How much can a Wisconsin landlord charge for a security deposit?

There is no cap. Wisconsin sets no maximum security deposit. What it does instead is define the term very widely: Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.02(11) provides that a security deposit is the total of all payments and deposits given as security and includes all rent payments in excess of one month's prepaid rent. Last month's rent collected at signing is therefore a security deposit, and so are pet, key and cleaning deposits however labelled. Wisconsin requires no separate account and no interest.

How long does a Wisconsin landlord have to return a security deposit?

Twenty-one days, and the clock has exactly three possible triggers under Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(2) and Wis. Stat. 704.28(4). If the tenant vacates on the termination date, it runs from that date. If the tenant vacates or is evicted before the termination date, it runs from the termination date or, if the landlord re-rents sooner, from the day the new tenancy begins. If the tenant vacates or is evicted after the termination date, it runs from the day the landlord learns of it. A landlord's inspection schedule is not a trigger and does not postpone the clock.

What can a Wisconsin landlord deduct from a security deposit?

Only five things, plus a sixth that requires a separate document. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(3)(a) permits tenant damage, waste or neglect; unpaid rent subject to the mitigation duty in Wis. Stat. 704.29; utility service the landlord supplied but did not include in rent; direct service from a government-owned utility the landlord becomes liable for; and unpaid monthly municipal permit fees under Wis. Stat. 66.0435(3). Anything else needs a NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS document. Normal wear and tear, routine painting and routine carpet cleaning may never be withheld.

What does a Wisconsin landlord pay for missing the deposit deadline?

Twice the loss, plus costs, plus the tenant's attorney fee. Chapter ATCP 134 is an order issued under Wis. Stat. 100.20, so a breach is an unfair trade practice, and Wis. Stat. 100.20(5) provides that a person suffering pecuniary loss shall recover twice the amount of that loss together with costs including a reasonable attorney fee. Boelter v. Tschantz, 2010 WI App 18, holds the fee award mandatory on a successful claim. State v. Lasecki, 2020 WI App 36, confirms that failing to give the ATCP 134.06(4) statement can also be prosecuted criminally under Wis. Stat. 100.26(3).

How much notice must a Wisconsin landlord give before entering?

At least twelve hours, and the rule is in the administrative code, not the statutes. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2 provides that a landlord may enter only upon advance notice and at reasonable times, and that advance notice means at least 12 hours advance notice unless the tenant, on being notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter period. Wis. Stat. 704.05(2) contains no hour figure at all. Entry is limited to inspecting, making repairs and showing the unit, only for the time reasonably required, and the landlord must announce their presence and identify themselves on request.

Can a Wisconsin tenant withhold rent or repair and deduct?

Neither. Wisconsin has no repair-and-deduct statute and no rent-escrow procedure. Wis. Stat. 704.07(4) says that where the premises become untenantable the tenant may move out unless the landlord proceeds promptly, and that if the tenant remains in possession rent abates to the extent the tenant is deprived of the full normal use. The same subsection then says in terms that it does not authorise rent to be withheld in full if the tenant remains in possession. A guide offering a Wisconsin repair-and-deduct right, with or without a one-month limit, is describing another state.

What is the NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS document in Wisconsin?

It is a separate written document, carrying exactly that title, that a Wisconsin landlord must specifically identify and discuss with the tenant before the tenant enters into the rental agreement. Three rules use it: Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(3)(b) and Wis. Stat. 704.28(2) for any deposit deduction outside the closed statutory list; ATCP 134.09(2)(c) for entry beyond the standard grounds; and ATCP 134.09(4)(b) for any landlord lien on tenant property. If the tenant signs or initials beside a provision it is rebuttably presumed the landlord identified it and the tenant agreed. A term buried in the body of the lease instead does not take effect.

What disclosures does a Wisconsin lease require?

Seven state duties and one federal one, and most must be given before the agreement is entered into and before any earnest money or deposit is taken. They are the two identifications under ATCP 134.04(1); known uncorrected code violations under ATCP 134.04(2)(a) and Wis. Stat. 704.07(2)(bm); six habitability conditions under ATCP 134.04(2)(b); utility charges and, where units are not separately metered, the allocation basis under ATCP 134.04(3); the check-in sheet under Wis. Stat. 704.08 together with the written inspection notice under ATCP 134.06(1); the prescribed domestic abuse notice under Wis. Stat. 704.14; and the no-storage notice under Wis. Stat. 704.05(5)(bf). Federal lead paint applies to pre-1978 housing.

What is the check-in sheet, and is it the same as the inspection notice?

They are two different documents in two different books, and giving one does not satisfy the other. Wis. Stat. 704.08 requires the landlord to give a new residential tenant a check-in sheet when occupancy commences, which the tenant has seven days to complete and return, and which is not required on renewal. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(1) separately requires the landlord, before accepting a security deposit, to notify the tenant in writing that by a deadline not less than seven days after the start of tenancy the tenant may inspect and report preexisting damage and may request a list of damages charged to the previous tenant's deposit.

Does Wisconsin cap late fees?

No, but three conditions apply. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(8) provides that no late rent fee or penalty may be charged except as specifically provided under the rental agreement; that before charging one the landlord must apply all rent prepayments received from that tenant to offset the rent owed; and that no fee or penalty may be charged for nonpayment of a late fee. There is no dollar cap, no percentage cap and no statutory grace period. The twenty dollar or twenty per cent figure that circulates as a Wisconsin late-fee rule is from Wis. Stat. 704.90, the self-service storage facility section, where it is a presumption of reasonableness and takes whichever figure is greater.

How much notice ends a Wisconsin month-to-month tenancy?

At least twenty-eight days, and the notice must be timed so the tenancy ends at the end of a rental period. Wis. Stat. 704.19(2)(b) requires termination at the end of a rental period and 704.19(3) sets the length at 28 days, except that where rent is payable on a basis less than monthly notice equal to the rent-paying period is enough, and an agricultural year-to-year tenancy takes 90 days. Wisconsin has no rent-increase notice statute, so a rent change on a periodic tenancy runs through this same notice.

What notice comes before a Wisconsin eviction?

It depends on the tenancy and the breach, and the sections are commonly cited wrongly. Month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies run under Wis. Stat. 704.17(1p): five days to pay or vacate for nonpayment, or a fourteen-day no-cure notice to vacate. A lease of one year or less and a year-to-year tenancy run under 704.17(2), which by its own paragraph (d) does not apply to month-to-month or week-to-week tenants. A lease of more than one year takes thirty days under 704.17(3). Criminal and drug-related activity is 704.17(3m), a five-day no-cure route with four mandatory notice contents.

Can a Wisconsin landlord accept rent after serving an eviction notice?

Yes, and it does not sink the case. Wis. Stat. 799.40(1m) provides that where a landlord commences an eviction action against a tenant whose tenancy has been terminated for failure to pay rent or for any other reason, the action may not be dismissed because the landlord accepts past due rent or any other payment after serving notice of default or after commencing the action. Wis. Stat. 799.40(1s) adds that a prior waiver, or a custom or practice that developed between the parties, is not a defence to an eviction or a damages claim.

What does a Wisconsin tenant owe for holding over?

At least double. Wis. Stat. 704.27 provides that where a tenant remains in possession without consent after expiration of a lease or termination by notice, the landlord shall recover damages suffered, and in the absence of proof of greater damages shall recover as minimum damages twice the rental value apportioned on a daily basis for the time the tenant remains. Rental value means the amount for which the premises might reasonably have been rented, but not less than the amount actually paid for the prior rental period, and includes the money equivalent of obligations the tenant undertook such as taxes, insurance and repairs.

Can a Wisconsin city adopt rent control or its own deposit rules?

No to both, and the second is the one everybody misses. Wis. Stat. 66.1015(1) forbids any city, village, town or county to regulate the amount of rent or fees charged for a residential rental dwelling unit. Wis. Stat. 66.0104(2)(b) separately forbids a municipality to enact an ordinance placing requirements on a residential landlord as to security deposits, earnest money, or pretenancy or posttenancy inspections that are additional to the requirements under the administrative rules on residential rental practices. Wis. Stat. 66.0104(2)(a) also bars local limits on the tenant-screening information a landlord may obtain and use.

When can a Wisconsin tenant end a lease early?

Where Wis. Stat. 704.16 applies, or where the premises are untenantable under 704.07(4), or under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Section 704.16(1) covers an imminent threat of serious physical harm on notice plus a certified copy of a qualifying injunction, condition of release or criminal complaint. Since 2025 Wisconsin Act 90, enacted 6 March 2026, 704.16(1m) adds a separate sexual assault route with no imminent-threat requirement. In either case the tenant is not liable for rent after the end of the month following the month in which notice is given or the tenant leaves, whichever is later, subject to the landlord's mitigation duty. Landlord harassment is not a Wisconsin ground.

Does Wisconsin require an automatic renewal notice?

Yes, and missing it makes the renewal unenforceable. Wis. Stat. 704.15 provides that an automatic renewal or extension provision in a residential lease is not enforceable against the tenant unless the lessor, at least 15 days but not more than 30 days before the time specified for the tenant's contrary notice, gives the tenant written notice in the manner of Wis. Stat. 704.21 calling attention to the provision. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(3) separately makes enforcing or attempting to enforce such a provision without that notice a prohibited practice, which carries the Wis. Stat. 100.20(5) double damages and attorney fee.

Is there a Wisconsin returned-check fee?

Not a flat statutory one for a residential tenancy. Wis. Stat. 403.414(7) makes a person who issues a check that is not honoured liable for all reasonable costs and expenses in connection with the collection of the amount for which the check was written. The fifteen dollar figure that circulates comes from Wis. Stat. 422.202(1)(d), in the Wisconsin Consumer Act's consumer credit transactions chapter — and Wis. Stat. 421.301 defines a consumer credit transaction as one where property, services or money is acquired on credit, and a consumer lease as a lease of goods. A residential tenancy is neither. Any returned-item charge in a Wisconsin lease is contractual, and is a non-rent charge that ATCP 134.09(9)(a)3 requires to be disclosed.

What happens to property a Wisconsin tenant leaves behind?

The landlord may presume abandonment and dispose of it in any manner the landlord in its sole discretion thinks appropriate, under Wis. Stat. 704.05(5)(a) — but only if the landlord gave the written notice required by 704.05(5)(bf) when the tenant entered into or renewed the agreement. Without that notice the landlord must comply with the 2009 statutes instead. Prescription medication and prescription medical equipment must be held for seven days under paragraph (am). A manufactured home, mobile home or titled vehicle requires advance notice to the tenant and any known secured party. A trespasser's property gets a seven-day hold under Wis. Stat. 704.055.

Does Wisconsin protect a tenant from retaliation?

Yes, in two places, and neither has a presumption. Wis. Stat. 704.45 bars a rent increase, a decrease in services, an action for possession, a refusal to renew or a threat of any of those where there is a preponderance of evidence the action would not occur but for retaliation for a good faith code complaint, a complaint to the landlord about Wis. Stat. 704.07 or a local housing code, or exercising a legal right relating to residential tenancies. ATCP 134.09(5) adds a separate prohibition that also covers a tenant who joined or attempted to organise a tenants' union, and carries the Wis. Stat. 100.20(5) remedy. There is no time-based presumption in either.

Who maintains the smoke detectors in a Wisconsin rental?

The owner installs them and maintains those in common areas; Wis. Stat. 101.145(3)(c) puts maintenance of the detector inside the unit on the occupant . But where an occupant, or a state or local officer with inspection duties, gives the owner written notice that a detector in the unit is not functional, the owner must provide the maintenance necessary to make it functional within five days. Wis. Stat. 101.149 sets the parallel carbon monoxide rules, requiring the owner to repair or replace a non-functional or removed detector within five days of written notice from an occupant.

What fees can a Wisconsin landlord actually recover in an eviction?

Very little. The carve-out in Wis. Stat. 704.44(4m) and ATCP 134.08(4) preserves costs or fees awarded under a court order under chapter 799 or 814. Wis. Stat. 799.25(10)(b) then fixes the taxable attorney fee in an action of eviction at ten dollars, plus whatever Wis. Stat. 814.04(1) allows on damages actually recovered — one hundred dollars under a thousand, three hundred up to the small claims ceiling, five hundred above it, halved on a default judgment and unavailable to a party appearing without an attorney. A pure possession judgment taxes ten dollars.

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Free Wisconsin Residential Lease Agreement

Wisconsin residential lease agreement walk-through

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A configurable Wisconsin residential lease agreement that generates a signable multi-page PDF. Built to Wis. Stat. ch. 704 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 134 — the 21-day deposit return, 12-hour entry notice, and the ten clauses that void the whole lease.

Wisconsin ch. 704 + ATCP 134 21-Day Return Free PDF 2026 Edition

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Scope Wisconsin ~19 min read

A Wisconsin residential lease agreement is governed by two books at once, and that is the single fact that decides whether a Wisconsin lease is enforceable. Wisconsin Statutes chapter 704 supplies the tenancy framework. Wisconsin Administrative Code chapter ATCP 134, the Residential Rental Practices rule made by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, supplies most of the operating duties — the check-in procedure, the twenty-one day deposit clock, the closed list of permitted deductions, the disclosure set, the twelve-hour entry notice and a list of prohibited lease provisions. A page built from chapter 704 alone is substantially incomplete, and every ranking Wisconsin lease page is built that way. The consequences are also unusual. Chapter ATCP 134 is a general order issued under Wis. Stat. 100.20, so a breach is an unfair trade practice, and Wis. Stat. 100.20(5) gives the tenant twice the pecuniary loss, plus costs, plus a reasonable attorney fee. And where a lease carries one of ten prohibited clauses, Wis. Stat. 704.44 and ATCP 134.08 do not strike the clause out — they void the entire agreement, expressly overriding the severability section. Every figure below was verified on 6 August 2026 against the official chapter PDFs published under Wis. Stat. 35.18 and 35.93, and all 247 acts of the 2025-26 session were swept individually.

Wisconsin Lease Rules at a Glance

Security Deposit Cap

None

Deposit Return

21 Days

Entry Notice

12 Hours

Month-to-Month Notice

28 Days

The clause that voids the whole lease: ATCP 134.08(4) and Wis. Stat. 704.44(4m) provide that, notwithstanding s. 704.02, a residential rental agreement is void and unenforceable if it requires payment by the tenant of attorney fees or costs incurred by the landlord. Section 704.02 is the severability section, so severance is expressly displaced — the lease goes, not just the clause. There is no prevailing-party exception, and most imported templates ship with exactly that clause turned on by default.

Four Wisconsin Rules That Catch Landlords Out

First, prepaid rent is a deposit. ATCP 134.02(11) defines a security deposit to include all rent payments in excess of one month’s prepaid rent, so last month’s rent taken at signing runs on the twenty-one day clock and can only be withheld for a listed reason. Second, the deductions list is closed. ATCP 134.06(3)(a) names five grounds and a sixth that only a separate NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS document can create; cleaning, re-letting and advertising are not on it, and routine painting and routine carpet cleaning may never be withheld. Third, there are two move-in documents, not one: the check-in sheet under Wis. Stat. 704.08 and the written inspection notice under ATCP 134.06(1), in different books, with different triggers. Fourth, the domestic abuse notice is mandatory — Wis. Stat. 704.14 says a residential rental agreement shall include it, and in Koble Investments v. Marquardt, 2024 WI App 26, a lease that omitted it was held void and unenforceable under 704.44(10).

How to Fill Out This Wisconsin Lease Agreement

The Eight-Step Wisconsin Sequence

1. Give both identifications, not one

ATCP 134.04(1)(a) wants the name and address of the person authorised to collect rent and manage the premises who the tenant can readily contact, and the name and address of the owner or person authorised to accept service of legal process — at an address inside Wisconsin where personal service can be made. Changes go out in writing within ten business days. An owner-occupied structure of four or fewer dwelling units is exempt from that subsection, and from nothing else.

2. Describe the premises and choose the term

Enter the address, municipality and county, then choose fixed, month-to-month or week-to-week. A lease for more than one year must satisfy Wis. Stat. 706.02 and state rent, commencement, expiration and a reasonably definite description of the premises. Wisconsin needs no witness and no notary.

3. State the rent and every non-rent charge

ATCP 134.09(9)(a)3 makes it a prohibited practice to state a rent figure without disclosing non-rent charges that will increase the total the tenant pays during the tenancy. Parking, pet rent, trash and utility flat fee