Rental Property Rules in Wisconsin (2026)
35 rules on the books across Wisconsin, 17 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Wisconsin: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsWisconsin prohibits rent control statewide. Wis. Stat. § 66.1015 bars every city, village, town, and county from…
Read full rule →Milwaukee
Few RestrictionsRent control does not exist in Milwaukee because Wisconsin state law (Wis. Stat. 66.1015) expressly preempts any local…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Wisconsin: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsWisconsin Statute 66.0104 bars municipalities from requiring rental registration or licensing and limits inspection…
Read full rule →Waukesha
Significant RestrictionsWaukesha requires anyone operating a rooming house, a building with rooming units regularly rented to unrelated…
Read full rule →West Allis
Significant RestrictionsWest Allis requires owners of non-owner-occupied residential parcels and all commercial property to register contact…
Read full rule →Beloit
Some RestrictionsThe City of Beloit requires every owner of a rental dwelling unit to hold a valid annual rental registration…
Read full rule →Milwaukee
Some RestrictionsRental property and rental units in Milwaukee must register with the city, but the ordinance limits what can be…
Read full rule →Wausau
Some RestrictionsEvery owner of a residential rental unit in Wausau must register current contact information with the Division of…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Wisconsin: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsWisconsin sets no statutory cap on the amount of a residential security deposit. After a tenancy ends, the landlord…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsWisconsin Act 76 (2018) preempts Madison from imposing tougher local security deposit caps. Landlords must follow the…
Read full rule →Milwaukee
Some RestrictionsMilwaukee landlords follow Wisconsin's statewide security deposit framework. Wisconsin Act 76 (2018) and ATCP 134…
Read full rule →Pass-Through Charges
Rules limiting landlord ability to pass utility, capital improvement, or seismic-retrofit costs through to rent-controlled tenants, and the petition process.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Wisconsin: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsWis. Stat. Sec. 704.07 makes the landlord keep structural elements, common areas, and equipment supplying heat, water…
Read full rule →Appleton
Some RestrictionsAppleton's housing code makes a dwelling unfit for human habitation if it is damaged, unsanitary, difficult to heat…
Read full rule →Beloit
Some RestrictionsBeloit's Property Maintenance Code requires every rental dwelling to have working hot and cold water, a private…
Read full rule →Burlington
Some RestrictionsBurlington's Property Maintenance Code adopts minimum habitation standards for rental housing to protect tenant health…
Read full rule →De Pere
Some RestrictionsDe Pere's housing code requires every dwelling to be kept clean, sanitary and free of garbage buildup under Code §…
Read full rule →Fitchburg
Some RestrictionsFitchburg landlords who supply heat must keep every rental dwelling at 67 degrees Fahrenheit year-round with windows…
Read full rule →Green Bay
Some RestrictionsGreen Bay owners can't occupy or rent out a dwelling that fails weather-tightness, structural repair, and sanitation…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsMadison's Minimum Housing Code, MGO § 27.04, sets hard habitability minimums for every rental unit: a working kitchen…
Read full rule →Middleton
Some RestrictionsMiddleton's Minimum Housing and Property Maintenance Code sets the baseline every rental unit must meet: working…
Read full rule →Milton
Some RestrictionsMilton's Code of Ordinances puts a binding repair duty on landlords for every residential tenancy in the City of…
Read full rule →Milwaukee
Some RestrictionsMilwaukee's property maintenance code requires landlords to keep rented dwelling units heated to at least 67°F during…
Read full rule →Mosinee
Some RestrictionsThe City of Mosinee adopted the BOCA Basic Housing Property Maintenance Code by reference under Sec. 42-1377, and Sec…
Read full rule →Neenah
Some RestrictionsNeenah's Housing Code requires every dwelling's foundation, walls, roof, windows, doors, stairs and porches to be…
Read full rule →Sun Prairie
Some RestrictionsSun Prairie's Residential Property Maintenance Code applies to all residential land and buildings in the city…
Read full rule →Waukesha
Some RestrictionsWaukesha's Property Maintenance Code, Chapter 17, makes owners responsible for keeping rental structures sanitary…
Read full rule →Wausau
Some RestrictionsWausau lets tenants abate part of their rent when a landlord fails to fix a 'rent-impairing' housing code violation on…
Read full rule →Wauwatosa
Some RestrictionsWauwatosa's Property Maintenance Code sets the structural baseline every dwelling, rented or owner-occupied, must meet…
Read full rule →West Allis
Some RestrictionsWest Allis code declares a rental unit a human health hazard if it lacks hot water, can't hold 67°F heat, has unsafe…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.