01/09/2026
City of Sun Prairie Tenant Retaliation Complaint Procedures
The City of Sun Prairie’s online webform for submitting tenant retaliation complaints is live!
The city is partnering with the UW Law School to process cases. Please share this resource with someone if you think this might be of help. The City will be providing more information through their website and social media.
Information about retaliation and Sun Prairie’s ordinance:
Tenant Protection Against Retaliation
As a tenant in Sun Prairie, you have the right to contact the City of Sun Prairie and request that your housing provider address maintenance or safety concerns. Under Sun Prairie Municipal Code Section 9.18, housing providers are prohibited from retaliating against tenants for exercising these rights. While the law cannot prevent retaliation before it happens, once a retaliatory act has occurred, it may be considered a violation of city law.
What Is Retaliation?
Retaliation occurs when a housing provider takes negative action against a tenant in response to the tenant exercising a legal right such as filing a complaint or requesting repairs. Examples of Retaliation:
• Refusing to renew your lease
• Filing for eviction
• Using harassment or intimidation (verbal or physical)
• Increasing rent or refusing rent payments without justification
• Reducing or eliminating services (e.g., laundry access, parking)
• Failing to complete agreed-upon repairs
• Shutting off or reducing essential utilities like water, electricity, or heat (always illegal)
• Imposing new or increased fee
• Taking any other action that could be reasonably seen as punishing a tenant for making a compliant
How to Submit a complaint:
The retaliation complaint form is in the same area as the “Report a Concern” webform in OpenGov.
OpenGov: https://sunprairiewi.portal.opengov.com/
Direct link to retaliation complaint form: https://sunprairiewi.portal.opengov.com/categories/1080/record-types/6625
If you need help or are helping someone fill out this form, please note the following:
1. In order to be eligible to file a retaliation complaint, the person must have already submitted a building code complaint to the city via Report a Concern:
https://sunprairiewi.portal.opengov.com/categories/1080/record-types/6628
If a building code violation has not been submitted to the city within the past six months, the retaliation complaint will not be accepted by the city.
2. For OpenGov you do need to signup for a free account. If people are hesitant to do that, you can fill out the form on their behalf OR you can contact Sun Prairie Building Inspection (608-825-1184 or [email protected]).