City of Milwaukee Passes Ordinance Requiring Landlords to Disclose to Tenants the Status of Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression Systems in some Rental Properties
Effective December 16, 2025, the City of Milwaukee’s new ordinance 214-28, requiring landlords to provide tenants with notice that the rental property in which they reside complies with specific fire safety requirements, is legally exempt from complying with those requirements, or is not exempt and does not comply with those requirements, went into effect.
What Does the Ordinance Require?
The new ordinance requires Landlords of residential rental buildings of three or more rental units to disclose in a clear, standardized form whether a rental unit or the rental property is equipped with fire alarm and fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers, as required by law. The ordinance requires that applicable landlords notify tenants of one of three options: (1) that the rental unit or rental property meets the requirements, (2) is lawfully exempt from the requirements and is thus legally non-conforming, or (3) is not compliant with the requirements and not exempt. The disclosure must also include the date of the latest fire inspection.
In addition to the Disclosure Notice form, which must be a separate one-page form, the ordinance requires landlords to give tenants a second form in which the tenant acknowledges that they received and read the Disclosure Notice.
While the intent of the ordinance is laudable, its language is vague, confusing, and at times internally inconsistent. There is also a possibility that Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(d)1.a. preempts the notice provision in the ordinance, which, if true, means the ordinance violates state law and is not enforceable. The Rental Property Association of Wisconsin (RPA) drafted a multi-page letter to the City Attorney of Milwaukee raising its concerns. The RPA has not yet received a response.
What Are Milwaukee Landlords to Do Now?
Despite the problems with the ordinance, Landlords with rental properties containing three or more rental units should do their best to comply with the new ordinance. The RPA has drafted the standardized forms required by the ordinance, and they are available to RPA members free of charge. I have today completed the drafting of two forms: (1) Disclosure Notice for City of Milwaukee’s Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression System Requirements, and (2) Tenant Acknowledgment of Receipt of Disclosure Notice for City of Milwaukee Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression System Requirements. Both of which will be available through Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc. in the very near future.
To be safe, applicable landlords should indicate on the Disclosure Notice the date of their last fire inspection and then distribute both the Notice and the Acknowledgment form to all current tenants, requiring them to sign both forms. These two standardized forms should also be given to any new tenants going forward. Finally, after your next fire inspection, you will need to complete new Disclosure Notices indicating the latest inspection date, then distribute those new Disclosure Notices and Acknowledgement forms to all your tenants, who will again be required to sign and date.
Happy Holidays
T
