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AB 1133

Relating to: local regulation of landlords and tenants.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Deb Andraca and 9 co-sponsors

Local governments could regulate lease renewals, notices, showings, and penalties for landlords, enabling local standards on renewal offers, good-cause nonrenewals, and remedies.

Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 1133

Summary of Assembly Bill 1133 (2025-2026) – Wisconsin

Purpose and intent

  • AB 1133 would create an exception to existing prohibitions on local governments in Wisconsin that limit certain landlord actions. Specifically, it authorizes cities, villages, towns, and counties to regulate certain aspects of residential landlord-tenant relationships that are currently restricted.
  • The core aim is to permit local ordinances that govern landlord behavior related to lease renewals, notice requirements, lease execution related to renewals, permissible entry for showings or leasing, and remedies or penalties for violations.

Key provisions and changes

If enacted, the bill would authorize, starting after a specified effective date, local governments to enact ordinances that address the following:

  1. Lease renewal offers and good cause standards

    • Require residential landlords to make a good-faith offer to renew a tenant’s lease for a successive lease period.
    • Establish standards for determining “good cause” for nonrenewal.
    • Prescribe notice requirements related to the renewal offer, including timelines for when offers must be made and when tenants must respond.

  2. Execution of renewed lease agreements

    • Set requirements governing the execution of lease agreements that renew a lease for a subsequent period.

  3. Access for showings and new leases

    • Prescribe timeframes during which a landlord may enter the leased premises to show it to prospective tenants.
    • Prescribe timeframes during which a landlord may enter into a lease agreement with another prospective tenant for a subsequent lease period.

  4. Penalties, remedies, and waivers

    • Provide penalties or remedies for violations of the local ordinance.
    • Potential remedies include a private right of action or a requirement that the landlord pay relocation assistance to the tenant.
    • State that the ordinance’s provisions may not be waived in a lease agreement.

  5. Definitions

    • The term “Lease” is defined as it is in Wisconsin Statutes (s. 704.01(1)) for consistency.

Who/what would be affected

  • Local governments (cities, villages, towns, and counties) in Wisconsin would gain the authority to regulate:

    • Renewal offers and processes for leases.
    • Good-cause standards for nonrenewal.
    • Notice and response timelines for renewal offers.
    • Procedures for renewing leases and executing renewed lease agreements.
    • Entry practices for showings and for entering into new leases with prospective tenants.
    • Remedies and penalties for ordinance violations, including relocation assistance.

  • Residential landlords and tenants would be directly affected by any local ordinances enacted under these new authorities, subject to local standards and processes.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The bill creates new statutory sections:
    • 66.0104(1)(am): Defines “Lease” for the purposes of the statute.
    • 66.0104(4): Grants local governments authority to enact the described ordinances after an effective date to be inserted (LRB draft date referenced as forthcoming).
  • Effective date language suggests that the authority would take effect upon the date specified in the enacted subsection, after which local governments can adopt the described regulations.
  • Violations could trigger penalties or private remedies, including relocation assistance, and the ordinance could not be waived in a lease agreement.

Notes

  • The bill modifies the current landscape where localities cannot impose certain restrictions on landlord-tenant relationships (such as entry restrictions or showing during tenancy) by carving out a defined set of permissible local regulations focused on renewals, notices, showings, and remedies.
  • As introduced, AB 1133 is referred to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate (and similar sponsorship in the Senate). No lobbying activity details are listed in the provided materials.

For readers evaluating potential impact, key considerations include how local renewal practices could affect tenant mobility, landlord planning, lease economics, and dispute resolution mechanisms at the local level.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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