Utilities 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
- Milwaukee's § 275-34-5 provides that no owner or operator may cause any service, facility, equipment or utility "which is required or supplied" to be shut off from an occupied dwelling unit, except for temporary interruption while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are being made.
- The city penalty is § 200-19-1: a forfeiture of not less than $150 per violation per day and not more than $5,000 for each premises, structure or property in violation, each day a separate offense. A forfeiture is a penalty, not money paid to the tenant.
- Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5) bars a landlord from constructively evicting a tenant "by any means including the termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity" in retaliation, and § ATCP 134.09(7) bars any constructive eviction outside the ch. 799 court procedure.
- Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3) sets a fine of $25 to $5,000 per offense for intentionally failing to obey a regulation made under § 100.20, the authority § ATCP 134.01 names for the rental chapter. That fine is not paid to the tenant either.
- A tenant's own damages claim under § 100.20(5) is twice the pecuniary loss plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee, a multiplier rather than a fixed sum. Read the current text on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov before relying on any figure here.
Understanding the Utilities Clause
A utilities clause decides whose name is on the gas, electric and water accounts. It does not decide whether a landlord may switch any of them off, and in Milwaukee a city ordinance and two state rules answer that second question.
The city text is Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 275-34-5, which bars an owner or operator from shutting off a required or supplied utility to an occupied dwelling unit, outside temporary repair work. The state texts are Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5), which names heat, water and electricity in its ban on retaliation, and § ATCP 134.09(7), which bars constructive eviction outside court.
The $5,000 figure on this page is a ceiling on a fine or forfeiture, not money paid to you. The state text was read on Internet Archive copies of the Legislature's pages and the city text in the clerk's archived PDFs, so read both as they stand today before relying on either.
What renters assume
If the lease puts every utility on the tenant, the landlord can cut or let lapse whatever service it controls once rent is late, and the worst that follows is an argument about the bill.
What is actually true
Milwaukee's § 275-34-5 bars an owner or operator from shutting off a utility "which is required or supplied" to an occupied unit, outside temporary repair work, and § 200-19-1 sets a forfeiture of up to $5,000 per premises. At state level, § ATCP 134.09(7) bars any constructive eviction outside the ch. 799 court procedure.
Twelve of the 22 rows carry a fixed dollar figure, and Milwaukee's $5,000 sits level with Denver's, with New York City's bar the one set higher. Below them run Las Vegas at $2,500, Washington at $2,000, Austin at $1,000, Atlanta, Baltimore and Minneapolis at $500, Chicago and Boston at $300, and Detroit at $200.
The other ten rows are blank, answering in rent multiples, daily amounts, or damages with no fixed sum.
Milwaukee's bar needs reading with care. The $5,000 is a ceiling on a fine or forfeiture, not money paid to the tenant, and the floors are far lower: $25 per offense under § 100.26(3) and $150 per violation per day under § 200-19-1.
The tenant's own claim under § 100.20(5) is twice the pecuniary loss, a multiplier the bar cannot draw.
Plain English Version
Your lease can put the utility bills in your name, but in Milwaukee it does not let the owner shut off a utility that is required or supplied to your occupied unit. The city ordinance's exception is a temporary interruption while repairs are actually being made.
Wisconsin's rules separately bar cutting heat, water or electricity to retaliate against you, and bar forcing you out without a court eviction. The $5,000 figures are fines or forfeitures, not money paid to you.
Your own damages claim under state law is twice your money loss, plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee.
Utilities 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.
[t]enant shall be responsible for all utilities and services incurred in connection with the Premises.
Quoted from the published opinion in Dinh v. Raines, No. S-18262 (Alaska Feb. 23, 2024). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“be responsible for all”
Paying the bills and keeping the equipment working are separate duties in Wisconsin. Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a)2. requires a landlord to keep in reasonable repair “all equipment under the landlord's control necessary to supply services that the landlord has expressly or impliedly agreed to furnish to the tenant, such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning”. A clause making you responsible for the bills settles whose name is on the account. Whether the landlord agreed, expressly or impliedly, to furnish a service is a question for the rest of the lease.
“utilities and services”
The lease lists utilities and services without naming any; Wisconsin's retaliation rule names three. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5) bars a landlord from constructively evicting a tenant “by any means including the termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity to the dwelling unit” in retaliation. The protected acts include reporting a violation to a government authority, joining or organizing a tenants' union, and asserting a tenant right. Milwaukee's ban is worded more widely: § 275-34-5 reaches any service, facility, equipment or utility “which is required or supplied” to an occupied dwelling unit, outside temporary interruption during actual repairs.
“incurred”
Incurred points at money, and the largest figures attached to a Milwaukee shutoff are penalties rather than payments to the tenant. Under Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3), intentionally failing to obey a regulation made under § 100.20 brings a fine of $25 to $5,000 for each offense, and § ATCP 134.01 says the rental chapter is adopted under that authority. The tenant's own claim our record carries is § 100.20(5): twice the pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney fee.
“in connection with”
The connection to the premises matters, because the premises are where Milwaukee counts its penalty. § 200-19-1 sets a forfeiture of not less than $150 per violation per day and not more than $5,000 for each premises, structure or property in violation, each day a separate offense, and the minimum may be assessed against each affected dwelling unit. That is a forfeiture, not money paid to you. We record § 275-34-5 as the city publishes it and take no position on how § 66.0104 or other state law applies to it.
The clause survived. The landlord did not. The Alaska Supreme Court held that a “tenant pays all utilities” clause does not let a landlord shift the cost of utilities he diverts. He had housed his restaurant employees in unpermitted garage units and let them draw electricity and heating fuel through the tenants' meter and fuel tank. That was a willful diminution of essential services under AS 34.03.210, which exposes a landlord to exemplary damages of up to one and one-half times actual damages. The court affirmed that finding as to heat, hot water and electricity, and reversed as to internet and cable, which are not “essential services” under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The same utilities clause still carried the day on ordinary contract grounds: the tenants recovered $1,050 under AS 34.03.160 for the internet and cable, once they had given notice. Two things a renter should take from it - a broad “all utilities” clause is normal and enforceable, and it still does not make you the landlord's utility company.
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 Utilities Clause
- Two state rules reach a shutoff. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5) provides that "No landlord shall terminate a tenancy or give notice preventing the automatic renewal of a lease, or constructively evict a tenant by any means including the termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity to the dwelling unit, in retaliation against a tenant" for reporting a violation to a government authority or suing over one, joining or organizing a tenants' union, or asserting a tenant right under state or local law. Section ATCP 134.09(7) provides that "No landlord may exclude, forcibly evict or constructively evict a tenant from a dwelling unit, other than by an eviction procedure specified under ch. 799, Stats."
- The state penalties are set in Chapter 100. Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3) provides that anyone "who intentionally refuses, neglects or fails to obey any regulation or order made or issued under s. 100.19 or 100.20, shall, for each offense, be fined not less than $25 nor more than $5,000, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year or both." Section 100.26(6) separately lets the state agriculture and consumer protection department or a district attorney sue for a civil forfeiture of $100 to $10,000 "for each violation of an order issued under s. 100.20." Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.01 states that the rental chapter "is adopted under authority of s. 100.20, Stats."
- The tenant's own money claim is a multiple of the loss, not a set amount. Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5) provides that "Any person suffering pecuniary loss because of a violation by any other person of s. 100.70 or any order issued under this section may sue for damages therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction and shall recover twice the amount of such pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney fee." Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a)2. separately requires a landlord to keep in reasonable repair "all equipment under the landlord's control necessary to supply services that the landlord has expressly or impliedly agreed to furnish to the tenant, such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning", and § 704.07(1) voids any agreement waiving that duty in a residential tenancy.
- Milwaukee's penalty runs by day and by premises. Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-19-1 provides that a person who omits, neglects or refuses to do any act the Building and Zoning Code requires, "except where special penalty is provided, shall, upon conviction, forfeit not less than $150 per violation per day nor more than $5,000 for each premises, structure or property found to be in violation", that each day is a separate offense, that the minimum may be assessed against each affected dwelling unit, and that "Accumulated penalties recoverable in any one action shall not exceed $10,000." Section 200-19-2 lets the department issue citations for violations of chapter 275, and § 200-19-3 allows enforcement by injunction.
Sources include Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.01; Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(7); Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5); Wis. Stat. § 100.26(6); Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 275-34-5; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-19-1; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-001; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-21; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Wisconsin's rental rules name utilities in the ban on retaliation. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5) provides that no landlord shall "constructively evict a tenant by any means including the termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity to the dwelling unit, in retaliation against a tenant".
The protected acts are reporting a violation of the chapter or of a building or housing code to a government authority or suing over one, joining or organizing a tenants' union, and asserting a right given to tenants under state or local law. The same paragraph bars ending a tenancy, or blocking a lease's automatic renewal, for those reasons.
A second rule does not turn on retaliation. § ATCP 134.09(7) provides that "No landlord may exclude, forcibly evict or constructively evict a tenant from a dwelling unit, other than by an eviction procedure specified under ch. 799, Stats."
Fines, not payments to you
The state penalty sits in Chapter 100. Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3) reaches anyone who "intentionally refuses, neglects or fails to obey any regulation or order made or issued under s. 100.19 or 100.20".
For each offense the person shall "be fined not less than $25 nor more than $5,000", or be jailed for up to one year, or both.
§ ATCP 134.01 states that the rental chapter "is adopted under authority of s. 100.20, Stats." The $5,000 is a fine on the offender, not money paid to the tenant, and the section turns on an intentional refusal, neglect or failure.
The tenant's own money claim is a multiple of the loss. Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5) provides that a person suffering pecuniary loss because of a violation of any order issued under that section "shall recover twice the amount of such pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney fee."
Repairs reach the same equipment. Wis. Stat. § 704.07(2)(a)2. requires a landlord to keep in reasonable repair the equipment under its control needed to supply services it has agreed to furnish, "such as heat, water, elevator, or air conditioning". § 704.07(1) voids any agreement waiving that duty in a residential tenancy.
Read § 100.26 and § ATCP 134.09 as they stand on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Our copy of § 100.26 is the Legislature's text as archived on July 16, 2026, printing the statutes updated through 2025 Wis. Act 247.
Wisconsin Tenant Protections
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 275-34-5 provides that no owner or operator may cause any service, facility, equipment or utility which is required or supplied to be shut off from, or discontinued for, any occupied dwelling or dwelling unit. Its exception is temporary interruption while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are being made.
Under § 200-19-1, the Building and Zoning Code's general penalty is a forfeiture of not less than $150 per violation per day and not more than $5,000 for each premises, structure or property in violation, with each day a separate offense. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5) bars a landlord from constructively evicting a tenant by any means, including the termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity, in retaliation for protected acts.
Section ATCP 134.09(7) bars excluding or constructively evicting a tenant other than by a ch. 799 eviction procedure. Wis. Stat. § 100.26(3) sets a fine of $25 to $5,000 for each offense of intentionally failing to obey a regulation or order made under § 100.20.
A tenant's own damages claim under § 100.20(5) is twice the pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney fee.
Under § 704.07(2)(a)2., a landlord must keep in reasonable repair equipment under its control needed to supply services it has agreed to furnish, such as heat and water.
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.
Milwaukee writes its own shutoff ban into chapter 275, Building Maintenance. § 275-34-5 provides that "No owner or operator may cause any service, facility, equipment or utility which is required or supplied to be removed from or shut off from, or discontinued for any occupied dwelling or dwelling unit". Its exception is "such temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are being made."
The wording differs from the state rule in two ways worth noticing. Its text does not turn on retaliation, and it speaks of any service, facility, equipment or utility that is required or supplied, rather than naming heat, water and electricity.
Chapter 275 is part of the Building and Zoning Code, which § 200-001 defines as chapters 200 to 295. That code's general penalty, § 200-19-1, is a forfeiture of not less than $150 per violation per day and not more than $5,000 for each premises, structure or property in violation, with each day a separate offense.
Where a property has more than one dwelling unit, the minimum may be assessed against each affected unit. A forfeiture is a penalty, not money paid to the tenant. § 200-19-2 lets the department issue citations for chapter 275 violations, and § 200-19-3 allows enforcement by injunction.
A second city route restores service. Under § 200-21 the commissioner may restore owner-supplied utilities or fuel in an emergency, with tenants then depositing rent with the city until the city's costs are recovered. § 200-21-8 sets a forfeiture of $100 to $2,000 for each attempt to retaliate against an occupant during that process.
State law limits some city landlord ordinances. The limits in Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2), as we read them, concern tenant screening information, re-renting and showing during a tenancy, security deposits and inspections, a landlord's recovery of damage and fees, required communications, inspection and registration programs, and occupancy or transfer fees.
We record § 275-34-5 as the city publishes it and take no position on how § 66.0104 or any other state law applies to it. Two practical points follow for a tenant: date every outage and keep the utility's explanation, and if the owner supplies the utility or fuel, ask the city about the § 200-21 emergency route.
Our reading of the city code stops at the archived PDFs. Chapter 275 was captured March 18, 2025, its § 275-34 page dated September 21, 2010, and chapter 200 subchapter 3 was captured July 25, 2026, its § 200-19 page dated July 2, 2024.
Neither prints a codified-through line, so read the current code before quoting it.
Milwaukee's § 275-34-5 speaks of a utility "which is required or supplied", and § 704.07(2)(a)2. of services the landlord has agreed to furnish. Knowing which accounts are the landlord's makes a later dispute easier to document.
§ 275-34-5 excepts temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are being made. A clause in those terms matches the ordinance.
§ ATCP 134.09(7) bars constructive eviction other than by the ch. 799 eviction procedure, and Milwaukee's § 275-34-5 bars an owner from shutting off a required or supplied utility to an occupied unit.
§ 704.07(1) voids any agreement waiving the § 704.07 duties in a residential tenancy, including the duty to repair equipment supplying services such as heat and water.
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. § 100.26(3); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.01; Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(5); Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.09(7); Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5); Wis. Stat. § 100.26(6); Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 275-34-5; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-19-1; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-001; Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 200-21; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2), read on web.archive.org. The Wisconsin Legislature's page for § 100.26, read through an Internet Archive copy captured July 16, 2026, prints the 2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes updated through 2025 Wis. Act 247, and the section's history line ends with 2001 a. 16, 109; Milwaukee's ordinance pages carry revision dates rather than a codified-through line.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A shutoff reserved for late rent
Milwaukee's § 275-34-5 bars an owner from shutting off a required or supplied utility to an occupied unit, and § ATCP 134.09(7) bars constructive eviction outside the ch. 799 court procedure.
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Heat cut soon after a complaint
§ ATCP 134.09(5) bars constructive eviction by termination or substantial reduction of heat, water or electricity in retaliation for reporting a violation, organizing tenants or asserting a tenant right.
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Repairs used to explain a long outage
§ 275-34-5 excepts temporary interruption as may be necessary while actual repairs, replacements or alterations are being made. Note when work started and stopped.
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A waiver of repair duties for heat or water
§ 704.07(1) voids an agreement waiving the landlord's § 704.07 duties in a residential tenancy, including repair of equipment supplying heat and water.
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An owner-supplied utility gone unpaid
Under § 200-21 the commissioner may restore owner-supplied utilities or fuel in an emergency, and § 200-21-8 sets a forfeiture of $100 to $2,000 for each attempt to retaliate during that process.
Your Rights as a Milwaukee Tenant
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No shutoff of a supplied utility in Milwaukee
§ 275-34-5 bars an owner or operator from shutting off a required or supplied utility to an occupied dwelling unit, outside temporary repair work.
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No retaliatory cut to heat, water or electricity
§ ATCP 134.09(5) bars constructive eviction by terminating or substantially reducing those services in retaliation for protected acts.
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No eviction outside court
§ ATCP 134.09(7) bars excluding or constructively evicting a tenant other than by an eviction procedure under ch. 799, Stats.
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Twice your money loss
§ 100.20(5) provides for twice the pecuniary loss, together with costs, including a reasonable attorney fee.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write down when the service stopped
Date and time, with a photograph of the meter or thermostat. § 200-19-1 treats each day of a violation as a separate offense, so give each day its own entry.
Ask the utility why it stopped
A cut made at the owner's request points to § 275-34-5. An owner-supplied account in arrears points to the § 200-21 emergency route.
Report it to the city
§ 200-19-2 lets the department issue citations for chapter 275 violations, and under § 200-21 the commissioner may restore owner-supplied utilities or fuel in an emergency. Note who you spoke to and when.
Put your position in writing
Cite § 275-34-5 and § ATCP 134.09(7), ask for the service to be restored, and keep a dated copy. If the cut followed a complaint, cite § ATCP 134.09(5) too.
Keep a receipt for every cost
Room bookings, takeaway meals, a space heater, food that spoiled. The claim under § 100.20(5) is twice the pecuniary loss, so the receipts set the base it multiplies.
Read the current text, then take advice
Read § 100.26, § ATCP 134.09 and Milwaukee's § 275-34 as they stand today. Wisconsin legal aid can review the facts before you act.