Milwaukee County’s Board of Supervisors is partnering with a local startup dedicated to providing renters with “equitable housing solutions.”
Milwaukee-based CityWise would work with the county to create an online marketplace for affordable housing designed to increase “equity, transparency and accessibility” for renters, according to a Friday announcement.
A resolution introducing the partnership was brought forward to the board of supervisors on Friday.
The initiative follows a Wall Street Journal story that highlighted Milwaukee as one of the tightest rental markets in the country.
“We need all the innovative solutions we can get when it comes to housing in Milwaukee, and this marketplace is going to be an amazing resource for tenants in need of affordable housing, anyone searching for subsidized housing, and even the unhoused looking for resources,” said Milwaukee County Supervisor Jack Eckblad, who is helping develop the platform with CityWise. “I want to give a ton of credit to the team at the county for rolling up their sleeves and launching this partnership in record time while still prioritizing due diligence.”
Milwaukee County’s Housing Division, County Executive David Crowley and supervisor Marcelia Nicholson are also helping develop the housing platform.
The online marketplace will list all properties with known municipal code violations and include resources for unhoused residents. Any landlords with litigation pending in Milwaukee County or a pattern of evictions will not be allowed to list units.
Landlords with subsidized housing or fewer than 20 units to list will be able to use the platform for free.
