Maintenance & Repairs Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Wisconsin law says, what's specific to Milwaukee - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- The Wisconsin sections we read set no number of days in which a landlord must finish a repair after a tenant asks. What they set is a duty a residential lease cannot waive, a timing word, and remedies that turn on how serious the defect is.
- Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a) makes the landlord keep the parts of the premises it controls "in a reasonable state of repair", keep in repair the equipment for services "such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning", and "Make all necessary structural repairs". § 704.07(1) voids an agreement to waive these duties in a residential tenancy.
- If the unit becomes untenantable, or a substantial violation materially affects health or safety, § 704.07(4) lets the tenant move out "unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair". A tenant who stays gets rent abated for the use lost, but the section does not authorize withholding rent in full.
- A promised repair carries its own date. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.07(1) requires a landlord's promise to repair to "specify the date or time period" for finishing it, and § ATCP 134.07(2) requires promises made before the initial rental agreement to be in writing.
- Milwaukee's clocks start with the city. Under § 200-21-3-b an owner notified by the commissioner of an emergency condition has 24 hours to begin a remedy and 120 hours to finish it, and § 200-22-1-a opens a rent escrow once a city order is past due.
Understanding the Maintenance & Repairs Clause
A repair clause in Milwaukee answers two questions: whose job a repair is, and how long the landlord may take over it. Wisconsin answers the first in Wis. Stat. § 704.07, a duty that a residential lease cannot waive. The Wisconsin sections we read leave the second without a number.
The statute's word is "promptly". Under § 704.07(4), a tenant whose home becomes untenantable may move out unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair, and a tenant who stays gets a rent abatement for the use lost.
Milwaukee's code does carry a clock, measured in hours: 24 hours to begin and 120 hours to finish an emergency repair. It runs from the city's notice to the owner, not from your own request.
The Wisconsin text behind this page is the Legislature's own PDF of Chapter 704 as archived on May 24, 2026. Read the current text on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov before you rely on it.
What renters assume
That Wisconsin gives a Milwaukee landlord a set number of days to fix something once a tenant reports it, and that the city's 24 hours starts the moment you call.
What is actually true
The Wisconsin sections we read set no day count after a tenant asks. § 704.07(4) measures the landlord by whether it "proceeds promptly to repair". Milwaukee's 24 hours and 120 hours under § 200-21-3-b apply to emergency conditions and run from the commissioner's notice to the owner.
Milwaukee's row in the comparison on this page carries no bar. It is one of nine of the 22 rows without a figure, alongside New York City, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Newark, Detroit and Charlotte.
The other 13 rows carry a figure, in four groups. Los Angeles, Portland, Columbus and Baltimore sit at 30 days, with Columbus labelled an outer limit and Baltimore a presumed limit.
Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Las Vegas and Minneapolis show 14 days, Seattle and Phoenix 10 days, and Austin and Miami 7 days.
Milwaukee's bar stays empty even though its code counts hours. The 24 hours and 120 hours in § 200-21-3-b run from the commissioner's notice to the owner.
The 30 days in Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(e)1m. is the least period a city inspection program may set for correcting a habitability violation, where no tenant faces imminent danger.
Plain English Version
No Wisconsin section we read tells your landlord how many days a repair may take after you ask. The law makes the landlord keep the place in reasonable repair, and a lease that waives that duty is void.
If the home becomes unlivable and the landlord does not move promptly, you may leave; if you stay, rent is reduced for the use you lose, though not withheld in full. In Milwaukee, an emergency such as failed heat gives the owner 24 hours to begin a repair once the city gives notice, and a past due city order can open a rent escrow.
Repairs Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Milwaukee, WI
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
The court quoted this sentence as the start of a reimbursement paragraph in an apartment lease, and that paragraph carries on past the point where the quote ends.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence.
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“must promptly reimburse us”
This lease puts a clock on the tenant and none on the landlord. Wisconsin's statute uses the same word for the other side: under § 704.07(4) a tenant may move out of untenantable premises “unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair or rebuild or eliminate the health hazard”. The Wisconsin sections our record read attach no number of days to that word.
“loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service”
Repairs and service calls are where a reimbursement sentence meets Wisconsin's repair duty. § 704.07(2)(a) makes the landlord keep in repair the parts of the premises it controls and the equipment for services “such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning”. § 704.07(1) voids an agreement to waive those duties in a residential tenancy. Read a bill for that work against the exception for repairs the tenant's own negligence or improper use made necessary.
“anywhere in the apartment community”
The lease reaches every hallway and lot, while Wisconsin's duty follows control. § 704.07(2)(a) requires the landlord to keep “in a reasonable state of repair portions of the premises over which the landlord maintains control” and to make all necessary structural repairs. Shared spaces are where the landlord's control meets a tenant's bill, and where tracing who caused a loss is hardest.
“improper use or negligence”
This is Wisconsin's own line, drawn in nearly the same words. § 704.07(2)(a) leaves repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use out of the landlord's duties. The Texas court enforced this sentence under the Texas Property Code. Our Wisconsin record does not say how a court here would read the guests and occupants this lease adds to the tenant.
The sentence stood, and the case went back. The Texas Supreme Court held the reimbursement clause enforceable, reversed summary judgment for the co-signing tenant and remanded the case. The route matters more than the result: Tex. Prop. Code § 92.006 bars only a contractual waiver of repair duties the landlord actually owes under Subchapter B, and § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest. With no duty on that damage there was nothing to waive, so neither the Property Code nor public policy stopped the parties agreeing the tenant would pay. Why a renter should care: the clause reached a cotenant who had not herself been negligent, because it covers your guests and your occupants as well as you. Justice Baker dissented and would have voided the sentence for failing § 92.006(e) - its requirement that such an agreement cover one dwelling, and the requirement in § 92.006(e)(4) that it be conspicuous and underlined. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code. It is state-specific and not a national rule: a differently worded statute produced the opposite answer in Iowa in 2016.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Wisconsin Law on Maintenance & Repairs Clause
- The repair duty cannot be signed away. Wis. Stat. § 704.07(1) applies the section to all residential tenancies and provides that "An agreement to waive the requirements of this section in a residential tenancy, including an agreement in a rental agreement, is void." Under § 704.07(2)(a), except for repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use, the landlord must "Keep in a reasonable state of repair portions of the premises over which the landlord maintains control", keep in repair the equipment needed to supply services "such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning", "Make all necessary structural repairs", and "For a residential tenancy, comply with any local housing code applicable to the premises."
- The statute's timing word is promptly, not a number of days. Section 704.07(4) lets the tenant move out if the premises become untenantable or there is "a substantial violation of sub. (2) materially affecting the health or safety of the tenant", "unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair or rebuild or eliminate the health hazard". A tenant who stays gets an abatement "to the extent the tenant is deprived of the full normal use of the premises", but the same subsection says "This section does not authorize rent to be withheld in full, if the tenant remains in possession." A tenant who justifiably moves out is not liable for rent after the premises became untenantable, and the landlord must repay rent paid in advance for that period.
- A promised repair carries its own date. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.07(1) requires every landlord promise that the unit "will be cleaned, repaired or otherwise improved" to "specify the date or time period on or within which the cleaning, repairs or improvements are to be completed", and § ATCP 134.07(2) requires promises made before the initial rental agreement to be in writing with a copy furnished to the tenant. Under § ATCP 134.07(3) the landlord may miss that date only for "labor stoppage, unavailability of supplies or materials, unavoidable casualties, or other causes beyond the landlord's control", and must give the tenant timely notice of the reason and of when the work will be completed.
- A lease cannot waive habitability, and complaints are protected. Wis. Stat. § 704.44(8) and Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.08(8) make a residential rental agreement void and unenforceable if it "Waives any statutory or other legal obligation on the part of the landlord to deliver the premises in a fit or habitable condition or to maintain the premises during the tenant's tenancy." Under Wis. Stat. § 704.45(1), a landlord may not increase rent, decrease services, bring an action for possession, refuse to renew or threaten any of those where the action would not occur but for retaliation against the tenant for a good faith complaint to a local housing code enforcement agency or for "Complaining to the landlord about a violation of s. 704.07 or a local housing code applicable to the premises", though § 704.45(2) still allows an action for possession for unpaid rent.
Sources include Wis. Stat. § 704.07; Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.07; Wis. Stat. § 704.44(8); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.08(8); Wis. Stat. § 704.45; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(e); Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-12; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-20; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-21; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-22 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
In the Wisconsin sections we read, a slow repair meets a duty and a timing word rather than a countdown. They set no number of days for a landlord to finish a repair after a tenant asks.
The duty is in Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a). Except for repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use, the landlord must "Keep in a reasonable state of repair portions of the premises over which the landlord maintains control".
The landlord must also keep in repair the equipment for services "such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning", "Make all necessary structural repairs" and comply with any local housing code.
The duty cannot be signed away. § 704.07(1) says "An agreement to waive the requirements of this section in a residential tenancy, including an agreement in a rental agreement, is void." § 704.44(8) and Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.08(8) reach the whole agreement: a residential rental agreement that waives the duty to deliver or maintain a fit or habitable home is void and unenforceable.
Time enters through the remedy. Under § 704.07(4), if the premises become untenantable, or a substantial violation materially affects the tenant's health or safety, the tenant may move out "unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair or rebuild or eliminate the health hazard".
A tenant who justifiably moves out owes no rent after the premises became untenantable, and advance rent for that period is repaid.
A tenant who stays gets an abatement "to the extent the tenant is deprived of the full normal use of the premises". The same subsection adds: "This section does not authorize rent to be withheld in full, if the tenant remains in possession."
Promises carry dates. ATCP 134.07(1) requires every landlord promise to clean, repair or improve the unit to "specify the date or time period" for the work.
Under ATCP 134.07(3) the date may slip for causes beyond the landlord's control, such as a labor stoppage, with timely notice to the tenant.
Complaints are protected. § 704.45(1) bars a rent increase, a cut in services or an action for possession that would not occur but for a good faith complaint to a housing code agency, or a complaint to the landlord about a § 704.07 violation. § 704.45(2) still allows an action for possession for unpaid rent. Read each section's current text on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, since the copies behind this page are archived ones.
Wisconsin Tenant Protections
Under Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a) a Wisconsin landlord must keep the parts of the premises it controls in a reasonable state of repair, keep in repair the equipment that supplies services such as heat and water, and make all necessary structural repairs. The duty does not cover repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use.
Section 704.07(1) voids an agreement to waive these duties in a residential tenancy, and § 704.44(8) and ATCP 134.08(8) make a rental agreement void and unenforceable if it waives the duty to deliver or maintain a fit or habitable home. The Wisconsin sections we read set no number of days for a repair after a tenant asks.
Under § 704.07(4) a tenant may move out of untenantable premises unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair, and a tenant who stays gets rent abated to the extent of the lost use, though not withheld in full. ATCP 134.07 requires a landlord's promise to repair to name a completion date or time period.
Section 704.45 bars retaliation for a good faith complaint to a housing code agency or to the landlord.
In Milwaukee, § 200-21-3-b lets the commissioner repair an emergency condition if the owner fails to begin within 24 hours of the commissioner's notice or to finish within 120 hours. Under § 200-22-1-a, once a city order is past due and the department has notified the tenant in writing, rent may go into a city escrow account. Read the current text of each section before relying on it.
What's Specific to Milwaukee
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
On repairs, Wisconsin law and Milwaukee's code do different jobs. The duty, the move-out and abatement remedy and the dated promise come from the state sections.
Correction orders, an emergency repair clock and a rent escrow come from Chapter 200 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances.
A city correction order carries no fixed figure. Under § 200-12-2-c, an order to correct a violation must "Specify a reasonable time for compliance". The period is printed on the order, so the order is the document to keep.
Emergencies run in hours. For an emergency failure of heat, water, hot water, electricity, sanitary facilities, fire safety components or structural integrity, § 200-21-3-b lets the commissioner of neighborhood services repair the condition.
That power applies if the owner fails to begin a remedy within 24 hours of being notified by the commissioner, or has not completely remedied it within 120 hours.
The commissioner may extend that period by no more than 48 hours where temporary measures adequately protect the occupants. Each of these clocks starts with the commissioner's notice to the owner.
Our record of Chapter 200 and Chapter 275 finds no Milwaukee section giving a landlord a set number of days to finish a repair after a tenant asks.
Rent can follow a past due order. Under § 200-22-1-a, once an order to correct a violation is past due and the department has notified the tenant in writing, the tenant may deposit rent into an escrow account designated by the commissioner.
The deposit must come before a landlord's 5-day pay or quit notice expires or a 14-day termination notice is served under Chapter 704.
Section 200-22 sets limits of its own. It excludes rooming houses licensed under § 275-20, restricts withholding where the sole violation is an exterior painting order, and makes it an affirmative defense that the tenant's negligence or improper use caused the condition.
Retaliation carries presumptions. § 200-22-5-b presumes retaliatory an attempt to evict, raise rent or otherwise retaliate from the first complaint to the commissioner until 12 months after certification that all violations are corrected. Each attempt carries a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000, and § 200-20-2 presumes retaliation within 6 months of notifying the commissioner of code violations.
Two state sections speak to city rules like these. Wis. Stat. § 704.07(5) requires a city ordinance regulating rent abatement to confine abatement to conditions that materially affect health or safety or substantially affect use and occupancy. § 66.0104(2)(e)1m. lets a city inspection program set a period of not less than 30 days to correct a habitability violation, or less where a tenant faces imminent danger.
We describe §§ 200-12, 200-20, 200-21 and 200-22 as enacted and are not predicting how either state section applies to them. Chapter 200 Subchapter 3 was read in the City Clerk's file as archived on July 25, 2026, with page revision dates up to December 17, 2024 and no codified through line, so check the current text on the city's site.
Useful. § 704.45(1) protects a complaint to the landlord about a § 704.07 violation, and a dated written request shows when you made it.
Good. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.07(1) requires a landlord's promise to repair to "specify the date or time period" for completing the work.
Question it. § 704.07(1) voids an agreement to waive those duties in a residential tenancy, and § 704.44(8) voids a rental agreement that waives the duty to maintain a fit or habitable home.
Read it against § 704.07(4), which abates rent to the extent you lose the full normal use of the premises. The same subsection does not authorize withholding rent in full while you stay.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Wis. Stat. § 704.07; Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.07; Wis. Stat. § 704.44(8); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.08(8); Wis. Stat. § 704.45; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(e); Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-12; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-20; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-21; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-22, read on web.archive.org. The Wisconsin Legislature's PDF of Chapter 704, in an archived copy dated May 24, 2026, marks the statutes as updated through 2025 Wisconsin Act 170 and in effect on May 22, 2026.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A repair promise with no date
ATCP 134.07(1) requires a landlord's promise to clean, repair or improve to name the date or time period for finishing. Ask for that date in writing when the promise is made.
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A waiver of the repair duty
§ 704.07(1) voids an agreement to waive the landlord's repair duties in a residential tenancy, and § 704.44(8) makes a rental agreement that waives habitability void and unenforceable.
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24 hours counted from your call
Milwaukee's 24 hours in § 200-21-3-b runs from the commissioner's notice to the owner. A lease giving the landlord that period from your own request takes the city's figure and moves its starting point.
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Rent held back in full
§ 704.07(4) says the section "does not authorize rent to be withheld in full, if the tenant remains in possession." Milwaukee's escrow under § 200-22-1-a starts with a past due city order and written notice from the department.
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Every repair billed to the tenant
§ 704.07(2)(a) leaves out of the landlord's duty repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use. A clause charging you for repairs beyond that reaches into duties the section gives the landlord.
Your Rights as a Milwaukee Tenant
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A repair duty a lease cannot waive
§ 704.07(1) applies the repair section to all residential tenancies and voids an agreement to waive it, including one in a rental agreement.
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Move out or pay less
§ 704.07(4) lets a tenant leave untenantable premises unless the landlord proceeds promptly to repair, and abates rent for a tenant who stays to the extent of the lost use.
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Protection for a complaint
§ 704.45(1) bars retaliation for a good faith complaint to a housing code agency, or for a complaint to the landlord about a § 704.07 violation.
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A city rent escrow
Under Milwaukee Code § 200-22-1-a, once a city order is past due and the department has notified the tenant in writing, the tenant may deposit rent into an escrow account designated by the commissioner.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write to the landlord and keep a copy
Name the unit, the defect and the date. § 704.45(1) protects a complaint to the landlord about a § 704.07 violation, and the copy shows when you made it.
Get any promised repair date in writing
ATCP 134.07(1) requires the promise to specify a date or time period, and ATCP 134.07(3) requires timely notice of a delay and of when the work will be finished.
Photograph the condition with dates
§ 704.07(2)(a) leaves out repairs made necessary by the tenant's negligence or improper use, and Milwaukee's escrow section makes that an affirmative defense. Dated photographs help show where the problem came from.
Read the date on any city order
A correction order sets a reasonable time under § 200-12-2-c. For an emergency, § 200-21-3-b runs 24 hours to begin and 120 hours to finish from the commissioner's notice to the owner.
Check the escrow conditions before redirecting rent
§ 200-22-1-a requires a past due order, written notice from the department, and payment before a 5-day pay or quit notice expires or a 14-day termination notice is served.
Take advice before holding back rent
§ 704.07(4) does not authorize withholding rent in full while you stay. Wisconsin legal aid or a tenant advice service can go through § 704.07 and § 200-22 with you, and read the current text of each yourself.