Wisconsin HOA Laws

The Wisconsin HOA laws you will need to follow are largely based on the type of community you have. They also depend on your corporate status and the governing documents you record.

Laws Governing HOAs in Wisconsin

Wisconsin HOA regulations combine association-specific requirements with corporate and property laws.

Planned Communities

• Wis. Stat. § 710.18: Regulates qualifying residential planned-community associations, expressly excluding condominium associations.
• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(2): Requires recorded covenants and their publication on an association’s publicly accessible community website, if maintained.

Condominiums and Older Communities

• Wis. Stat. ch. 703: Governs condominium creation, administration, finances, enforcement, and sales.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.38: Generally covers older condominiums while preserving specified exceptions for earlier documents and communities.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.365: Allows qualifying small condominiums to adopt specified alternative governance and disclosure provisions through their declarations.

Incorporated Associations

• Wis. Stat. ch. 181: Supplies corporate requirements for associations organized as nonstock corporations, alongside applicable association-specific laws.

HOA Governance and Board Responsibilities

Board procedures depend on the association type and governing documents; condominium requirements do not automatically apply to subdivision HOAs.

Board Authority and Elections

• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(1): Assigns condominium policy and operational decisions to the board, except matters reserved to owners.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.10(2): Requires condominium bylaws to address elections, removal, and powers, generally allowing only one nonowner director and requiring at least one-third of terms to expire annually.
• Wis. Stat. § 181.0808: Establishes corporate director-removal procedures, subject to articles, bylaws, voting safeguards, and meeting notice.
• Wis. Stat. § 181.0831: Addresses director-conflict transactions through disclosure, approval, or fairness requirements.

Developer Turnover

• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(2): Generally ends condominium developer control at the earliest of three years, ten years for expandable projects, or 30 days after conveying 75% of common-element interests.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(2)(d)–(f): Requires staged owner representation before 25% and 50% conveyance thresholds and an owner election within 45 days after developer control ends.

Meetings, Notices, and Voting

• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(4): Requires at least 48 hours’ notice of planned-community association meetings, using statutory delivery methods unless covenants provide otherwise.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(4): Generally requires ten days’ written condominium association meeting notice and permits proxies lasting up to 180 days, with exceptions.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.10(2)(c): Requires condominium bylaws to specify meeting quorum and procedures.
• Wis. Stat. § 181.0705: Governs corporate member notices, with a 10–60-day safe harbor and a 30-day minimum for specified mailing methods.
• Wis. Stat. § 181.0722: Sets a default corporate member quorum of 10% unless controlling law or documents provide otherwise.

HOA Financial Requirements

Planned-community assessment powers largely follow recorded covenants; condominium finances have additional statutory requirements. No Wisconsin homeowners association laws outline a universal statewide percentage cap on assessment increases.

Budgets and Reserves

• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(3): Authorizes condominium budgets and assessments for common expenses.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.161: Requires annual budget adoption and distribution for condominiums containing at least one residentially restricted unit.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.163: Establishes residential condominium reserve-account rules with opt-out, termination, small-condominium, and mixed-use exceptions.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.163(7)–(8): Requires consideration of replacement costs and useful lives, while qualifying operational withdrawals require two-thirds written consent and repayment within three years.

A statutory reserve account is not universally mandatory, and this provision does not require every community to commission a professional reserve study.

Financial Records and Audits

• Wis. Stat. § 703.20(1): Requires condominium financial records, generally retained for six years, with specified exceptions.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.20(3)–(4): Requires independent audits requested by the lesser of three owners or 10% during developer control and the following year, then by a majority thereafter.

Audits generally cost the association, but requesting owners pay for repeat audits within 36 months.

Collections, Liens, and Foreclosure

• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(3)(f): Bars delinquency penalties and transfer fees while required planned-community registration notices remain unfiled.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.165(3): Requires filing a condominium lien statement with the circuit court clerk within two years after the assessment becomes due.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.165(6): Permits delinquency interest as stated in the bylaws, subject to the highest lawful rate.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.165(7): Allows judicial foreclosure within three years after lien recording, following ten days’ registered-mail notice, with recoverable costs and actual attorney fees.

Subdivision HOA lien rights depend on their covenants and applicable law; the condominium lien procedure does not automatically apply.

HOA Rules and Enforcement

Rules must be authorized by the governing documents and comply with superior law.

Documents and Amendments

• Wis. Stat. § 703.09(2): Generally requires two-thirds written consent, or a higher declaration threshold, recording, and applicable mortgagee approval for condominium declaration amendments.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.10(5): Generally requires 67% approval for condominium bylaw amendments and prompt delivery to owners.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.15(3)(b): Permits common-element regulation and approval of exterior changes, subject to declaration restrictions.

Violations and Penalties

• Wis. Stat. § 703.24: Authorizes condominium violation charges under bylaws or rules and establishes notice requirements for tenant violations.
• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(6): Generally requires written notice before authorized suspension of planned-community owner rights for nonpayment, unless covenants provide otherwise.

Check hearing procedures and fine amounts against the governing documents; Wisconsin does not impose a single, universal HOA fine schedule.

HOA Maintenance and Insurance

Documents allocate routine maintenance between owners and associations. Condominium statutes add repair-access and insurance requirements.

Maintenance and Inspections

• Wis. Stat. § 703.10(3): Permits bylaws to address maintenance of units and common elements.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.32(4): Authorizes necessary common-element repair access through units, with reasonable notice efforts except during manifest danger.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.33(2)(cm): Requires condition disclosures based on an independent architect’s or engineer’s report for conversion condominiums exceeding four units.

Insurance and Casualty Damage

• Wis. Stat. § 703.17: Requires condominium property insurance at full replacement value and liability coverage for commonly insured claims.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.18: Generally requires prompt common-element reconstruction unless the declaration provides otherwise, allocating uninsured repair costs as common expenses.

Homeowner Rights and Protections

State and federal protections limit association restrictions and support access to records.

Records Access

• Wis. Stat. § 703.20(1g): Allows condominium records inspection with ten business days’ notice, subject to exclusions, and caps copying charges at actual production costs or $150, whichever is less.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.20(1r): Requires associations with at least 100 condominium units to provide protected online access to inspectable records.
• Wis. Stat. § 181.1602: Provides corporate member inspection rights with five business days’ notice and applicable purpose requirements; condominium records instead follow § 703.20.
• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(5): Generally limits planned-community covenant-copy charges to actual costs or $50, whichever is less, unless covenants provide otherwise.

Fair Housing and Property Uses

• Wis. Stat. § 106.50: Prohibits covered housing discrimination, including discrimination involving disability, lawful income sources, and other protected characteristics.
• 42 U.S.C. § 3604: Requires reasonable disability accommodations and permission for qualifying modifications in covered housing.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.105: Protects condominium U.S. flag displays and candidate or referendum signs while allowing size and location rules.
• Wis. Stat. § 236.292(2): Voids platted-land restrictions preventing or unduly restricting solar or wind energy systems.
• 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000: Protects qualifying antennas in exclusive-use areas, subject to specified exceptions.

HOA Disclosures and Property Transfers

Condominium sales require detailed disclosures; planned communities have separate payoff-statement rules.

Condominium Sales

• Wis. Stat. § 703.33(1): Generally requires seller delivery of governing documents, financial information, and an executive summary at least 15 days before closing.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.33(2m): Requires association responses within ten days, generally limiting initial disclosure charges to actual costs or $50, whichever is less.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.33(3c)–(6): Provides five-business-day cancellation rights, special missing-document procedures, and deposit refunds for timely rescission, with rights ending at closing.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.205: Permits higher disclosure fees and first-payoff-statement charges through prescribed meeting, resolution, and notice procedures.

Payoff Statements

• Wis. Stat. § 703.335: Requires condominium payoff statements within ten business days, generally providing one free every two months and limiting additional statements to $25.
• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(7): Establishes similar planned-community deadlines and default fees, with a resolution procedure permitting a first-statement charge.

HOA Disputes and Complaints

The appropriate remedy depends on the dispute and association type.

Negotiation and Court Remedies

• Wis. Stat. § 703.245: Generally requires condominium prelitigation notice and association participation in owner-requested negotiation, with requests due within ten business days.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.10(1): Allows qualifying enforcement actions for amounts due, damages, or injunctive relief.
• Wis. Stat. § 703.365(6): Requires arbitration for specified small-condominium disputes when the declaration adopts those provisions.

This process excludes assessment collections and specified other claims, and does not apply where the declaration provides negotiation, mediation, or arbitration procedures.

Relevant Agencies

The Department of Financial Institutions maintains planned-community registration information. Housing discrimination complaints go to the Equal Rights Division (generally within one year) or to HUD under federal procedures.

Other HOA Laws in Wisconsin

Registration and tax obligations also affect association operations.

• Wis. Stat. § 710.18(3): Requires planned-community registration, annual renewals, and updates within 30 days after information changes.
• 26 U.S.C. § 528: Allows qualifying associations to elect special federal income-tax treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wisconsin HOA Laws

Is HOA membership mandatory in Wisconsin?

In general, buying property subject to valid mandatory-association covenants means you must pay dues and assessments. Owners cannot simply opt out while retaining the property.

Can a Wisconsin HOA be dissolved?

Yes, incorporated associations can dissolve under Wis. Stat. § 181.1401 and related provisions. Corporate dissolution alone does not extinguish recorded covenants or common-property obligations.

Can owners terminate a condominium by majority vote?

Ordinarily, no. Wis. Stat. § 703.28 requires all owners’ participation in a recorded removal instrument and lienholder consent or approved lien transfers.