A rental agreement is a legally binding contract that should never be undertaken lightly in Wisconsin. Landlord/tenant laws in the state are very strict and the consequences of breaching your rental contract can be severe.
If you are the landlord of a residential property in Wisconsin, you have certain obligations to the tenants who rent property from you. Before asking them to pay rent, make sure you understand what a month-to-month lease agreement is and what important features you need to include in it.
Month-to-Month Rental Contract
A month-to-month lease agreement in Wisconsin is valid whether both parties enter into a written contract or make a verbal agreement.
Once it becomes effective, a Wisconsin landlord is obliged to make sure the rental unit is fit for habitation while the tenants are required to pay rent and a security deposit.
Minimum Termination Notice Period
A minimum termination notice period is required when either the landlord or the tenant wishes to prematurely exit from the property and end the rental agreement.
In Wisconsin, month-to-month lease agreements require a minimum termination period of twenty-eight (28) days.
If this minimum termination period is to be valid, it has to be in the form of a written notice delivered to the tenants or the landlord.
Notice To Raise the Rent
When tenants rent property, they agree to a specific rental contract detailing the amount of rent they are expected to pay every month.
However, this figure can change at any time if the landlord feels that the month-to-month lease agreement is not in line with the local rental market.
When this happens, the landlord is not required by Wisconsin landlord/tenant laws to give any notice period, however, acting in good faith usually meant they give tenants at least twenty-eight days’ notice period.
Landlord/Tenant Laws on Notice Delivery
If the landlord is the one terminating the month-to-month lease agreement, the delivery of the twenty-eight days’ notice must be done in either of the following ways:
- Delivering the twenty-eight days’ notice in person to a recipient who is more than 14 years old
- Mailing the notice to the tenant's last known address
- Nailing and mailing, meaning leaving one copy on the door and mailing another copy via regular or registered mail
However, if the one giving twenty-eight days’ notice is the tenant, they can deliver it using the following ways:
- The notice can be delivered in person to the landlord or any family member older than 14 years
- Delivering to the landlord's usual place of business and leaving it with a competent person or whoever is in charge
- Mailing the notice via registered or regular mail to the landlord's last known address
Eviction Process
After proper notice has been given regarding the termination of the rental agreement and the month-to-month lease agreement expires, the landlord can initiate eviction proceedings.
The landlord can file an application for eviction with their local county. When dealing with a month-to-month lease agreement, the eviction process can take between two and three months to complete.
Final Thoughts
If you are thinking of renting out a Wisconsin dwelling unit, DoorLoop has all the documents, forms, resources, and templates that you need when signing a month-to-month lease agreement.
These documents can be downloaded for free directly from the website. Another option would be to customize your own templates that will suit your needs perfectly by clicking this link.
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