Madison, WI Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

09, "Administration and Enforcement," creates the Building Inspection Division within the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development to enforce the Minimum Housing and Property Maintenance Code (Chapter 27), and lists the Director's duties in subsection (3). Duty (c) is the systematic-enforcement mandate itself: the Director must "conduct a systematic inspection of buildings, structures, and lands to determine compliance" with Chapter 27, state law, other city ordinances and lawful orders governing alteration, repair, maintenance, safety and use of existing buildings and equipment, and take action to secure compliance, including withholding building permits, imposing forfeitures, and injunctive action.

Duty (d) separately requires the Director to review the ordinance's provisions and report recommendations to the Mayor and Common Council at least once a year on improvements to "this code or its systematic enforcement," and duty (e) directs coordination of inspection programs with neighborhood improvement groups. The fee mechanics sit in subsection (5)(a): anyone who fails to comply with a lawful order from the Director may be charged $75 per compliance inspection that does not resolve the order, and a separate $35 charge applies when an inspector cannot gain entry to conduct a compliance inspection.

Unpaid inspection fees become a special charge against the property's tax parcel under Wis. 0627, collected through the Finance Director and City Clerk. All Chapter 27 appeals route to Sec. 18, MGO. This program is administrative and order-driven rather than a blanket periodic-registration inspection cycle for every rental unit, consistent with the limits Wisconsin places on municipal rental-inspection authority under Wis. 0104.