What a Landlord Cannot Do in Wyoming
The main limits Wyoming law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Wyoming landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | No statute — Wyoming has no law that expressly bans landlord lockouts or utility shutoffs. The statutes provide a court process instead: a landlord who wants a tenant out files a forcible entry and detainer (FED) case, and after judgment an officer executes the writ of restitution; only then may the sheriff remove the renter's belongings and prevent reentry. No statute expressly banning landlord lockouts or utility shutoffs was found; a tenant locked out without a court order may have claims under the lease or general law and should seek legal help. Removal after an FED judgment is done by an officer executing a writ of restitution (W.S. 1-21-1013) or by the sheriff (W.S. 1-21-1211(a)). The 2025 unauthorized-occupant law (W.S. 1-21-1401 et seq.) does not apply to current or former tenants. |
|---|---|
| Landlord entry notice | No statute No advance-notice requirement for entry. Source: W.S. 1-21-1205(a)(iii) |
| Landlord retaliation | No statute — Wyoming has no general law barring landlord retaliation (for example, for complaining about repairs or contacting an inspector). The only related rule: a landlord may not end a tenancy based solely on a tenant's or household member's status as a victim of domestic abuse or sexual violence. Federal fair housing law separately bars retaliation for asserting fair housing rights (42 U.S.C. 3617). Lease terms and general contract law govern otherwise. |
| Security deposit limit | No statutory cap on the amount of a deposit. Art. 12 regulates deposit refunds but sets no maximum. The lease must say whether any part of the deposit is nonrefundable, and the renter must get written notice of this when the deposit is taken (W.S. 1-21-1207). Source: W.S. 1-21-1207, 1-21-1208 |
| Penalty for withholding | If the owner unreasonably fails to comply, the renter may recover the full deposit plus court costs. If the owner wins and the court finds the renter's suit unreasonable, the owner may be awarded court costs. No multiple-damages penalty. Source: W.S. 1-21-1208(c) |
| Late fees | No statutory cap Unpaid damages beyond the deposit carry 10% annual interest (W.S. 1-21-1211(b)). That provision covers damages, not late fees. |
| Rent control / increase limits | No state rent control law. No enacted statewide preemption statute was located. A 2024 interim-committee draft (25LSO-0010) proposed state preemption of local residential rental regulation; enactment was not found. |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No statewide source-of-income or voucher protection found. |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute. Voyeurism — clandestinely viewing without consent into an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy (including restrooms, baths, showers, dressing rooms and bedrooms) — is a misdemeanor (up to 6 months and $750); capturing images with a camera or other recording device in such circumstances is a felony (up to 5 years and $5,000). Wyoming is a one-party consent state for audio interception. Interception statute: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title07.pdf. The act does not set a landlord entry-notice period; the renter may not unreasonably deny access for repairs, inspection or showing (W.S. 1-21-1205(a)(iii)). Source: W.S. 6-4-304; 7-3-702 |
| Other rental fees | No general junk-fee statute. The only fee-related rule: the rental agreement must state whether any part of a deposit is nonrefundable, and the renter must get written notice of that when the deposit is taken. Source: Wyo. Stat. 1-21-1207 |
Can I sue my landlord in Wyoming? · All Wyoming tenant rights
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.