Wisconsin permits no-fault non-renewal of month-to-month and term tenancies with 28 days written notice. Wisconsin Act 76 (2018) bars Madison from requiring just cause, so most non-renewals end the tenancy without stated reason.
Under Wis. Stat. Sec. 704.19, a landlord may end a periodic tenancy in Wisconsin with 28 days written notice and need not give a reason if rent is current. Term leases simply expire without renewal duties. Wisconsin Act 76 (2018) preempts Madison from layering a just-cause regime over that framework, distinguishing the city sharply from Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Chicago peers that adopted local protections elsewhere. Tenants still benefit from anti-retaliation rules and protected-class fair housing protections under MGO Ch. 39. The Tenant Resource Center counsels tenants on whether a non-renewal is genuine or pretext for unlawful retaliation.
A non-renewal that masks retaliation or discrimination can be challenged through the Department of Civil Rights or as a defense in eviction court under Wis. Stat. 704.45.
Madison, WI
Madison enforces tenant protections through the Department of Civil Rights and ATCP 134. Landlords may not retaliate against tenants who report code violatio...
Madison, WI
Madison follows Wisconsin Statute 704 landlord-tenant law. Wisconsin does not require just-cause eviction; landlords may terminate month-to-month tenancies w...
See how Madison's no-fault evictions rules stack up against other locations.
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