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Bills from the 2025–26 session

Assembly Bill 1119

Rent abatement and retaliatory conduct and granting rule-making authority

Topics: Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of, Landlord and tenant

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Mar 13, 2026

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate. The committee's chair at the time was Rob Brooks. Chairs decide which bills get a hearing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 1076. That version died when the session ended.

What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, a tenant may withhold (abate) rent if the rental premises is in such disrepair that it affects the health or safety of the tenant or substantially affects the use and occupancy of the premises. Current law allows a tenant to abate rent to the extent that the tenant is deprived of the full normal use of the premises, but prohibits a tenant from withholding rent in full if the tenant remains in possession of the premises.

This bill provides that, in these situations, a tenant may abate rent in accordance with a rent abatement schedule promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection by rule, if available, and directs DATCP to create such a schedule. The schedule must specify items for which a tenant is entitled to rent abatement and the amount of rent abatement for each item. The bill also allows rent to be abated in full.

Read the full summary

In addition, if a tenant complains to the landlord or to a local housing code agency about a defect in a residential premises, current law prohibits the landlord from retaliating against the tenant by increasing rent, decreasing services, bringing an eviction action, refusing to renew a lease, or threatening to do any of these things. This bill clarifies that a landlord may not retaliate against a tenant for the reasonable abatement of rent. The bill also provides that if a landlord in a residential tenancy increases rent, decreases services, brings an action for possession of the premises, refuses to renew a lease, or threatens to do any of these things, such action is presumed to be a prohibited retaliatory action if the tenant has complained to the landlord or to a local housing code agency about a defect in a residential premises or exercised any of the tenant’s legal rights relating to his or her tenancy, including reasonably abating rent, at any point in the preceding 12 months.

Who's behind it

15 representatives are its ⁠. All 15 are Democrats.

6 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 21 names

Authors (15)

Signed on in support (6)

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2026

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Mar 19, 2026

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  3. Mar 13, 2026

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate.

  4. Mar 13, 2026

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Mar 13, 2026 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Madison, Clancy, Palmeri, Emerson, Hong, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Stubbs, Arney, Goodwin, Mayadev, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Roe and Tenorio; cosponsored by Senators Roys, Larson, Ratcliff, Drake and Spreitzer

  2. Mar 13, 2026 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Housing and Real Estate

  3. Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly

    Representative Subeck added as a coauthor

  4. Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor