Wausau, WI Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- State code cited
- SPS 321.09, 321.097, 362.0907, 362.1200
- Abatement
- 5-25% per missing detector
- Local penalty
- $150-$900 forfeiture per day
- Who inspects
- Division of Inspection and Zoning
- Complaint path
- 30-day hearing request window
Summary
Wausau penalizes landlords who do not install required smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors, citing the state's SPS 321 and 362 codes through a 5 to 25 percent rent abatement per missing detector under § 16.04.037.
SPS 321.09 SPS 321.097 SPS 362.0907 SPS 362.1200 Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors not installed where required 5—25% per missing detector
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Wausau's housing code enforces Wisconsin's statewide smoke-alarm and carbon-monoxide-detector rules, Wis. Admin. 1200, through its own local penalty. 037, and each missing detector reduces the tenant's rent by 5 to 25 percent under the city's Schedule of Rent Impairing Violations. 039. As with any other rent-impairing item, the city publishes the address online and mails notice to the tenant, who then has 30 days to request a hearing before the Public Health and Safety Committee if the landlord has not corrected the problem by the ordered deadline.
The base detector-placement rules themselves come from the state-adopted Wisconsin Administrative Code, not from a locally written Wausau ordinance; Wausau's own contribution is the rent-abatement enforcement mechanism and the inspection program that catches the deficiency.
Violations & Fines
A landlord who leaves a required smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector missing after a correction order faces the standard § 16.04.037(i) forfeiture of $150.00 to $900.00 per offense, with each day of continued noncompliance a separate violation, on top of the 5 to 25 percent rent abatement owed to each affected tenant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wausau require smoke and CO detectors in rentals?
What do I do if my rental has no CO detector?
Is the detector rule a Wausau ordinance or a state rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wausau
Compare Wausau to another location·View the Wisconsin building safety overview
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