Good Neighbor Program

Join the Good Neighbor Program as a participating landlord/ management company by completing this form.

About the Good Neighbor Program
The Good Neighbor Program between the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Neighborhood Housing Office and local property owners and managers establishes a clear standard for property owners and managers renting to UWM students in the near-UWM neighborhood. Its purpose is to proactively promote positive off-campus living experiences for students who rent in the neighborhoods near UWM by designating rental companies, landlords, and rental units as “Good Neighbors” for meeting criteria set by the Neighborhood Housing Office.

The Neighborhood Housing & Relations Manager decides designees by applying a list of criteria to rental company applicants that go above and beyond what the state and city require from housing. Properties and rental companies must meet all the set standards to earn this designation. This designation lasts 2 years and rental companies must reapply, meeting all criteria, to maintain the designation.

Rental companies participating in this program benefit by earning a badge designation to be displayed on rental units listed on Rent College Pads, the listing service website used by UWM students to find off-campus housing. Students are able to sort by rental companies meeting this criterion on the listing service. Additionally, the Neighborhood Housing Office maintains a list of rental companies and landlords on the Good Neighbor webpage of their website.

Benefits for Partcipating Rental Companies

Marketing and Exposure:

By participating in either of these programs you will receive a badge that will appear on all your listings on the listing service: rentoffcampus.uwm.edu

Additionally, all participating rental companies and landlords will be listed on program webpages for students to view independently of the listing service: https://uwm.edu/off-campus-resources/preferred-tenant-program/ and https://uwm.edu/off-campus-resources/good-neighbor/

Responsible and Educated Tenants:

Students that participate in the Preferred Tenant Program are required to complete a rental education course outlining their rights and responsibilities as tenants. Students seeking a Good Neighbor landlord are seeking a positive relationship and a trustworthy landlord.

Program Requirments

Opt In to the Programs!

Both Programs:

  • Participation agreement must be renewed every 2 years.
  • Completion of this form including the submission of address spreadsheet template.
  • Cannot have any serious complaints or open violations on record for any properties owned within the last 5 years with:
    • the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services Database, or
    • Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (CCAP)
  • Rental companies must not have more than three or more unresolved tenant complaints filed with the UWM University Legal Clinic (“ULC”) or NHO within the previous twelve months period. A complaint shall be deemed unresolved if: (1) it results in a court order granting a remedy to a tenant; or (2) the Property Manager, Owner, or Landlord has not made a good faith effort to respond to and or settle the complaint with the ULC or tenant within thirty (30) days of its filing with ULC.

Preferred Tenant Program: 

Landlords and property managers must agree to offer tenants 2% off their monthly rent and/or $250 off their security deposit and utilize the Lease Addendum provided to students by the Neighborhood Housing Office who have completed the course to get the agreement in writing for both the benefit of the landlord and the tenant. See example addendum here.

Good Neighbor Program:

Landlords and property managers must have a City of Milwaukee landlord training program (or equivalent program approved by the Neighborhood Housing Office) certificate on file with the Neighborhood Housing Office completed within the past 10 years.

Good Neighbor Program Terms and Conditions
  1. NHO reserves the right to refuse Good Neighbor designation when the NHO becomes aware tenant-initiated complaints resulting in the issuance of inspection orders by DNS were issued alleging the existence of municipal code violations on any of the properties owned by or managed by that Property Manager, Owner, or Landlord within the previous twelve months.
  2. NHO reserves the right to refuse Good Neighbor designation based on non-compliance with any applicable City of Milwaukee or State of Wisconsin building codes.
  3. NHO reserves the right to refuse Good Neighbor designation based on misrepresentation(s) by the Property Manager, Owner, or Landlord in the application to earn a Good Neighbor Designation.
  4. NHO reserves the right to refuse Good Neighbor designation based on the refusal of any landlord to pursue vigorous discussions with a tenant(s) who is the subject of any municipal citation with respect to alleged misconduct on the property of the landlord in an effort to assist in seek behavior modification on the part of the offending tenant(s).
  5. NHO reserves the right to refuse Good Neighbor designation based upon the information received from the Milwaukee Police Department and/or the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Police Department that tenants of the Landlord, Property Manager, or Owner have received three (3) or more municipal citations (i.e. including but not limited to noise nuisance, illegal tavern, etc.) from the political subdivision where the property is located.
  6. Rental company representatives and units are subject to random background and property checks throughout the duration of the program designation and can be removed from the program at the discretion of the Neighborhood Housing & Relations Manager at any time.
  7. Rental companies may be suspended for up to 2 years for any violation of these terms and must pass all criteria to regain designation at the time of application.
  8. Every Property Manager, Owner and Landlord agrees to comply with the Neighborhood Housing Office Listing Service Agreement which is based on the expectation that such property owners/operators have a responsibility to the surrounding community to provide quality housing for all community members and are expected to hold their tenants to a standard of civic responsibility.
Disclaimer
The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and its Neighborhood Housing Office:

  • Does not inspect or offer any guarantee for the condition or quality of the rental units listed.
  • Does not endorse any of the listed properties.
  • Does not assume responsibility for, nor do we endorse or control links that result from any housing referral.
  • Does not assume responsibility for arrangement of rental contracts between individual tenants and landlords.

Good Neighbor Rental Companies

Rental Company/ Landlord NameGood Neighbor ParticipantPreferred Tenant Program ParticipantPreferred Tenant DiscountInternational Student Friendly Landlord
The Park at 1824YesYes2% Off Monthly RentYes
David GottfriedYesNoN/AN/A
Ben HeinenYesYes$250 off security depositN/A
Lawerence and Rita BurnsYesYes $250 off security depositN/A
Andres Real EstateYesYes$250 off security deposit N/A
Northland ApartmentsNo Yes$250 off security depositN/A
Laurie PevnickYesYes$250 off security deposit Yes
Green Door Realty & Property Management LLCYesYes$250 off security deposit Yes