Wisconsin

NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet). 

In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.  

You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected]. 

COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.

Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:

A Shawano homeless shelter had to close its residential services early and relocated many clients to hotels.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports evictions in Wisconsin have increased since the CDC eviction moratorium ended, and these numbers may get worse if rental assistance delays continue. Eviction filings have increased by 55% since the moratorium ended. Increasingly long wait times for receiving rental assistance means a tidal wave of evictions could still occur. 

Updated on October 13, 2021

Evictions in Wisconsin dipped due to the federal eviction moratorium, but attorneys with Legal Action of Wisconsin are bracing for a surge of evictions when the moratorium expires. PBS highlights the power imbalance between tenants and landlords, highlighting the need for tenants to have access to legal aid. Milwaukee County is seeking to address this imbalance by establishing a six-month right to counsel pilot program, which is set to launch on September 1. 
Updated on August 30, 2021

Wisconsin Public Radio reports evictions are likely to spike across Wisconsin given the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium. Eviction filings have increased 31% in the last month, and state officials expect that trend to continue.
Updated on August 3, 2021

Homeless service agencies across Wisconsin, particularly in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, report growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness. About 67,000 families in Wisconsin are behind on rent, and almost that many more are concerned they are about to fall behind and face eviction. Milwaukee officials recently announced plans to use $30 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Fund allocation for affordable housing initiatives to address potential displacement of Milwaukee residents due to the economic effects of COVID-19.
Updated on July 26, 2021

Research conducted by Marquette University Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy and Civic Education offers new insight into housing instability and eviction in Milwaukee.
Updated on July 22, 2021

WKOW reports that the federal eviction moratorium has not kept landlords from finding ways to evict Wisconsin renters. Despite the moratorium, Legal Action of Wisconsin says there have been over 7,000 eviction cases filed across the state since September 4, 2020, with 424 of those in Dane County. The Tenant Resource Center (TRC) estimates that Dane County alone is facing an $8.5 million rent debt every month. TRC started accepting applications for a new rental assistance program funded through the federal government.

The pandemic has increased housing instability in the Milwaukee area, and these impacts will continue to exist after the immediate COVID-19 crisis passes. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Pedro Colon suggests that some of the emergency tools enacted to address housing issues during the pandemic be adapted to provide long-term solutions

Updated on March 01, 2021

Despite the federal eviction moratorium, Wisconsin renters are falling through the cracks of the protections and being forced from their homes during the pandemic.

Updated on February 17, 2021

Milwaukee-area shelters and food pantries experienced a significant demand for need in 2020. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explores how these organizations have stepped up to meet the growing need for aid.

Updated on February 08, 2021

As temperatures in Wisconsin drop, state officials and homeless advocates are preparing for increased demands on shelters this winter. Between the pandemic, the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium, and dropping temperatures, shelters are anticipating a difficult winter.

Updated on December 9, 2020

While the Milwaukee County Eviction Prevention Program has helped prevent 1,730 potential evictions so far, the program is running out of funds. Additional federal funding is needed to maintain critical assistance programs.

The number of Jefferson County residents experiencing poverty is growing during the pandemic with more individuals qualifying as homeless or housing insecure. 

Updated on November 30, 2020

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lists agencies offering eviction prevention assistance, including rental assistance and legal aid.

Updated on October 26, 2020

The Leader Telegraph reports a dramatic increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness living outdoors from one year ago.

Updated on October 19, 2020

Community Advocates, a nonprofit helping to administer Milwaukee County’s rental assistance program, has received more than 3,800 applications. Tens of thousands more applications have been sent to a separate agency administering the state’s rent relief program in Milwaukee.

An op-ed in the Waunakee Tribune written by Michael Basford, director for the Wisconsin Interagency Council on Homelessness, outlines the need for an “all hands on deck” approach to ending homelessness in the state.

Updated on October 14, 2020

The Cap Times proposes that growing homeless encampments in Madison signal a worsening housing and homelessness crisis ahead. Advocates are concerned about the upcoming winter, citing concerns that the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium will place even greater strain on the shelter system.

Updated on October 5, 2020

A Milwaukee family of four with a baby on the way was evicted from their home, despite the national eviction moratorium. The family did not know about the CDC moratorium, which requires tenants to sign and submit a declaration to their landlords.

Updated on September 29, 2020

Milwaukee homeless shelters are facing significant challenges from the coronavirus, including ensuring people are social distancing and having to reduce their capacity. Now, shelters are seeing an increase in individuals living outside. 

Four tribes in Wisconsin are receiving approximately $4.1 million from HUD to support projects, such as the construction of new housing to address homelessness or overcrowding and transitional housing for those under quarantine. The Ho-Chunk Nation said the $1.5 million it received will go toward rent, mortgage, and utility assistance programs. 

Updated on September 15, 2020

Since June 1, Community Advocates, a Milwaukee-based organization that serves low-income families and individuals, has received tens of thousands of inquiries and has received more than 4,000 applications for rent assistance. “This new eviction moratorium is a helpful step for tenants facing evictions, but it’s an incomplete policy approach,” says Mike Bare of the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute. 

Updated on September 10, 2020.

COVID-19 is escalating Milwaukee’s housing crisis and exacerbating racial disparities in housing. “Pre-COVID, there was definitely a racial pattern of filings, and that is definitely what we’re seeing now,” said Matt Mleczko, a research assistance with Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. “Though this is a bad situation for renters in general, this is something that yet again is exposing and exacerbating long-running inequalities in cities like Milwaukee.”

Updated on September 2, 2020.

Wisconsin organizations are bracing for a rise in evictions and homelessness in the coming months. According to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness, eviction filings were above average in Milwaukee County since Governor Tony Evers allowed the statewide eviction moratorium to expire on May 26.

Updated on August 25, 2020.

With rental assistance money going fast, courtrooms reopening and moratoriums lifting, Wisconsin tenant advocates and local and state officials fear a coming surge of evictions as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the economy.

An article in the Milwaukee Independent examines how the U.S. court system, which heavily favors landlords and offers few tenant protections, will exacerbate the COVID-19 housing crisis.

Updated on August 19, 2020.

An op-ed in the Isthmus discusses the triple threat of COVID-19, eviction, and climate change. The authors argue that we must develop unique interventions to protect people experiencing homelessness and those living in substandard housing as hot summer temperatures occur across the country amid the pandemic.

Updated on August 13, 2020.

Governor Tony Evers allocated $25 million to rental assistance, but it is insufficient to meet the urgent housing needs of Wisconsin renters. “I think we’ll run out of money way before we put a dent into that list [of applications],” said George Hinton, the executive director of the Social Development Commission in Milwaukee.

Updated on July 28, 2020.

Racine launched the Racine Emergency Eviction Prevention Program to help low-income residents avoid eviction and prevent homelessness. The Racine Common Council approved $396,712 from its Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG-CV) to fund the program, which is expected to help approximately 300 households.

Updated on July 20, 2020.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Milwaukee County landlords filed nearly 1,500 eviction actions in June, which is a 26% increase over last year. The increase in evictions would likely be higher without the rental assistance programs that Wisconsin and Milwaukee County launched in June, but these programs are unable to meet the significant need for rental assistance.

Updated on July 7, 2020.

Two weeks after Wisconsin’s eviction moratorium expired, eviction filings across the state have jumped 42% over 2019 levels. Housing advocates and officials fear that these numbers could grow, especially after the federal eviction moratorium expires July 25.

Updated on June 22, 2020.

Nearly 50 eviction filings were filed in Wisconsin courts on May 26, even though the statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium was still in effect until the end of the day. Governor Tony Evers announced the creation of the Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program, a $25 million program funded through the CARES Act.

Updated on June 12, 2020.

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness is urging the state to address the surge of homelessness that is expected to occur when the eviction moratorium is lifted. The coalition offered a three-pronged strategy that includes new funding, housing, and jobs.

Governor Tony Evers announced the launch of a $25 million Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program that will be funded through federal CARES Act funding. The Department of Administration will administer the program. If approved, applicants would receive rental assistance up to $3,000 in a combination of rental payments, security deposits, and wraparound services. Learn more here.

Shelter providers in Wisconsin are collaborating with local governments to temporarily move into larger facilities to accommodate social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Ice rinks, recreation centers, and hotels have been transformed into temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness.

Dane County

Dane County announced plans to allocate $10 million in federal disaster relief to reduce evictions and increase access to housing. The county is partnering with the Tenant Resource Center to administer the $10 million eviction-prevention fund using CARES Act funding.

La Crosse

Local groups in La Crosse are developing new partnerships to address the housing and health needs of people experiencing homelessness amid the pandemic. While many of the agencies are used to working together to address housing issues in the community, responding to COVID-19 is requiring additional collaboration.

Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.

Milwaukee landlords filed for 1,447 evictions in June, 17% higher than pre-pandemic June averages, data from Princeton University’s Eviction Lab show. The city’s 1,347 eviction filings in July were 9% above averages from 2012 to 2016. More than two-thirds of those filings hit Black-majority neighborhoods, according to Eviction Lab data, although Black residents make up just 39% of the population. The disparity highlights Milwaukee’s status as the nation’s most segregated metropolitan area, home to stark racial inequality created and maintained by decades of neglect from business and political leaders, according to research.

Updated: August 28

Evictions in Milwaukee were down in the final months of 2019 before the pandemic. The last number recorded for 2019 was 873 evictions per month filed, but with current trends, that number is estimated to surpass more than 1,450 for some months in 2020.

Updated: August 12

Governor’s order prohibiting eviction actions based on failure to pay rent and prohibiting execution of eviction orders expired May 26.  Eviction hearings are being conducted remotely. 

Updated: July 31

In the third week of July, 12.3% of adults in Wisconsin reported they had missed their previous housing payment or had little confidence they would make their next one on time, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 98,494renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment.

Updated: July 29

Eviction filings are up 40% in Wisconsin compared to last year. Applications outpace available assistance.

Updated: July 16