This page contains everything you need to know about housing discrimination in Wisconsin. Looking for something specific? Use the guide below to navigate to information found on this page and elsewhere on our website.

What is Fair Housing?

Fair Housing refers to a variety of laws at the federal, state, county, and local levels meant to prohibit discrimination by direct providers of housing, which includes landlords. The federal Civil Rights Act of 1968 - commonly known as the Fair Housing Act due to Titles VIII and IX - protects several classes against housing discrimination at the federal level. Wisconsin's Open Housing Law expands these protections to even further identities:

“It is the declared policy of this state that all persons shall have an equal opportunity for housing regardless of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status, lawful source of income, age or ancestry ... [as] an exercise of the police powers of the state for the protection of the welfare, health, peace, dignity and human rights of the people of this state.”

- Excerpt of Wis. Stat. 106.50(1) Wisconsin's Open Housing Law

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Who is Protected Under Fair Housing Laws?

Fair housing laws protect different identities by prohibiting discrimination in the housing market. That is, a landlord cannot treat you unfairly by denying you housing or renting to you under different terms if the reason for the difference is for being in what is called a “protected class.” 

A “protected class” is a group of people sharing a common trait or characteristic who are protected under the law from being discriminated against specifically because of that trait or characteristic. Federal, State, County, and Local laws establish different protected classes. Below, you'll find the protected classes against housing discrimination throughout Wisconsin and more specifically within Dane County.

Federal Fair Housing

Anywhere in the United States, it is illegal to deny housing or to treat someone differently on the basis of: 

• Sex
• Race
• Color
• Disability - Includes the right to Service & Companion Animals
• Religion
• National Origin
• Family Status - Household composition, including the presence of children. This includes:
  • Being a parent or legal guardian with custody/physical placement of the child or children
  • Being the designee of a parent or legal guardian
  • Being a foster parent (or other person with whom the child or children are placed by court order)
  • Being pregnant
  • Being in the process of pursuing custody/placement of a child or children
• Age - Persons 40 years of age and older. 

Wisconsin

Anywhere in Wisconsin, in addition to the above federally protected classes, it is illegal to deny housing or to treat someone differently on the basis of: 

• Sexual Orientation
• Ancestry
• Marital Status - Includes being married, separated, divorced, widowed, or single.
• Victims of Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Stalking
• Lawful Source of Income - A person’s legal means of income. Includes but is not limited to such subsidized forms as Social Security, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, etc.
• Age - Persons 18 years of age and older

Note how Age at the Wisconsin state level has an expanded definition compared to the Federal level. Sometimes, State or Local definitions of protected classes expand rights established at the Federal level even further.

Wisconsin's Open Housing Law also repeats all the Protected Classes listed above in the federal Civil Rights Act of 1968. For more information, review Wisconsin Statute 106.50.

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Dane County

In Dane County, in addition to the above state and federally protected classes, it is illegal to deny housing or to treat someone differently on the basis of:

• Association with a Tenant Union
• Domestic Partnership Status
• Mental Illness
• Physical Appearance
• Gender Identity
• Receipt of Housing or Rental Assistance - This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Section 8 
  • Dane CORE assistance 
  • “Any form of financial contribution from a third party” that is intended to support affordable housing
• Student Status
• Arrest Record - Including, but not limited to, any information that indicates any law enforcement (police) or military authority has done any of the following to a person:
  • Questioned them, 
  • Apprehended them, 
  • Taken them into custody, 
  • Detained them, 
  • Held them for investigation, 
  • Arrested them, 
  • Charged, indicted, or tried them for any felony, misdemeanor, or any other offense.
• Conviction Record - Including, but not limited to, any information that indicates a person has been subject to any of the below by any law enforcement (police) or military authority:
  • Convicted of a felony, misdemeanor or other offense,
  • Placed on probation,
  • Fined,
  • Incarcerated,
  • Released on parole.
  • Conviction record also includes any information indicating that a person has been convicted of a civil ordinance violation (forfeiture).
• Military Discharge Status
• Political Beliefs

For more information, review Dane County Ordinances Chapter 31, Fair Housing. 

Madison

In the City of Madison, in addition to the above federal, state, and Dane County protected classes, it is illegal to deny housing or to treat someone differently on the basis of:

• Citizenship Status - The immigration and/or citizenship status of any person.
• Genetic Identity - Information revealing an individual's DNA code.
• People who decline to disclose their Social Security Number
• Non-Religion/Atheism - An individual who does not identify with a religion.
• Homelessness - The status of lacking fixed, regular and/or adequate housing, which includes residing in a shelter or hotel that provides temporary living accommodations. This definition also protects individuals who are residing in transitional housing.

(Note: While Unemployment is also a Protected Class in Madison, this is only available in the area of employment. There are a number of protected classes that are exclusive to particular areas of discrimination law, whether it be housing, employment, or public accommodations.)

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What Does Illegal Discrimination Look Like?

Illegal discrimination arises in various circumstances—some are obvious, and some are more difficult to detect. To help you determine whether you may be experiencing illegal discrimination, consider the below questions.

• A landlord told me they wouldn't rent a second-floor unit to me because I have children. Is this legal?
• My rental manager is trying to charge me a monthly fee for my service animal. Is this legal?
• A landlord told me no apartments were available, but I still see the complex advertised. I'm African American; could this treatment be because of my race?
• I am transgender and have changed my name. When I informed my landlord of my new legal name they informed me that they had decided to not renew my lease. Is this legal?
• My situation falls into multiple protected classes. I believe the combination of multiple circumstances has led my landlord to discriminate against me. Am I protected by fair housing law even if I can’t point to one single reason for my landlord’s behavior?

The above are just examples of common situations in which Fair Housing Law may be violated.

Discrimination is often experienced in combination with other rental housing issues. For example, the same tenant who believes she has been illegally denied an apartment because of her race may also be having trouble getting her application fees back from the landlord who denied her. This person would want to contact both the Tenant Resource Center and the Fair Housing Center.

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How is Discrimination Determined?

If you asked an average person to define “discrimination,” they would probably say something like “treating someone differently because of who they are.” But in housing law, discrimination has a specific and complicated meaning. It can be confusing to determine whether a real-world situation meets the legal definition of housing discrimination, even when the answer seems obvious.

When filing a complaint for discrimination, many civil rights groups will look at three main questions to determine if discrimination possibly occurred. To help you determine whether you may be experiencing illegal discrimination, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Were You Treated Differently From Other Tenants or Applicants?

Any form of housing discrimination against members of protected groups is illegal. Prohibited acts include refusing to rent, evicting, not renewing, denying an equal level of services, and other forms of tenant harassment. But, while housing discrimination is a violation of federal, state, and/or local laws, it still occurs.

The following landlord practices are prohibited when targeted against a person who is a member of a protected class under Wis. Stat. 106.50(2):

• Falsely claiming that housing is unavailable
• Refusing to rent, or to allow people to apply to rent
• Refusing to allow applicants to enter and inspect a dwelling before renting it; or having different prices, terms, or conditions for different applicants
• Advertising a preference or limitation (for example, "great for a couple,” “young professional,” or “Christian family")
• Refusing to renew a lease, causing eviction; or harassing a tenant
• Providing different privileges, services, or facilities
• Coercing, intimidating, or threatening a person because they tried to use their fair housing rights, or because they encouraged others to do so (see our Landlord Retaliation page)
• Otherwise making housing unavailable or denying it exists

There is no law against a landlord being rude. If a landlord makes everyone's repairs slowly or not at all, or refuses all applicants who have bad credit, then it is not discrimination. If your landlord targets you for poor treatment, you still must show that the landlord treated you differently because of your status as a member of one or more protected classes.

2. Do You Belong to a Class That Has Protections Under Law?

A “protected class” is a group of people sharing a common trait or characteristic who are protected under the law from being discriminated against specifically because of that trait or characteristic. In order for a landlord practice to be considered discriminatory, it must target a person who belongs to at least one protected class.

Please refer to the section above for a full list of protected classes in Wisconsin.

Examples of people who are not protected under City of Madison, Dane County, state or federal law include (but are not limited to):

• Smokers
• People with pets that are not service or companion animals
• People who earn a low income

Other local cities and counties might have additional protected classes or varying specifics, so check your local fair housing ordinances.

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3. Were You Treated Differently Because of That Protected Class?

Both a prohibited landlord practice and membership in a protected class alone are not enough to determine discrimination under the law. The negative treatment or action a person receives must be shown to be related to one or more protected classes.

For example, if a landlord refused to rent to you because you are female, an immigrant, Jewish, gay, African-American, only 22 years old, divorced, have children, etc., that might be illegal discrimination.

Fair housing laws do not require landlords to rent to people in protected classes if there is a legitimate reason to deny their application. Legitimate reasons include poor references or poor credit reports, a record of eviction, an incomplete application, or false information on an application. If a landlord were to decide to do a credit check (or other forms of applicant screening) only because of someone's membership in a protected class, though, that could be considered discrimination (for example, only checking the credit history of Black applicants; or renting to some people with an eviction record, but not if they are single mothers).

Applications have one legitimate purpose: to give the landlord information about whether the applicant will be a good tenant (whether they will take good care of the apartment, pay the rent and not disturb other tenants, etc.). If any question concerns age (other than being over 18), sex, marital status, etc., or does not seem to serve a legitimate purpose, tenants may want to ask why the landlord needs the information. Landlords are allowed to ask:

• Names of everyone applying to live in the unit
• Places the tenant lived in the past few years
• Where tenants work and/or amount of income (in order to verify ability to pay)
• Financial information about debt
• Whether everyone is 18 or older

A landlord may verify this information by calling past landlords and employers or by checking your credit report. If the landlord requests permission to do a credit check, they may get your report from a credit bureau.

Denied Applicant's Right to Know

There is currently no legal requirement that landlords accept certain tenants over others. The only cases in which tenants are protected is if they can prove they were the victim of discrimination or retaliation for asserting their rights.

If a landlord denies your application to rent, they are not required to inform you of the reason why you were denied (although you are allowed to ask them).

Wis. Stat. 66.0104(2)(d)1.a., 2013 Wis. Act 76, Sec. 2 & 4

Non-Renewal of Tenant's Lease

There is currently no legal requirement that landlords renew an existing tenant's lease. The only cases in which tenants are protected is if they can prove they were the victim of discrimination or retaliation for asserting their rights. Wis. Stat. 66.0104(2)(d)1.a., 2013 Wis. Act 76, Sec. 2 & 4

How Can Landlords Avoid Discriminatory Treatment?

Landlords should create a set of non-discriminatory procedures for everyone and follow them consistently regardless of what class the tenant belongs to. It's the best way to protect landlords and their tenants.

• Create procedures for showing rental units and follow them consistently. Have a checklist of items to go over with each caller and person who is shown a rental unit. Use the same checklist with everyone.
• Set up application criteria that will ensure you accept good tenants. Check prior landlord, employment, and personal references, and eviction records. Do credit checks. Review the application thoroughly for missing and inaccurate information. Follow this criteria for all applicants every time and do not allow biases or any unrelated information to affect your decision. If you decide to have alternative criteria, that is okay. If someone has a lesser credit score, but you would rent to them if they had a co-signer, just make sure everyone with that lower credit score gets the same opportunity.
• Advertise the features of the apartment, not who you want to rent it to. Avoid phrases such as “perfect for…”. Instead, describe the apartment itself and let prospective tenants decide if they are interested.
• Treat all tenant complaints and requests in a consistent manner. Set guidelines for handling repairs and tenant complaints.

Follow your non-discrimination procedures consistently. If you have further questions, call the Tenant Resource Center or one of the listed agencies. For legal advice, consult a housing attorney.

How Do I File a Complaint for Discrimination in Housing?

For more information about housing discrimination or to file a complaint, call the following agencies:

Do you still have more questions about Discrimination and Fair Housing? If you can't find the answers you are looking for on our website, you may want to speak with a Housing Counselor or other staff at Tenant Resource Center. See our hours and locations here!

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