Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 66 - General municipality law.
66.0104 - Prohibiting ordinances that place certain limits or requirements on a landlord.

66.0104 Prohibiting ordinances that place certain limits or requirements on a landlord.
(1) In this section:
(ah) “Habitability violation” means any of the following conditions if the condition constitutes an ordinance violation:
1. The rental property or rental unit lacks hot or cold running water.
2. Heating facilities serving the rental property or rental unit are not in safe operating condition or are not capable of maintaining a temperature, in all living areas of the property or unit, of at least 67 degrees Fahrenheit during all seasons of the year in which the property or unit may be occupied. Temperatures in living areas shall be measured at the approximate center of the room, midway between floor and ceiling.
3. The rental property or rental unit is not served by electricity, or the electrical wiring, outlets, fixtures, or other components of the electrical system are not in safe operating condition.
4. Any structural or other conditions in the rental property or rental unit that constitute a substantial hazard to the health or safety of the tenant, or create an unreasonable risk of personal injury as a result of any reasonably foreseeable use of the property or unit other than negligent use or abuse of the property or unit by the tenant.
5. The rental property or rental unit is not served by plumbing facilities in good operating condition.
6. The rental property or rental unit is not served by sewage disposal facilities in good operating condition.
7. The rental property or rental unit lacks working smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors.
8. The rental property or rental unit is infested with rodents or insects.
9. The rental property or rental unit contains excessive mold.
(ax) “Premises" has the meaning given in s. 704.01 (3).
(b) “Rental agreement" has the meaning given in s. 704.01 (3m).
(c) “Tenancy" has the meaning given in s. 704.01 (4).
(2)
(a) No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that places any of the following limitations on a residential landlord:
1. Prohibits a landlord from, or places limitations on a landlord with respect to, obtaining and using or attempting to obtain and use any of the following information with respect to a tenant or prospective tenant:
a. Monthly household income.
b. Occupation.
c. Rental history.
d. Credit information.
e. Court records, including arrest and conviction records, to which there is public access.
f. Social security number or other proof of identity.
2. Limits how far back in time a prospective tenant's credit information, conviction record, or previous housing may be taken into account by a landlord.
3. Prohibits a landlord from, or places limitations on a landlord with respect to, entering into a rental agreement for a premises with a prospective tenant during the tenancy of the current tenant of the premises.
4. Prohibits a landlord from, or places limitations on a landlord with respect to, showing a premises to a prospective tenant during the tenancy of the current tenant of the premises.
(b) No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that places requirements on a residential landlord with respect to security deposits or earnest money or pretenancy or posttenancy inspections that are additional to the requirements under administrative rules related to residential rental practices.
(c) No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that limits a residential tenant's responsibility, or a residential landlord's right to recover, for any damage or waste to, or neglect of, the premises that occurs during the tenant's occupancy of the premises, or for any other costs, expenses, fees, payments, or damages for which the tenant is responsible under the rental agreement or applicable law.
(d)
1.
a. No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that requires a landlord to communicate to tenants any information that is not required to be communicated to tenants under federal or state law.
b. Subdivision 1. a. does not apply to an ordinance that has a reasonable and clearly defined objective of regulating the manufacture of illegal narcotics.
2. No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that requires a landlord to communicate to the city, village, town, or county any information concerning the landlord or a tenant, unless any of the following applies:
a. The information is required under federal or state law.
b. The information is required of all residential real property owners.
(e) No city, village, town, or county may enact an ordinance that does any of the following:
1. Requires that a rental property or rental unit be inspected except upon a complaint by any person, as part of a program of inspections under subd. 1m., under s. 66.0119, or as required under state or federal law.
1m. A city, village, town, or county may establish a rental property inspection program under this subdivision. Under the program, the governing body of the city, village, town, or county may designate districts in which there is evidence of blight, high rates of building code complaints or violations, deteriorating property values, or increases in single-family home conversions to rental units. A city, village, town, or county may require that a rental property or rental unit located in a district designated under this subdivision be initially inspected and periodically inspected. If no habitability violation is discovered during a program inspection or if a habitability violation is discovered during a program inspection and the violation is corrected within a period of not less than 30 days established by the city, village, town, or county, the city, village, town, or county may not perform a program inspection of the property for at least 5 years. If a habitability violation is discovered during a program inspection and the violation is not corrected within the period established by the city, village, town, or county, the city, village, town, or county may require the rental property or unit to be inspected annually under the program. If a habitability violation is discovered during an inspection conducted upon a complaint and the violation is not corrected within a period of not less than 30 days established by the city, village, town, or county, the city, village, town, or county may require the rental property or unit to be inspected annually under the program. If, at a rental property or unit subject to annual program inspections, no habitability violation is discovered during 2 consecutive annual program inspections, the city, village, town, or county, except as provided in this subdivision, may not perform a program inspection of the property for at least 5 years. No rental property or unit that is less than 8 years old may be inspected under this subdivision. A city, village, town, or county may provide a period of less than 30 days for the correction of a habitability violation under this subdivision if the violation exposes a tenant to imminent danger. A city, village, town, or county shall provide an extension to the period for correction of a habitability violation upon a showing of good cause. A city, village, town, or county shall provide in a notice of a habitability violation an explanation of the violation including a specification of the violation and the exact location of the violation. No inspection of a rental unit may be conducted under this subdivision if the occupant of the unit does not consent to allow access unless the inspection is under a special inspection warrant under s. 66.0119.
2. Charges a fee for conducting an inspection of a residential rental property unless all of the following are satisfied:
a. The amount of the fee does not exceed $75 for an inspection of a vacant unit under subd. 1m. or an inspection of the exterior and common areas of a property under subd. 1m., $90 for any other initial program inspection under subd. 1m., or $150 for any other 2nd or subsequent program inspection under subd. 1m. No fee may be charged for a program inspection under subd. 1m. if no habitability violation is discovered during the inspection or, if a violation is discovered during the inspection, the violation is corrected within the period established by the city, village, town, or county under subd. 1m. No fee may be charged for an inspection of the exterior and common areas if the property owner voluntarily allows access for the inspection and no habitability violation is discovered during the inspection or, if a violation is discovered during the inspection, the violation is corrected within the period established by the city, village, town, or county under subd. 1m. No fee may be charged for a reinspection that occurs after a habitability violation has been corrected. No fee may be charged to a property owner if a program inspection does not occur because an occupant of the property does not allow access to the property. Annually, a city, village, town, or county may increase the fee amounts under this subd. 2. a. by not more than the percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the federal department of labor, for the previous year or 2 percent, whichever is greater.
am. The amount of the fee does not exceed $150 for an inspection under s. 66.0119, except that if a habitability violation is discovered during the inspection and the violation is not corrected within a period of not less than 30 days established by the city, village, town, or county, the fee may not exceed $300. No fee may be charged for an inspection under s. 66.0119 if no habitability violation is discovered. Annually, a city, village, town, or county may increase the fee amounts under this subd. 2. am. by not more than the percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the federal department of labor, for the previous year or 2 percent, whichever is greater.
b. The fee is charged at the time that the inspection is actually performed.
3. Charges a fee for a subsequent reinspection of a residential rental property that is more than twice the fee charged for an initial reinspection.
4. Except as provided in this subdivision, requires that a rental property or rental unit be certified, registered, or licensed or requires that a residential rental property owner register or obtain a certification or license related to owning or managing the residential rental property. A city, village, town, or county may require that a rental unit or residential rental property owner be registered if the registration requires only one name of an owner or authorized contact person and an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address or other information necessary to receive communications by other electronic means at which the person may be contacted. No city, village, town, or county, except a 1st class city, may charge a fee for registration under this subdivision except a one-time registration fee that reflects the actual costs of operating a registration program, but that does not exceed $10 per building, and a one-time fee for the registration of a change of ownership or management of a building or change of contact information for a building that reflects the actual and direct costs of registration, but that does not exceed $10 per building.
(f) No city, village, town, or county may impose an occupancy or transfer of tenancy fee on a rental unit.
(2m) If a city, village, town, or county has in effect an ordinance that authorizes the inspection of a rental property or rental unit upon a complaint from an inspector or other employee or elected official of the city, village, town, or county, the city, village, town, or county shall maintain for each inspection performed upon a complaint from an employee or official a record of the name of the person making the complaint, the nature of the complaint, and any inspection conducted upon the complaint.
(3)
(a) If a city, village, town, or county has in effect on December 21, 2011, an ordinance that is inconsistent with sub. (2) (a) or (b), the ordinance does not apply and may not be enforced.
(b) If a city, village, town, or county has in effect on March 1, 2014, an ordinance that is inconsistent with sub. (2) (c) or (d), the ordinance does not apply and may not be enforced.
(c) If a city, village, town, or county has in effect on March 2, 2016, an ordinance that is inconsistent with sub. (2) (e) or (f), the ordinance does not apply and may not be enforced.
History: 2011 a. 108; 2013 a. 76; 2015 a. 176; 2017 a. 317.
Sub. (2) (d) 1. a. preempted a provision in an ordinance requiring landlords to notify tenants of city inspections under the city's inspection and registration program; it does not stop local governments from implementing rental housing inspection and registration programs as part of a housing code, let alone preclude other substantive housing code regulations. Olson v. City of La Crosse, 2015 WI App 67, 364 Wis. 2d 615, 869 N.W.2d 337, 15-0127.

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