Breaking a Lease Early in Wisconsin: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you leave early without a legal reason and stop paying, your landlord can ask you for the rent and other losses. Your landlord must make reasonable efforts to rent the home again. What you owe goes down by the rent a new renter pays, minus the cost of renting it again. No claim exists if your landlord agreed in clear words to take the home back and end what you owe.

   Source:

   1. § 704.29(1), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   For example, say you leave with 6 months left at $1,000 a month and stop paying. Your landlord tries and rents the home again after 2 months at $1,000. Your landlord can ask you for about $2,000 for those 2 months, plus listing and ad costs. You would not owe rent for the other 4 months.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.29(1), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

3. 3

   In court, your landlord must say and prove what steps they took to rent the home again. You must prove those steps were not reasonable. You must also prove how much rent reasonable steps could have brought in.

   Source:

   1. § 704.29(2)(a), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
4. 4

   The court will not enforce a home lease that makes all rent due at once if you break it. The court will not enforce a home lease that gives up your landlord's duty to reduce your losses by renting the home again.

   Source:

   1. § 704.44, Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.

When you can leave early

5. 5

   If you move out of an unfit home for a legal reason, you owe no rent for the time after it became unfit. Your landlord must repay rent you paid in advance for that time. It does not apply if you caused the problem by negligence or improper use.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.07(4), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   From Legal Action of Wisconsin (Tenant Sourcebook).
6. 6

   You may move out if your home becomes unfit from fire, water or another accident, or from something bad for your health. The same goes if your landlord badly fails a repair duty in a way that materially (seriously) affects your health or safety. You cannot if your landlord fixes it quickly, unless the repair time would be an undue hardship (too great a burden). You cannot if you caused it by carelessness or misuse.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.07(4), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

How to leave

7. 7

   To send a written notice to your landlord, hand it to your landlord or the person who collects rent or manages the property. Or hand it to the person in charge of your landlord's place of business. Or mail it by registered or certified mail.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.21(2), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
8. 8

   To end a month-to-month rental (one that renews each month), give your landlord written notice. In most cases, give it at least 28 days before the end date. A notice can end the rental only at the end of a rental period. It must say you intend to end the rental and give the date.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.19(3), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

After you move out

9. 9

   Your landlord has 21 days to mail or hand you your deposit, minus allowed amounts, if you move out before your lease ends. The days start on the date your lease ends. If your landlord rents the home to a new renter before then, they start on the date the new renter's rental starts. Your landlord may keep only amounts reasonably necessary for certain things, such as unpaid rent you are legally responsible for.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 704.28(4), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

10. 10

    If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
11. 11

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

12. 12

    You or your child may face an imminent threat (danger about to happen) of serious harm to your body from another person if you stay. If so, you may end your lease. Give your landlord notice. Also give a certified copy (a copy stamped as true) of a paper the law lists. One example is a court order that protects you from stalking. Another is a criminal complaint for domestic abuse against you.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 704.16(1), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.
13. 13

    After a sexual assault, you may end your lease. Give your landlord notice. Also give a certified copy (a copy stamped as true) of a court protection order for you or your child. Or give a certified copy of a criminal complaint (a charge filed by the state) saying the person sexually assaulted you or your child.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 704.16(1m), Wisconsin State Legislature. Law.