Speaking of damage, there was an apartment I had leased that on move in day there was extensive water damage by a window from an improperly installed window AC unit. The plaster was bubbling and flaking all over and the wood floor was dark black along the ends a buckled up from swelling. This was a one room, small studio; no way to both live there and have it repaired.

The only remedy provided by the lease in that situation was termination. However, the landlord did not offer that up, instead they offered to put me somewhere else temporarily and said they would fix it asap, but after thinking it was acceptable for me to receive the apartment in that condition, I did not trust them to repair it properly as I was concerned about mold triggering health issues.

I ended up meeting with a higher up and who knew the terms of the terms of the lease and the law and had no issue terminating the lease. Good riddance. Of course there is no compensation for the hassle and no support for finding new housing but know this, if an apartment is uninhabitable, you can terminate. It’s Wisconsin tenant law. I hope knowing this helps someone down the road.