Middleton, WI Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

08, part of the Minimum Housing and Property Maintenance Code, lets the Building Inspector designate a building or structure as unfit for human habitation whenever it is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, dangerous, unsanitary, unsafe or vermin-infested that it creates a hazard to occupants or the public, lacks adequate illumination, ventilation, heating, equipment or sanitary facilities, or is so run-down in condition, location or appearance that it blights the neighborhood or drags down surrounding property values. The Inspector must serve legal notice on the owner or operator before placarding, and once a building is designated and placarded, it must be vacated within a reasonable time set by the Inspector and cannot be reoccupied until the Inspector gives written approval and removes the placard, which only happens once the underlying defects are eliminated.

Removing or defacing the placard without authorization is itself a separate violation. Where the Inspector concludes repair would be unreasonable, the ordinance authorizes razing: the Inspector serves a written order, and if the owner fails or refuses to comply, the City can have the structure razed or removed under the unsafe-buildings procedure in Wis. 05. 02(4)(g) separately declares all buildings or structures so old, dilapidated, or out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for human use to be a public nuisance, giving the City an alternative nuisance-abatement route alongside the Chapter 23 placarding and razing process. Aggrieved owners can appeal a Building Inspector decision to the Housing Code Appeals Board within ten days.