Rental housing law was primarily viewed as a type of property law involving the transfer of an interest in land. However, as recognized in the seminal Wisconsin cases Pines v. Perssion and Pagelsdorf v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, rental housing law is now more of a regulated, contractual relationship involving numerous and often conflicting private, and public interests. As rental housing law evolved over the past 60 years, courts built upon common property, contract, and negligence principles, to create complex standards such as the implied warranty of habitability, and many strict administrative regulations were developed. In addition to covering this historical evolution, this course will discuss the issues that contribute to a lack of affordable and safe rental housing and the existence of discrimination in rental housing. The class will cover how Wisconsin regulated, and more recently deregulated rental housing practices. Finally, the course will discuss policies and practical efforts to address the eviction crisis including eviction moratoria during the pandemic and various efforts to establish a right to counsel for renters in eviction cases. This is a 1-credit, mandatory pass/fail, limited enrollment course. Evaluation of students will be based on class participation, regular class attendance, and a final paper that may meet the upper-level writing requirement.