The WRA supports clarifying in Wisconsin’s law that it is not a violation of privacy for a seller to have audio or video recording equipment in the property during an open house or individual showing.

Background: Wisconsin law does not prohibit sellers from monitoring their home during open houses or individual showings and does not require sellers to disclose the surveillance in the property.

What’s in play: During the 2019-20 legislative session, the WRA is seeking to clarify in Wisconsin law that surveillance of open houses and showings is not an invasion of privacy. Objectives of the recommended changes to Wisconsin law include:

• Surveillance during an open house or showing is not an invasion of the prospective buyer’s or the buyer’s agent’s privacy.
• Sellers should not be required to post or disclose that they have surveillance equipment in their property.
• The seller’s agent should not be required to ask the seller about surveillance, and the seller should not be required to disclose the existence of any surveillance equipment in the property.
• Broadly define “property” and “owner” to include all types of properties, not limiting the law to residential.

Bill status: This proposal is currently in drafting and will be ready for introduction in the state legislature soon.

See the full article about this issue, “I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me,” in the April 2019 issue of Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine at www.wra.org/WREM/Apr19/Surveillance.