Outline of the eviction process in Wisconsin

Wisconsin residential evictions run on Wis. Stat. chapter 704, which controls how a tenancy is terminated, and Wis. Stat. 799.40 to 799.45, which make eviction a small claims action in circuit court regardless of the rent claimed. Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 134 bans self-help and retaliatory evictions. The statutes reviewed contain no just-cause requirement, and state law bars local rent control and local eviction moratoriums (Wis. Stat. 66.1015(1), 66.1010).

The correct termination notice depends on the type of tenancy, not just the problem. Month-to-month and week-to-week tenants, tenants under a lease of one year or less, and tenants under a longer lease each get different notices under Wis. Stat. 704.17, and the no-cause notice under 704.19 is shorter than 28 days when rent is paid more often than monthly.

1. Grounds

An eviction action may be brought by a person entitled to possession (799.40(1)). That means the tenancy was terminated by notice under 704.17 or 704.19, or a lease expired and the tenant is holding over (704.25(1)). No reason is required to end a periodic tenancy, subject to these limits:

• Retaliation. A residential landlord may not bring an action for possession, refuse to renew, raise rent or cut services if the action would not occur but for retaliation against protected tenant activity; nonpayment cases are still allowed (704.45(1), (2)). ATCP 134.09(5) is similar.
• Crime victims. A residential rental agreement is void and unenforceable if it allows termination solely because the tenant or a lawful co-resident was the victim of a crime on the property, or allows termination for a crime when the agreement lacks the domestic abuse notice required by 704.14 (704.44(9), (10)).
• Fixed-term leases. Accepting rent after a residential lease expires, unless you already started removal proceedings, is an election to hold the tenant month to month, or on the weekly or daily basis on which rent is computed if the lease set a weekly or daily rent (704.25(2)(b), (c)). After that you need a 704.19 or 704.17 notice.

2. Notices: match the notice to the tenancy

Month-to-month and week-to-week tenants (704.17(1p)).

• Unpaid rent: for either kind of tenant, a notice to pay rent or vacate within at least 5 days, which ends the tenancy only if the tenant fails to pay. For a month-to-month tenant only, you may instead give, while the tenant is in default, a notice to vacate within at least 14 days with no right to cure (704.17(1p)(a)).
• Waste or other breach: either a notice to remedy the default or vacate within at least 5 days, or a notice to vacate within at least 14 days with no right to cure. This paragraph is written for a month-to-month tenant and does not name week-to-week tenants (704.17(1p)(b)).

Leases of one year or less, and year-to-year tenants (704.17(2)).

• Unpaid rent, first time: only the notice to pay or vacate within at least 5 days (704.17(2)(a)).
• Unpaid rent, repeat: if the tenant got a 5-day notice and paid (or was allowed to stay), and within one year of that default again fails to pay on time, you may give, while the tenant is in default, a 14-day notice to vacate with no right to cure (704.17(2)(a)).
• Other breach: first a notice to remedy or vacate within at least 5 days. A second breach of any non-rent covenant within one year of that notice allows a 14-day notice to vacate (704.17(2)(b)).

Leases of more than one year (704.17(3)). For unpaid rent, waste or any other breach, the notice must give the tenant at least 30 days to pay, repair or comply, and the tenancy ends only if the tenant fails to do so (704.17(3)(a)). Lease terms that depart from 704.17 are invalid except in leases for more than one year (704.17(5)).

Every tenancy type.

• Criminal activity (704.17(3m)). A notice to vacate within at least 5 days, with no right to cure, if the tenant, a household member, or a guest or invitee engages in criminal activity that threatens the health or safety of other tenants, nearby residents or the landlord, or their peaceful enjoyment, or in drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises. No arrest or conviction is needed. The notice must state its basis; describe the activity, its date and the people involved; advise that the tenant may seek help from legal counsel, a volunteer legal clinic or a tenant resource center; and state the right to contest. If contested, you must prove the allegation by the greater preponderance of the credible evidence. It cannot be used against the victim of the crime (704.17(3m)(c)).
• Nuisance. For week-to-week, month-to-month and lease tenants alike: after written notice from law enforcement or the district attorney of a nuisance under 823.113 in the unit, a written 5-day notice to vacate (704.17(1p)(c), (2)(c), (3)(b)).
• No-cause termination of a periodic tenancy (704.19). At least 28 days’ written notice, with one exception that matters here: if rent is payable on a basis less than monthly, notice at least equal to the rent-paying period is sufficient, so weekly rent means at least one full rental week (704.19(3)). Either way the tenancy can end only at the end of a rental period (704.19(2)(b)).
• Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice to vacate; confirm before filing on a shorter notice.

How notices must be served (704.21(1)). The notice must be in writing (704.17(4)) and given by one of these methods: (a) handing a copy to the tenant, or leaving it at the tenant’s home with a competent family member at least 14 years old; (b) leaving a copy with a competent person apparently in charge of or occupying the premises and mailing a copy to the tenant’s last-known address; (c) only if (a) or (b) cannot be done with reasonable diligence, posting a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises and mailing a copy; (d) registered or certified mail to the last-known address; or (e) service like a summons under 801.11. Regular mail alone and posting alone are not listed. A misserved notice that was actually received counts, but you must prove receipt by clear and convincing evidence (704.21(5)). Post office proof of certified mailing is sufficient proof of notice (799.40(1g)).

Counting days (704.19(7)). The day notice is “given” counts as the first day of the notice period. That is the delivery day for method (a); the later of the leaving or posting date and the mailing date for (b) and (c); and for certified or registered mail, the 2nd day after mailing to a Wisconsin address and the 5th day elsewhere. The rule sits in 704.19; count 704.17 notices at least as conservatively.

3. Filing

File in the circuit court, small claims division. Eviction is a small claims action regardless of the amount of rent claimed, and a rent or damages claim may be joined but must be stated separately (799.40(2), 799.41(1)). The court system’s eviction guide uses forms SC-500 (Summons and Complaint) and GF-175 (nonmilitary declaration). Check the clerk’s fee schedule.

Entity landlords. In small claims an appearance by a member of an LLC, an agent or an authorized employee counts as the landlord appearing in person; otherwise use a Wisconsin attorney (799.06(2)). Accepting past-due rent after the notice or after filing does not require dismissal (799.40(1m)).

4. Service and the hearing

The clerk sets the return date. For a Wisconsin resident it must be not less than 5 and not more than 25 days from the issue date, and service must be made at least 5 days before it (799.05(3)(b)). The court’s guide says a sheriff or private process server must attempt personal service on every tenant. If the summons comes back more than 7 days before the return date with proof that the tenant cannot be served personally or by substituted service, you may post the summons and complaint on the premises at least 7 days before the return date and must mail another copy to the tenant’s last-known address at least 5 days before it. If the unserved summons comes back later, the court adjourns the return date at least 7 days for posting and mailing. Proof of compliance must be filed before judgment (799.16(3)).

In counties that have created a circuit court commissioner position, return dates are heard by the commissioner, and judgment may be entered that day if the tenant does not appear. If the parties appear and any party raises valid legal grounds for a contest, the case must be set for a hearing before a judge as soon as possible and not more than 30 days after the return date (799.206). A commissioner’s decision can be taken to a new trial before a judge by a demand filed within 10 days of an oral decision or 15 days of mailing of a written one (799.207).

The court must stay the case, for no more than 10 working days, if the tenant applies for emergency assistance under 49.138, and no such stay may be granted after a writ of restitution has issued (799.40(4)(a)).

5. Judgment, paying to stay, and appeal

If you prove the right to possession, the court must immediately order judgment for restitution and a writ of restitution (799.44(1), (2)). On the tenant’s application and a finding of hardship, the court may stay issuance of the writ for up to 30 days from the order for judgment, conditioned on payment of rent due and for occupancy during the stay (799.44(3)).

Pay and stay. The right to cure lives in the notice stage: paying within a 5-day pay-or-vacate notice, or within the 30 days under a long lease, keeps the tenancy alive. A tenant who holds over owes minimum damages of twice the daily rental value (704.27). The statutes reviewed for this guide give no right to reinstate by paying after judgment.

Appeal. An appeal in an eviction action must be initiated within 15 days of entry of the judgment or order. It does not stay the writ unless the tenant files with the notice of appeal a court-approved undertaking covering appeal costs and rent and damages accruing during the appeal; if the tenant then misses rent, the stay is dismissed and the sheriff must immediately execute the writ (799.445).

6. The writ and the lockout

The clerk issues the writ of restitution (court form SC-512), directed to the sheriff. The sheriff cannot execute a writ received more than 30 days after issuance (799.44(2)). After you pay the sheriff’s fee, the sheriff must execute the writ within 10 days of receiving it (799.45(1), (5)(a)). The court guide says a bond may also be required.

Tenant property. By default the sheriff removes the property, may hire a mover, stores it in the county and mails the tenant notice of its location within 3 days of removal; storage charges are the tenant’s (799.45(3)). Or you may notify the sheriff that you will handle removal and storage or disposal yourself under 704.05(5) (799.45(3m)). Absent a written agreement to the contrary, you may then presume property left behind is abandoned and dispose of it as you see fit (704.05(5)(a)), on these conditions: a landlord who does not intend to store property must say so in writing when the tenant enters into or renews the rental agreement (704.05(5)(bf)); prescription medication and prescription medical equipment must be held for 7 days (704.05(5)(am)); and mobile or manufactured homes and titled vehicles need prior notice (704.05(5)(b)).

Self-help is prohibited. No landlord may exclude, forcibly evict or constructively evict a tenant other than through the chapter 799 procedure (ATCP 134.09(7)). A residential rental agreement that authorizes eviction or exclusion outside the judicial process is void and unenforceable as a whole (704.44(2m)). ATCP 134 is adopted under the authority of Wis. Stat. 100.20, and a person who suffers a monetary loss from a violation of an order issued under that section may sue and recover twice the loss plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee (100.20(5)).

Recent law changes landlords should know

• 2025 Wis. Act 90 (published March 7, 2026) lets a tenant who is a victim of sexual assault terminate the lease and requires the landlord to change the locks on request, on the conditions in 704.16(1m) and (2m). The newest amendment shown in the history notes of 704.17 and 799.40 is still 2017 Wis. Act 317; the online statutes read for this guide were current through 2025 Wis. Act 247.
• Court record removal (2024 WI 24, effective July 1, 2025). Eviction case records are removed from the public online court index (CCAP) after 2 years if no money judgment was entered, and after 10 years if a writ of restitution was granted.
• Effective January 1, 2027, 2025 Wis. Act 105 raises the small claims limit for other civil actions and replevin from $10,000 to $15,000 (799.01(1)(c), (d)). Eviction actions stay in small claims regardless of the rent claimed (799.01(1)(a)).

What actually goes wrong

• A 14-day no-cure notice to a lease tenant on a first default. Under a lease of one year or less, the first notice must be the 5-day pay or cure notice.
• Taping the notice to the door and nothing else. Posting requires reasonable diligence at other methods first, plus mailing.
• A no-cause notice that ends mid-period. Whether 28 days or a shorter rent-paying period, it must end with a rental period.
• A 14-day no-cure notice to a week-to-week tenant. Those options name month-to-month tenants only.
• A thin criminal activity notice missing the date, the people involved, or the required advice.
• Sitting on the writ past 30 days, or changing locks instead.

When to bring in an attorney

A landlord with the right notice, properly served, can often handle an uncontested return date. Use counsel when the tenant raises retaliation or a domestic abuse defense, when you rely on a criminal activity notice, for leases over a year, for subsidized housing, for a trial before a judge, and for any appeal. The Wisconsin attorneys listed below represent landlords.

Sources

• Wis. Stat. 704.05(5), 704.14, 704.17, 704.19, 704.21, 704.25, 704.27, 704.44 and 704.45 (legislature site and 2025 code mirror).
• Wis. Stat. 799.05(3), 799.06(2), 799.16(3), 799.206, 799.207, 799.40, 799.41, 799.44, 799.445 and 799.45.
• Wis. Stat. 66.1010, 66.1015(1), 100.20(5) and 799.01(1); 2025 Wis. Act 105; 2025 Wis. Act 90; Wisconsin Supreme Court order 2024 WI 24.
• Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.01, 134.09(5) and (7).
• Wisconsin Court System, Pre-Judgment: Basic Steps for Handling Small Claims Eviction Actions (SC-6010V, 09/24); forms SC-500, SC-512 and GF-175.

This guide is general information and not legal advice. County practice varies and statutes change; confirm the current text and local rules before relying on any deadline.