Wisconsin Condo Bylaws Rules Under Wis. Stat. 703.10

Wisconsin Statute 703.10 is the condominium bylaws section. At The HOA Guide, we explain state statutory rules in plain language so community leaders and owners understand their governing documents and operational obligations.

The section is part of the Wisconsin Condominium Ownership Act in Chapter 703. This page walks through its six subsections, the court decisions that apply it, and the limits on what bylaws can do.

What Wis. Stat. 703.10 Requires for Association Administration

Wis. Stat. 703.10 requires every Wisconsin condominium to be run under bylaws that owners must follow, lists six things the bylaws must state, lets the bylaws add other rules including use restrictions, and sets a 67 percent vote to amend. Under Wis. Stat. 703.10(1), the administration of every condominium shall be governed by bylaws. The statute also establishes that every unit owner shall comply strictly with the bylaws and with any rules adopted under them. Owners must also follow the covenants, conditions, and restrictions set in the declaration or deed.

When an owner fails to comply, Wis. Stat. 703.10(1) provides clear statutory remedies. Noncompliance is grounds for an action to recover sums due, an action for damages, or an action for injunctive relief. The association can bring these legal actions directly. In a proper case, an aggrieved unit owner can also bring an action. For broader governance standards, see our guide on what to do when an HOA board is not following bylaws.

Wis. Stat. 703.10(2) mandates that the bylaws express at least six specific particulars:

• Form of administration: Whether the association is incorporated or unincorporated, whether and to what extent duties may be delegated to a board of directors or manager, and the powers and manner of selection and removal of those individuals.
• Mailing address: The official mailing address of the condominium association.
• Meeting and voting procedures: The method of calling unit owners to assemble, the attendance needed for a quorum, the method of notifying owners of a proposed meeting, who presides over meetings, who keeps the minute book, and who counts votes.
• Board of directors composition and terms: The election by unit owners of a board of directors of whom not more than one is a nonunit owner, the number of directors, the rule that terms of at least one-third of the directors expire annually, the board powers and duties, any director compensation, director removal procedures, and whether the board may engage a manager or managing agent.
• Assessment collection: The manner of assessing and collecting from unit owners their shares of the common expenses.
• Financial and property powers: The manner of borrowing money and acquiring and conveying property.

The requirement that terms of at least one-third of the directors expire annually creates staggered terms by statute. Communities drafting documents can consult our HOA bylaws template to see how standard associations structure these operational clauses.

Statutory Requirement	Citation	Mandatory or Optional	Operational Purpose
Adoption of governance bylaws	Wis. Stat. 703.10(1)	Mandatory	Requires all Wisconsin condominiums to operate under bylaws
Strict owner compliance	Wis. Stat. 703.10(1)	Mandatory	Creates legal grounds for damages, injunctions, or collection actions
Six operational particulars	Wis. Stat. 703.10(2)(a) to (f)	Mandatory	Establishes the core administrative structure of the community
Staggered board directorships	Wis. Stat. 703.10(2)(d)	Mandatory	Ensures terms of at least one-third of directors expire each year
Nonunit owner board limits	Wis. Stat. 703.10(2)(d)	Mandatory	Limits board composition to not more than one nonunit owner
Assessment collection method	Wis. Stat. 703.10(2)(e)	Mandatory	Defines the procedure for billing and collecting common expenses

Extra Provisions Wisconsin Condo Bylaws May Add

Beyond the mandatory particulars, Wis. Stat. 703.10(3) grants broad authority to include supplemental provisions. Under this subsection, bylaws may contain any other provision regarding the management and operation of the condominium. This includes restrictions on or requirements respecting the use and maintenance of the units and the common elements.

This statutory authority was tested in the Wisconsin Supreme Court case Apple Valley Gardens Ass’n v. MacHutta, 2009 WI 28, 316 Wis. 2d 85, 763 N.W.2d 126. In that case, the court confirmed that a condominium complex may prohibit the rental of units through an amendment to the bylaws. The court ruled that nothing in Wis. Stat. 703.09(1)(g) or elsewhere in Chapter 703 requires all use restrictions to appear in the declaration. Because Wis. Stat. 703.10(3) expressly authorizes additional use restrictions in the bylaws, rental restrictions added by bylaw amendment are valid and enforceable so long as they do not conflict with the declaration or with state or federal law. For more details on leasing rules across associations, see our review of whether an HOA can restrict rentals.

Wis. Stat. 703.10(4) allows associations to adopt a specific voting penalty for delinquent accounts. The bylaws may prohibit a unit owner from voting at an association meeting if two statutory conditions exist:

• The association has recorded a statement of condominium lien on the owner’s unit.
• The amount needed to release the recorded lien has not been paid at the time of the meeting.

If an association has not recorded a statement of condominium lien, or if the debt does not have an active recorded lien against the unit, this statutory voting disqualification cannot be imposed under this subsection. Boards evaluating enforcement options can review our general overview of HOA rules and owner rights.

Amending Wisconsin Condo Bylaws Under Wis. Stat. 703.10(5)

Amending condominium bylaws in Wisconsin requires compliance with the statutory voting threshold established in Wis. Stat. 703.10(5). The statute specifies that bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of unit owners having 67 percent or more of the votes.

The amendment process carries two statutory requirements:

• Mandatory particulars preserved: Each particular listed in Wis. Stat. 703.10(2) must remain expressed in the bylaws as amended. An amendment cannot delete or omit any of the six required structural categories.
• Prompt delivery: After an amendment is approved, the association shall promptly deliver to each unit owner a copy of the approved amendment.

The statutory text of Wis. Stat. 703.10 has undergone revisions across multiple legislative sessions, including 1977 c. 407, 1987 a. 262, 1991 a. 295, 1995 a. 27, 1999 a. 82, and 2021 a. 168.

Statutory Limits on Wisconsin Condo Bylaws

Wisconsin law imposes strict statutory boundaries on what condominium bylaws can regulate or restrict.

First, Wis. Stat. 703.10(2m) prohibits discriminatory provisions. No bylaw, no rule adopted under a bylaw, and no covenant, condition, or restriction in a declaration or deed may be applied to discriminate against an individual in a manner described in Wis. Stat. 106.50.

Second, Wis. Stat. 703.10(6) protects real estate marketability. The statute provides that title to a condominium unit is not rendered unmarketable or otherwise affected by any bylaw provision, or by any failure of the bylaws to comply with Chapter 703.

The scope of Wis. Stat. 703.10(6) was examined in Bankers Trust Co. of California, N.A. v. Bregant, 2003 WI App 86, 261 Wis. 2d 855, 661 N.W.2d 498. In Bankers Trust, a condominium bylaw prohibited the sale of a unit to an owner who would not live there as an occupant. A lender foreclosed on a unit, and the high bidder at the foreclosure sale stated that he did not intend to occupy the home. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that because Wis. Stat. 703.10(6) bars bylaws from affecting the transfer of title, the occupancy bylaw could not be applied to prevent court confirmation of the foreclosure sale to that high bidder.

Third, Wis. Stat. 703.105 establishes explicit protections for flags and political signs:

• United States flag: No bylaw or rule may be adopted, and no declaration or deed provision included, that prohibits a unit owner from respectfully displaying the United States flag.
• Political signs: No bylaw, rule, declaration, or deed provision may prohibit an owner from displaying in the unit a sign that supports or opposes a candidate for public office or a referendum question.
• Aesthetic regulation: Bylaws or rules may regulate the size and location of signs, flags, and flagpoles.

To examine flag and signage disputes in community associations, read our article on whether an HOA can ban flags and political signs.

Statutory Boundary	Governing Section	Statutory Constraint	Legal Impact on Association Authority
Discrimination	Wis. Stat. 703.10(2m)	Cross-references Wis. Stat. 106.50	Bylaws cannot discriminate against protected individuals
Title Marketability	Wis. Stat. 703.10(6)	Title not affected by bylaw flaws	Bylaws cannot block title transfer (Bankers Trust)
US Flag Display	Wis. Stat. 703.105	Respectful display of the flag cannot be prohibited	Association may regulate only size and location
Political Signage	Wis. Stat. 703.105	Signs for or against a candidate or referendum cannot be prohibited	Association may regulate only size and location

Gaps in the Statute and Document Hierarchy

Wis. Stat. 703.10 does not resolve every operational detail for a condominium. The statutory text covered here does not specify a required quorum percentage, an exact number of board directors, monetary fine schedules, or mandatory dispute resolution procedures. Because the statute does not set these figures, the recorded declaration and the association bylaws control those points.

Read your declaration alongside your bylaws. For the other Wisconsin condo statute we cover, see our guide to Wisconsin condo insurance under Wis. Stat. 703.17.

Who This Guidance Does Not Fit

Wis. Stat. 703.10 applies only to condominiums governed by the Wisconsin Condominium Ownership Act under Chapter 703. It does not fit planned communities not under Chapter 703. Communities outside Chapter 703 must examine their specific recorded covenants, accessible via our state HOA laws directory.

A bylaw also has limits where the declaration speaks to the same point. As Apple Valley Gardens put it, use restrictions remain enforceable only as long as they do not conflict with the condominium declaration or with state or federal law.

What Would Change This Guidance

An act of the Wisconsin Legislature amending Chapter 703 would change the statutory baselines described here. The state legislature has amended Wis. Stat. 703.10 several times since 1977, most recently in 2021. A future amendment could change the 67 percent threshold or the board term rule.

Judicial rulings from the Wisconsin Supreme Court or the Wisconsin Court of Appeals interpreting Chapter 703 can also alter how courts apply bylaw restrictions to unit owners. To evaluate your current administrative rules, obtain the recorded declaration and bylaws for your association and compare their terms directly to Wis. Stat. 703.10 to confirm your community complies with Wisconsin condo bylaws requirements.

This is educational information, not legal advice. A board or owner should confirm association documents and compliance issues against Wis. Stat. 703.10 and consult a licensed Wisconsin community-association attorney for guidance on specific legal disputes.