Milwaukee Code Ch. 80 and 82 require property owners to keep buildings rodent and pest free. The Health Department's Rodent Control Program enforces baiting, trash containment, and harborage removal across the city.
Property owners under Milwaukee Code Ch. 80 building maintenance and Ch. 82 housing standards must keep their structures and yards free of rats, mice, roaches, bedbugs, and other vermin. The Milwaukee Health Department Rodent Control Program responds to complaints, inspects properties, treats public alleys, and orders private abatement. Trash must be in rat-resistant containers under Ch. 79; harborage like junk piles or unsecured woodpiles must be removed. Bedbug infestations in rentals trigger landlord obligations under Ch. 82 and Wis. Stat. 704.07 habitability. Pest control operators must hold a DATCP commercial applicator license. Failure to abate after notice can trigger a city contractor performing the work and billing as a tax assessment.
Initial notice ignored: $150-$500 plus city abatement billed via tax roll. Bedbug landlord neglect under Ch. 82: $500-$5,000 plus tenant rent abatement remedies.
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