail to file by this deadline — or fail to update this information if needed — could face up to two years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000, in addition to civil penalties of up to $591 per day.

However, yesterday a Federal Court blocked the implementation of this act across the United States.  Here is a link to this article that is discussing this:

Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of the CTA Nationwide; Reporting Companies “Need Not Comply” with January 1 Deadline

Here is another link to learn more about the Corporate Transparency Act from the United States Chamber of Commerce, and note that it now states at the beginning of the article that the implementation of this act has now been halted indefinitely. 

What Every Small Business Needs to Know About the Corporate Transparency Act

As always, we encourage you to consult with your accountant/attorney to understand what you need to do under these circumstances.  

We hope this helps to keep everyone informed about this CTA and the reporting responsibilities.

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

Fox Valley Apartment Association | Director of Government Affairs

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NOTICE:

The Winnebago County Board of supervisors signs a resolution asking the state to prevent corporations from buying single-family homes... (Click on the link below to learn more.)

Winnebago County Board Passes Housing Related Resolution...

The above is just one of many examples we have discussed over the past few years now why creating and establishing an "Integrated Grass Roots Advocacy Foundation" now more than ever, is critical to making the work done in Madison, and frankly even Washington, that much more effective and efficient as we move forward into 2025 and beyond.

Those wishing to learn more about an integrated grass roots approach, and learn how to engage in this type of advocacy should email us at:  Admin@aanw.org

As we look forward to 2025 we will be laser focused on an Educational Theme of "Back to the Basics".  It is clear that we have more work to do with owners, managers, investors and the general public, given what we are seeing take place judicially across the state. 

In addition to this, we have some new and exciting educational initiatives that we are working on for the new year.  More on this at a later date...

Happy Holidays !!

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

Fox Valley Apartment Association | Director of Government Affairs

MUST READ … Why This Year’s Landlord Bootcamp Event Should Be Viewed as “Mandatory” The Collateral Damage of Koble Investments -v- Marquardt (Koble)

Date:  Friday, October 18, 2024

To:  All Rental Property Owners, Property Managers and Rental Real Estate Investors

If you have been attending our monthly meetings, reading our blog posts, or reading our email communications about Koble Investments, and before that case, Henchey, you understand the concern we have had about the collateral damage these cases were going to have on the rental housing industry, especially Koble since it has now been published and is the law of the State of Wisconsin.

Recall these cases argued that leases which violate Wis. Stat. §704.44, the 10 Deadly Sins, were deemed Void and Unenforceable, and the legal remedy was to award the tenant with all the rent they paid the landlord during their entire tenancy, plus double damages and attorney fees (ATCP 134.08).

We have been following cases that are being argued based on Koble, and as you are aware, the AANW, FVAA, RPA, KLA and the Realtors have filed an amicus (friends of the court) brief asking the Wis Supreme Court to accept Koble’s Petition to hear this case, and ultimately overturn Koble, which was published at the Court of Appeals level.  At this time, we have not seen any movement by the Wis Supreme Court on the petition filed by Koble, and our amicus.

Over the past couple of months now, we have seen a significant number of Plaintiff’s (tenants) attorneys seeking class certification, Wis. Stat. § 803.08, of a number of these cases across the State, including those against owners and managers who operate up and down the Fox Valley.  We have already told you that the Koble case would have detrimental consequences to our industry, and further reduce an already inadequate rental housing inventory across the state.  If these cases now receive class certification, the rental housing industry may not be recognizable in 2025 and beyond.  Those who get dragged into these class action lawsuits may well find their only reasonable solution to be bankruptcy.  This could include, but not be limited to the smaller mom and pop landlords/managers, but also some of the medium-sized operators, and perhaps some of the more vulnerable larger operators.

This is very likely the most consequential judicial action targeted at the rental housing industry of our lifetime.  Now more than at any other time, everyone should sign up for the Landlord Boot Camp, presented by Attorney Tristan Pettit, hosted by the AANW on Friday, November 8^th.  There has been enough change to how Landlord/Tenant Law is being interpreted by the courts, and DATCP, in part because of Koble but not solely, that every member or non-member who follows our association should get signed up before we are Sold Out like we were last year.  You will not find a better value for this Landlord/Tenant Law education than this event, and if you’re not a member, now is the time to take advantage of the non-member special we are offering that combines both membership and the boot camp.  This link will take you to the event on our website, where you can learn more, and get signed up as spots are filling up fast.  AANW 2024 Landlord Boot Camp  (Please note that once this fills up, there is no option to open more spots due to the facility seating limit.)

The Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin (AANW.org)

AANW Members:

Those who have attended our monthly meetings this year have heard the reference on more than one occasion...of the following:

"We must move beyond the narrow, nearly insufficient, and unstainable task of “Making Affordable Housing,” and begin to work on the broader, more sustainable, and meaningful work of “Making Housing Affordable.”  There is a difference, and this must not remain misunderstood by those who advocate for common sense policies that promote the sustainability of rental housing, and those responsible for legislating housing policies."

The above is just a small example of what we cover in our State of the Industry presentation/discussion session.

However, there is likely not a more representative article of the point being made above, than the one offered last week by the CATO Institute.  Entitled:

"The Government’s War on Starter Homes"

Once you read this article, take a step back and ask yourself what will happen down the road when some of these current developments are no longer bound by some local and or state requirement for tax credits and other financial incentives?

At the risk of sounding redundant, until we stop simply throwing money at these housing challenges and instead focus on true Root Cause Analysis and address these challenges head on, rather than treating symptoms, this merry-go-round will never stop.

Please read the article by clicking on the link below, and stop to reflect on our State of the Industry presentations that most recently were made in Aug/Sep.

The Government’s War on Starter Homes

Please note, if you missed this presentation in Aug, email us at Admin@aanw.org to get your name on the list that we are building to host a Zoom session to repeat this for those who were unable to attend the event.  We have had a lot of requests to find a way to repeat this PowerPoint presentation, and we are looking into hosting a Zoom session of this in October.

Thank you,

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc. | President

Register here: https://bit.ly/LandEng

Those of you who were able to attend our last general meeting likely understand better, now more than ever, the ever-changing landscape of operating as a residential rental property owner, property manager and investor.  One of the many topics we discussed had to do with evictions and their relationship with tenant screening standards. 

These two issues are an excellent example of several related issues (many of which we discussed this month at our meeting) that are “nested” and complex in developing common-sense solutions within a broad coalition of Stakeholders, from all points of view.

Members who were not able to attend this months meeting, can email us at admin@AANW.org to let us know if you are interested in attending a Zoom session, where we plan to walk through that presentation again.

The more educated everyone is on all of this, from as many points of view as possible before we have our September meeting with the candidates running for the State Senate and Assembly races, the better the quality of the questions and discussions we can have that evening.

Now to the specifics of this Blog Post…

The introduction to this article is below, and the link beyond that will take you to the full article.

“Landlords and local governments across the country could soon face legal consequences for kicking out renters who for decades have faced housing discrimination: People who dial 911 or are the subject of calls to police.

In American cities big and small, experts say many renters have for decades faced possible housing discrimination stemming from so-called 'crime-free' and 'anti-nuisance' property ordinances − rules that rely heavily on 911 call records. If a renter − or someone in their household − violates an ordinance by racking up 911 calls, the rules say they must leave their apartment, or be evicted…”

Click on the link below for the full story, and the link below that one will give you the PDF of the letter the Justice Department sent out on Aug 15^th, to all of the local and state governments, referred to in the article.

Evictions for making too many 911 calls happen. The Justice Department wants it to stop...

DOJ Crime Free & Nuisance Letter (8-15-2024) 

Please remember to email us and let us know of your interest in attending a Zoom session recap of our August meeting.

Thank you,

Rick Van Der Leest

Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin | President

The Cato Institute does a good job in this article to introduce the relationship between market prices and the various ways that governments have controlled them through different price control mechanisms in the past, present, and the related discussions for the future.

Additionally, highlighting what some of the historic unintended consequences have been when free market pricing mechanisms have been artificially managed and/or manipulated by well intended policy makers.

Currently, the consequences and failures of these proposals receives little debate and discussion, but this will and should change in order for the US to avoid making some extremely seriously flawed policy decisions that will do far more harm than good to the housing industry.

If we head down this path of price controls, the unintended consequences will not just negatively impact rental property owners and managers but will also act as a series of tipping dominos that will hurt our resident customers and their families as well.    

Click on the link below to read the article, or you can also simply listen to it:

Market Prices and Price Controls: An Introduction

~ Admin Support ~

The Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin