David Crowley's
Fair Deal for Wisconsin Renters
Wisconsin renters are paying more and getting fewer protections than they had fifteen years ago. Between 2011 and 2018, the Legislature passed five major bills that made evictions faster, made repairs harder to force, and took away cities' power to hold bad landlords accountable. Hard working Wisconsinites like nurses, teachers, service workers, seniors, and students are the ones paying the price.
David Crowley knows what that feels like. His family was evicted three times when he was a kid, and he rented for his entire adult life until he became Milwaukee County Executive. As governor, he will work for Wisconsin renters, not the special interests that rewrote the rules. His Fair Deal for Wisconsin Renters restores balance for the roughly one in three Wisconsin households who rent.
The problem:
Rents in Wisconsin's cities and college towns have climbed far faster than paychecks.
In Madison, rents rose about 47 percent over five years, and nearly half of renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing (Isthmus; Madison Magazine).
From 2020 to 2023, median one-bedroom rents rose 43 percent in Green Bay, 35 percent in Oshkosh, and 29 percent in Eau Claire. (PBS Wisconsin). Each is home to a UW campus.
In the Milwaukee area, fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment climbed from $922 in 2020 to $1,170 (WPR).
Today, Wisconsin law places no limit on rent increases at renewal and does not require a landlord to renew a lease or give a reason for refusing. Tenants have limited power to withhold rent when repairs are ignored. And cities that want to step in are barred by state law from doing most of what they once did.
David's plan:
1. Let cities protect their residents again
Repeal the state preemptions that stop local governments from policing rental housing. Cities could once again run proactive inspection and rental licensing programs, set fees that cover their costs, pull licenses from chronic violators, and ask a court to appoint a manager when an owner abandons a building.
2. Stop runaway rent increases
Cap annual rent increases at 7 percent plus inflation, never more than 10 percent, with 90 days' notice. Buildings less than 15 years old and owner-occupied duplexes through fourplexes would be exempt, so the cap protects renters without discouraging new construction.
3. Make repairs happen
When a landlord ignores a written repair request, tenants could pay rent to the court until the work is done, or make urgent repairs to heat, water, electricity, and locks and deduct the cost. Landlords who raise rent or file for eviction after a tenant complains would face strong penalties for retaliation.
4. Bring fairness to evictions
Give tenants 14 days, not 5, to catch up on rent. Require a legitimate reason to end or refuse to renew a tenancy in larger buildings, with relocation help when a tenant must move through no fault of their own. Restore the duty to store belongings, protect innocent tenants and crime victims from criminal-activity evictions, fund access to a lawyer in eviction court, and seal eviction records when a case is dismissed or the tenant wins.
5. End junk fees and rent-fixing software
Require advertised rent to include every mandatory fee. Limit application fees to the actual cost of screening and cap late fees. Ban software that sets rents using competitors' private pricing data.
6. Restore enforcement
Give the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection full authority to act on violations of landlord-tenant law, and fund local tenant resource centers so renters know their rights.
Already working in other states
None of these ideas is untested. Wisconsin would be following states and cities that have already acted.
Rent Caps
Oregon (2019), California (2019), and Washington (2025) limit annual rent increases statewide. Washington's cap of 7 percent plus inflation, never more than 10 percent, with a 12-year exemption for new construction, is the model for this proposal (NLIHC).
Rent-Fixing Software
New York, California, Connecticut, and New Jersey have restricted algorithmic rent-setting tools, as have cities including Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Seattle (Davis Polk; PESP).
Student Leasing
Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, bars landlords from making renewal offers until 180 days into a lease, gives tenants 30 days to decide, and requires relocation help if a landlord refuses to renew without good cause (University of Michigan).
David's Story
David Crowley grew up on Milwaukee's north side, in the 53206 ZIP code. Until he was 10, the family lived in an old house near 23rd and Burleigh that his father had bought from the city for a dollar and fixed up.
Then came the evictions. After his parents split, David and his family moved from house to house. He never knew if he would come home from school to find his family's belongings on the curb.
David found his footing as a community organizer with Urban Underground, then served in the State Assembly from 2017 to 2020, where he fought for housing and watched the Legislature keep tilting the rules toward landlords. In 2020 he became the youngest person and first Black leader elected Milwaukee County Executive.
A renter until he was county executive. Like so many Wisconsin families, David spent his adult life renting. Through his years as an organizer and a state legislator, he paid rent every month and could not afford to buy a home. He did not buy his first house until he was already serving as county executive. He knows what it means to watch rent go up at every renewal, to wait on a landlord for repairs, and to wonder whether you will ever own a place of your own.
As Governor
David Crowley will make the Fair Deal for Wisconsin Renters a priority in his first budget and his first legislative session. Good landlords have nothing to fear from rules that hold bad ones accountable. Renters deserve a governor who works for them..