The family definition is part of our zoning code. It restricts the number of people who can live in an apartment or house together in Madison based on:

• zoning district;

• whether they are renters or homeowners; and

• whether they are related to one another.

Over 1/3 of the land area in Madison is zoned to prohibit more than two unrelated renters from living together. In these same areas, owner-occupied housing units can house up to five unrelated individuals. These zoning districts are primarily lower-density districts with single-family houses.

Other zoning districts allow a maximum of five unrelated individuals. A family could also be a group of related individuals with up to four unrelated roommates.

In areas that allow housing, there is no zoning limit to the size of a household if all people are related. The building code and minimum housing code outline safety-related limits.

Type of Occupant	Low Density 1-3 Family Zoning Districts	Other Zoning Districts that Allow Housing
Renter-Occupied	Related + 1 (2 unrelated)	Related + 4 (5 unrelated)
Owner-Occupied	Related + 4 (5 unrelated)	Related + 4 (5 unrelated)

In September, Zoning staff presented general information about changing the family definition at a Plan Commission Work Session. The Plan Commission reached a consensus that staff should propose a change to the family definition. They shared two main considerations for a future proposal:

1. Continue to allow multi-generational households of related people to live together in one dwelling unit; and
2. A large number of residents living in a dwelling unit could have a negative impact, such as noise. There should be a reasonable limitation.

This proposal addresses both of those comments.

1. Multi-generational households will still be allowed. There is no limit on the number of related family members.
2. Many zoning districts already allow up to five unrelated people in a household. These districts do not see significant negative impacts. Based on that experience, City staff believe that five unrelated adults and their dependents is a standard that would reasonably address the potential impacts of neighbors on other neighbors.

The proposal keeps the existing definition for related. This way, zoning can continue to allow an unlimited number of individuals to live together if they are related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, or legal adoption and including foster children. Children includes natural children, grandchildren, legally adopted children, stepchildren, foster children, or a ward as determined in a legal guardianship proceeding. If we remove the definition for related, we would not be preserving the ability for multi-generational families with more than five adults to live together in a household.

We already have safety limits in our building code. These limits outline how many people can safely live in a space. The limits depend on square-footage and interior floor plans. There must be not less than 150 square feet of floor area for the first occupant and at least 100 additional square feet of floor area for each additional occupant. The space used as a laundry, workshop, furnace room, bathroom, storage room, closets, and common halls shall not be included as part of the space required.

The family definition addresses the impacts of neighbors on other neighbors. It was not intended to improve safety. What we have found is that some landlords exploit occupancy limits. They use the occupancy limits to prevent renter complaints about unsafe living conditions. Landlords know that if renters complain about living conditions, the renters can lose their housing.

The family definition presumes incompatibility between different types of households. In most cases, a wide variety of households exist harmoniously in one neighborhood. The family definition is like using a sledgehammer of exclusion. Instead, we can use appropriate tools to address conflicts between neighbors. We can look at the conduct of people and deal with issues as they arise.

For residential properties with significant issues, one option is to use the chronic nuisance premises ordinance. Here are frequently asked questions about the nuisance ordinance.

Although this change will not increase the number of housing units in Madison, it is only one of many strategies to increase housing opportunities and choices within Madison. Other initiatives include:

• Regulating short-term rentals so our housing stock is used for resident housing instead of tourist accommodations

• Changing the threshold for the number of housing units so that fewer multi-family developments need permission from the Plan Commission before being built

• Increasing funding for affordable housing

• Prioritizing funding affordable housing in locations with excellent transit access to decrease household transportation costs

• Creating a transit-oriented development overlay district which allows more stories as a permitted use and requires transit supportive site and building design

• Allowing accessory dwelling units as a permitted use

• Funding down payment assistance for homebuyers and rehabilitation assistance for homeowners

• Adding a downtown affordable housing zoning incentive (proposed legislation)

Generally, we do not think we will see a mass influx of owner-occupied houses become renter-occupied, although we may see some additional rentals. Nationally, single-family house rentals are usually small-scale operations, and we find this to be true in Madison as well. Larger investment groups are buying single-family houses in places like the Southwest and Florida where property taxes and property maintenance costs are low. Property taxes, property maintenance costs, and single-family house values are high in Madison. In doing some basic analysis, rents could cover a mortgage and taxes on some lower-cost houses, but there’s not much left for maintenance and profit. We do not anticipate that rentals of single-family houses will be particularly appealing or profitable large-scale investments.

Property maintenance problems are not limited to renter-occupied housing and are not typically related to the number of residents living in a house. In fact, in our experience, owner-occupied properties are more likely than renter-occupied to have severe problems with inoperable vehicles, hoarding, and junk, trash, and debris. Owner-occupied properties are often our most difficult properties to address because there is no one to hold responsible other than the owner. If the owner is not responsible, going to court is our only option, and this is a more time-consuming path to compliance.

We believe this would violate Madison’s Equal Opportunity Ordinance which prohibits discrimination in housing based on student status and based on age.

The purpose of an overlay around campus with different standards than the rest of the city seems to be to restrict student housing choices. While an overlay around campus may not violate our Equal Opportunity Ordinance explicitly, it may do so in spirit and intent.

We often receive complaints about occupancy that involve households with children in multi-generational families and blended unrelated households. Today’s code limits the number of children in a household based on whether they rent and who they are related to. The proposed change removes limits on the number of dependents that may live in a household, allowing residents to live with their children without restrictions based on blood or marriage.

Several larger trends are affecting school enrollment. Birth rates in Dane County have been declining, which are a major driver of future school enrollment. Madison is also part of a national trend where on average, people are having fewer children and having children at a later age than previous generations. Some renters, including blended unrelated households and young professionals, are more likely to have children than some owner-occupants.

Property values are dictated by sales so only sales following the change would determine this. However, home values in Madison have been going up for most of recent history, other than a dip during the recession. Property values seem unlikely to decrease when housing choices are increased. Two neighborhoods on the Eastside with high property values, Tenney-Lapham and Marquette, have a mix of renter-occupied housing which allows up to five unrelated renters, and owner-occupied housing. This mix of occupancy doesn’t seem to have affected these neighborhoods' housing values.

Homeownership can lead to generational wealth, and renting is often part of the path to homeownership. One way that renters become homeowners is by saving money by living with others and splitting rent and other housing costs. The City of Madison Community Development Division also supports homeownership by partnering with local nonprofits to offer down payment assistance for homebuyers and a property rehabilitation program for owner-occupants. You can access information about those programs here.

 

Housing Occupancy (Family Definition) Complaints, 2012-Present

View Map of Housing Occupancy Complaints, 2012-Present as a PDF.

204 complaints or referrals for housing occupancy violations were addressed between 2012 and January 2023. 70 cases were east of the Capitol (34%). 134 cases were west of the Capitol (66%). Race, ethnicity, and student-status of occupants are not captured in the data.

140 (69%) of the cases fall under the current more restrictive definition of family for rental occupancy, which allows a maximum of a family plus one roomer (2 unrelated). 33 (16%) of the cases fall under the family definition which makes no distinction in regard to owner vs renter occupancy. The remaining 31 cases (15%) fall into Planed Development zoning, where specific occupancy standards are unique to each PD zone.

39 (19%) of the cases are in campus-adjacent areas or in the UW Near Neighborhoods area (Vilas, Greenbush, east and north sides of Regent, east end of Dudgeon-Monroe). These are addresses in close proximity to the University of Wisconsin. However, there have been student occupancy cases further from UW and non-student renter cases in the UW Near Neighborhoods. Nine of these cases relate to a single PD-Zoned property.

Seven cases pertain to a programmed inspection of dwellings in the PD-zoned Park Ridge and Park Edge Neighborhood near Elver Park.

49 cases were found to be in violation (24%)

30 properties had more than one case.  Multiple cases accounted for 40% of total cases.

Housing-Related Reports

Plan Commission Housing Approvals

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Single family lots	383	525	1,338	334	195	143	152
Multifamily units	2,968	1,643	1,010	2,358	4,772	2,827	4,342

 

 

Housing Building Permits

Building Permits for Housing, 2016-2021

	Single-Family Houses	2-4 Dwelling Units	5+ Dwelling Units	Manufactured Homes	Total Dwelling Units
2022	243	48	2026	33	2350
2021	289	64	3273	7	3633
2020	355	76	1737	35	2203
2019	378	74	1190	40	1682
2018	359	50	1147	27	1583
2017	361	33	1640	25	2059
2016	342	48	1842	15	2247

 

College Student-Oriented Housing

 

For additional information, contact Katie Bannon, Zoning Administrator, at kbannon@cityofmadison.com or 608-266-4569.

Last Updated: 02/28/2023