Spray-painted house highlights Wisconsin’s affordable housing crisis

JANESVILLE, Wis. - A message spray-painted on a two-story Janesville rental home accuses a tenant of not paying her rent. The vandalism makes a public spectacle of a landlord’s dispute with a renter he’s trying to evict and also shines a light on the need for affordable housing in the city.

The words “Carol Daly owes $6,000 in back rent!” are scrawled in big black letters on the house.

Daly says she won’t pay rent if the house isn’t maintained. Her landlord, Ryan Wehrwein, says he’s made some repairs. He’s trying to evict her.

It’s among 350 eviction cases filed this year in Rock County as COVID-19 relief programs fade away and a local affordable housing shortage is hitting renters hard.