City skyline over Lake Monona, featuring the Wisconsin State Capitol and Monona Terrace. Several construction cranes are visible.
Building Inspection

Repairing Recent Hail and Storm Damage

The City has received reports of potential scammers. Some companies are trying to take advantage of recent storm damage. It's important to make sure repairs are done quickly and by reputable companies.

Learn more about repairing storm damage.

Retaliation

As a tenant, you have the option to call Building Inspection. You have the right to ask housing providers to fix housing issues. Housing providers must not engage in retaliation.

Retaliation is when a housing provider takes an action against a tenant because they exercised a right. Unfortunately, retaliation means a negative action must take place. The law does not protect you from retaliatory actions. The law does provide a way to resolve these actions and mitigate their harm. The following are some tenant rights:

  • Making a complaint to Building Inspection
  • Applying for rent abatement
  • Asking a housing provider to fix a code violation

Once the negative act happens, we may prosecute the action as a violation of the law. You must file a complaint before the City can look into any claims. The Department of Civil Rights (DCR) investigates claims.

Retaliation can look like:
  • Refusing to renew the lease
  • Filing an eviction action
  • Harassing or intimidating words or actions
  • Raising the rent or refusing to accept rental payments
  • Changing the services available to a tenant
  • Failing to perform promised repairs
  • Reducing or turning off the water, electricity, or heat (always illegal)
  • Charging fees
  • Taking some other negative action

Report retaliation

  1. Visit the Department of Civil Rights' portal.
  2. Fill out the required fields.
  3. For "I believe I faced discrimination because I belong to the following protected class(es)," choose "Building Code Complainant." You can also choose anything else that applies.

If you have questions, contact DCR at 608-266-4910 or dcr@cityofmadison.com. If you need help filling out the form, find a community partner.

For housing providers

Any actions against a tenant, within six months of their complaint, may be seen as retaliation. You may need to prove the action was not retaliatory.

Resources

  • Retaliation web form through Civil Rights' portal.
  • If you cannot access the online form, contact the Department of Civil Rights online or at 608-266-4910.
Was this page helpful to you? * required