Choosing the right Wisconsin notice
Wisconsin ties the notice to the type of tenancy, so check the lease before you pick a form. Our Wisconsin landlord-tenant law guide explains the rent notices by lease type; the short version for an apartment building is below, all from Wis. Stat. 704.17. For every rent notice, “rent” includes past-due rent and late fees on it, 704.17(1g).
- Month-to-month: 5-day notice to pay or vacate, or a 14-day notice to vacate with no right to cure while rent is in default, 704.17(1p)(a).
- Lease of one year or less: 5-day pay-or-vacate notice for a first default; 14-day notice to vacate if rent is late again within a year of an earlier noticed default, 704.17(2)(a).
- Lease of more than one year: 30-day notice to pay or comply, 704.17(3).
- Lease violation, lease of one year or less: 5-day notice to remedy or vacate; 14-day notice to vacate for another breach within a year, 704.17(2)(b).
- Criminal activity that threatens other tenants, neighbors or staff, or drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises: 5-day notice to vacate with no cure, which must describe the activity, its date and who was involved, 704.17(3m).
Serving the notice so it holds up
Wis. Stat. 704.21(1) lists the ways a landlord can give notice: hand it to the tenant; leave it at the tenant’s home with a competent family member at least 14 years old who is told what it is; leave it with a competent person in charge of or occupying the premises and mail a copy; post it on the unit and mail a copy if the first two can’t be done with reasonable diligence; send it by registered or certified mail; or serve it like a summons.
Certified mail has a practical edge. Under Wis. Stat. 799.40(1g), proof of certified mailing from the post office is enough to establish proper notice in the eviction case, and the court may not ask for an affidavit of service on top of it. Keep the receipt with the copy you sent.
Taking rent after the notice
Wisconsin is friendlier than most states on partial payments. Under Wis. Stat. 799.40(1m), an eviction may not be dismissed because you accepted past-due rent or other payments after serving notice or after filing. And 799.40(1s) bars a defense that you waived a breach by accepting rent or by past custom. Telling the tenant in writing that you still intend to evict heads off arguments, though the statute already protects the case.
Filing the eviction in small claims court
Evictions must use the small claims procedure in Chapter 799, regardless of the rent claimed, under Wis. Stat. 799.01(1)(a). File a summons and a written complaint in the circuit court for the county where the building sits. The complaint identifies the parties and the property, states the facts that authorize removal, and can join a claim for rent and damages, 799.40(2) and 799.41.
The return date is the key deadline. In eviction actions, Wis. Stat. 799.05(3)(b) requires a return date at least 5 and no more than 25 days from the date the summons is issued, and the tenant must be served at least 5 days before it. The complaint is served with the summons, 799.42.
The return date, judgment and stays
The tenant may answer orally or in writing, 799.43, so many tenants simply show up on the return date. If the court finds you are entitled to possession, it must immediately enter an order for judgment of restitution and order the writ issued, 799.44(1)-(2).
Two stays can slow you down. If the tenant applies for emergency assistance under Wis. Stat. 49.138 before the writ issues, the court must stay the case until eligibility is decided and any assistance is paid, for no more than 10 working days, 799.40(4)(a). And at judgment, a tenant who shows hardship can get the writ delayed up to 30 days from the order, but only on condition of paying all rent due at judgment plus the value of occupancy during the stay, 799.44(3). Miss a payment and you file an affidavit to get the writ issued at once.
Appeals and the undertaking
An eviction appeal must be started within 15 days of entry of the judgment or order, Wis. Stat. 799.445. An appeal alone doesn’t stop the eviction. The tenant must also file an undertaking, with surety approved by the judge, promising to pay appeal costs, obey the appellate court and pay all rent and damages that accrue during the appeal. If the tenant then misses rent, the stay is dismissed and the sheriff executes the writ immediately.
The writ of restitution and the sheriff
Timing on the writ is strict. No writ may be executed if the sheriff receives it more than 30 days after it was issued, Wis. Stat. 799.44(2), so deliver it promptly. Once the sheriff has the writ and the statutory fee, the sheriff must execute it, and must do so within 10 days of receiving it, 799.45(1) and (5). The sheriff can require a deposit to cover moving and storing the tenant’s things.
You choose who handles the belongings. Under 799.45(3m), you can tell the sheriff that you or your agent will remove and store or dispose of the property under Wis. Stat. 704.05(5); otherwise the sheriff hires a mover, takes property of value to safekeeping and mails the tenant notice of where it is within three days, 799.45(3).
Lockouts and retaliation
Self-help eviction is prohibited. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(7) bars any landlord from excluding, forcibly evicting or constructively evicting a tenant other than through the Chapter 799 eviction procedure.
Wisconsin also bars retaliatory evictions under Wis. Stat. 704.45. You may not bring or threaten an action for possession if, by a preponderance of the evidence, it would not happen but for the tenant’s good-faith complaint to an official or code agency, a complaint to you about repairs or a code violation, or the exercise of a legal tenancy right. The protection doesn’t block a case for unpaid rent, other than a retaliatory rent increase.
Federal rules for covered buildings
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, the CARES Act may require a 30-day notice to vacate under 15 U.S.C. 9058(c). The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. Against a 5-day state notice, the difference is large, so giving 30 days at a covered building is the safer path.
Before a default judgment on the return date, file the military status affidavit the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires, 50 U.S.C. 3931.
Wisconsin eviction timeline at a glance
The deadlines below are for a nonpayment case under a lease of one year or less.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Serve 5-day pay-or-vacate notice | At least 5 days to pay | Wis. Stat. 704.17(2)(a) |
| File summons and complaint | After the notice date passes | Wis. Stat. 799.41 |
| Return date | 5 to 25 days from issue | Wis. Stat. 799.05(3)(b) |
| Serve the tenant | At least 5 days before the return date | Wis. Stat. 799.05(3)(b) |
| Emergency assistance stay | Up to 10 working days | Wis. Stat. 799.40(4)(a) |
| Hardship stay of the writ | Up to 30 days from judgment | Wis. Stat. 799.44(3) |
| Appeal | Within 15 days of judgment | Wis. Stat. 799.445 |
| Deliver writ to sheriff | Within 30 days of issuance | Wis. Stat. 799.44(2) |
| Sheriff executes writ | Within 10 days of receipt | Wis. Stat. 799.45(5) |
Worked example: a $1,150 unit in Milwaukee
Assume a 16-unit building in Milwaukee where a tenant on a 12-month lease pays $1,150 a month and misses rent on the 1st. You serve the 5-day notice on the 2nd. Assume a $600 attorney fee for an uncontested small claims case; your counsel’s quote may differ.
The notice runs out on day 5, and you file on day 6, the 8th. The clerk sets the earliest return date allowed, 5 days from issue, and the tenant is served that day, so the return date is the 13th. The court orders judgment and the writ, and you deliver it to the sheriff at once. Statute gives no waiting period before the sheriff acts, only a 10-day deadline, so assume the sheriff uses the full 10 days and executes on the 23rd. That’s 22 days of unpaid occupancy from the 1st.
A day of rent is about $37.81, so 22 days is $832 in lost rent, and the total with the assumed fee is $1,432. A hardship stay could add up to 30 days, though the tenant must pay for that time to keep it.
Alternatives, and selling an occupied building
Since accepting rent won’t sink your case, a short written payment plan after the notice carries less risk in Wisconsin than in many states. A cash for keys agreement with a firm move-out date is another way to avoid a sheriff’s deposit and a 10-day wait.
You can sell with an eviction pending. The buyer takes the building subject to the leases and can continue the case as the party entitled to possession, so hand over the notice, the certified mail receipt, the ledger, the pleadings and any writ. Tenant estoppel certificates confirm rent, deposits and defaults for the other units.
Selling your Wisconsin apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across Wisconsin, including occupied buildings with nonpaying tenants and cases already filed. We buy the building with its rent roll as it stands, so you don’t have to finish an eviction first.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
