IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED—CITY OF MILWAUKEE PROPERTIES
New Ordinance Effective 12/16/25 – LEASING DOCUMENTS AFFECTED
Document Retention Necessary per City Ordinance
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Updated December 12, 2025 8:00 p.m.
On December 2, 2025, the Mayor of the City of Milwaukee signed a substitute ordinance 218-28 relating to tenant acknowledgment of fire safety code noncompliance (exemption) in certain multifamily residential buildings. You can link to the text of that ordinance here: https://milwaukee.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?From=RSS&ID=7427863&GUID=34E05485-F495-4DF3-9B10-4EA51155BA78&FullText=1
City of Milwaukee Legislative Analysis: This ordinance requires the lessor of a residential rental building with 3 or more dwelling units to disclose, in a clear standardized form, whether a rental dwelling unit or the structure in which it is located is equipped with required fire alarm and fire suppression systems such as sprinklers, is lawfully exempt and legally non-conforming, or not compliant and not exempt. The disclosure shall include the most recent fire inspection date and, if applicable, the expiration of any temporary occupancy permit related to fire and life-safety systems. Dwelling units in buildings with 16 or more units or 3 or more stories above grade operating under lawful exemptions shall be inspected at least once every 6 months. The department of neighborhood services may issue orders to vacate unsafe dwellings or those lacking valid permits, ensuring tenants are informed and protected when fire and life-safety standards are not met.
The ordinance changes include changes in the ordinances regarding fees (MCO 200-33) and fire inspections (MCO 214-7).
SUMMARY:
All City of Milwaukee rental property owners are advised to: READ THE ORDINANCE AND ENSURE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH ITS REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES.
YOU NEED TO KNOW if your City of Milwaukee properties are covered and if you will be required to:
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(1) provide the required NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE LESSEES starting DECEMBER 16, 2025;
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(2) obtain a SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM FROM EACH PROSPECTIVE TENANT prior to any new tenant signing a lease or rental agreement; and
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(3) retain copies of signed disclosure documents for at least three years after the commencement date of each lease.
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(4) In addition, be ready for additional notice requirements: certain properties will need to provide updated notices to each tenant after inspections.
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(5) While the ordinance states disclosures are to be made to a "prospective lessee", it also states the notice is to be provided prior to the execution of any lease or rental agreement. To be safe, provide notices and obtain acknowledgments prior to signing any renewal leases as well.
If your properties are covered by this ordinance and you must comply then:
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YOU WILL NEED a separate form notice together with a separate form acknowledgement for each prospective tenant (or renewal tenant). These documents cannot be combined with the lease or rental agreement, they must be separate documents. The ordinances include a form disclosure and a form acknowledgment. For your general information, please see RPA’s sample form adaptations, together with RPA's important notice and instructions about those form adaptations. You will be able to access RPA's additional important notice and instructions and sample forms on RPA’s website by logging in as an RPA member when posted. [See headings above "For Members"]
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YOU WILL NEED to create a document retention policy to retain each signed disclosure document for a period of not less than 3 years following the commencement date of each lease. The document retention system must allow you to easily provide the proof of each document to the department upon request or during any inspections or permit reviews [in addition to maintaining the documents in each tenant file, it may be advisable to keep a file holding all disclosure documents from all units together.]
Rental Property Association of Wisconsin, Inc. has concerns about the enforceability of the disclosure ordinance which appears to be contrary to Wisconsin State Statutes, as well as the confusing language of the ordinance which makes understanding the actual requirements of this ordinance and compliance with it challenging. However, despite the issues with this particular ordinance, RPA is committed to partnership with Wisconsin and Wisconsin municipalities to better educate and assist Wisconsin residents in fire safety, and encourages all members to disclose information helpful to Wisconsin residents regarding fire safety in resident homes and buildings.
NOTICE THAT THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE: This information is only for general informational purposes.
Please ensure that you are working with your attorney to determine whether your properties are subject to the fire safety disclosure, acknowledgment, and record retention requirements, and that your adoption and/or adaptation of the forms for the City of Milwaukee is compliant, along with your record retention systems.
This information should not be construed as legal advice from Rental Property Association of WI, Inc. or its individual author, and usage of the forms should be discussed with your attorney for legal compliance. Please seek appropriate legal or professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances that you may have at issue from a lawyer licensed to practice law in your state or jurisdiction if you wish to obtain legal advice about any matter.
