CHAPTER 704

1 landlord AND tenant 17 18 Wis. 2017 18 Wis. Stats. Published and certified under s. April 1, 18 Wisconsin Statutes updated by 2017 Wis. Acts 368 to 370 and through all Supreme Court and Controlled SubstancesBoard Orders filed before and in effect on April 1, 2019. Published and certified under s. Changes effective after April1, 2019, are designated by NOTES. (Published 4 1 19) CHAPTER 704 landlord AND of rental agreement of writing for rental agreements and and duties of landlord and tenant in absence of written agreementto of personalty left by heater thermostat ; in and background ; effect of assignment or transfer; of of tenant not to affect rights of of domestic abuse that landlord notify tenant of automatic renewal of tenancy for imminent threat of serious physical harm;changing of tenancy at death of terminating tenancies for failure to pay rent or other breach by necessary to terminate periodic tenancies and tenancies at of giving of process in residential tenancy on nonresident of tenant on termination of of holding over after expiration of lease.

2 Removal of for failure of tenant to vacate at end of lease or after from and return of security of rent and damages by landlord ; on default in long terms; available when tenancy dependent upon life of another rental agreement that contains certain provisions is conduct in residential tenancies duty; immunity for providing notice about the sex offender service storage regulated by the department of agriculture, trade and reference: See also ch. ATCP 134, Wis. adm. Definitions. In this CHAPTER , unless the context indi-cates otherwise:(1) Lease means an agreement, whether oral or written, fortransfer of possession of real property, or both real and personalproperty, for a definite period of time. A lease is for a definiteperiod of time if it has a fixed commencement date and a fixedexpiration date or if the commencement and expiration can beascertained by reference to some event, such as completion of abuilding.

3 A lease is included within this CHAPTER even though itmay also be treated as a conveyance under ch. 706. An agreementfor transfer of possession of only personal property is not a lease.(2) Periodic tenant means a tenant who holds possessionwithout a valid lease and pays rent on a periodic basis. It includesa tenant from day to day, week to week, month to month,year to year or other recurring interval of time, the period beingdetermined by the intent of the parties under the circumstances,with the interval between rent paying dates normally evidencingthat intent.(3) premises mean the property covered by the lease,including not only the realty and fixtures, but also any personalproperty furnished with the realty.(3m) Rental agreement means an oral or written agreementbetween a landlord and tenant , for the rental or lease of a specificdwelling unit or premises , in which the landlord and tenant agreeon the essential terms of the tenancy, such as rent.

4 Rental agree-ment includes a lease. Rental agreement does not include anagreement to enter into a rental agreement in the future.(4) Tenancy includes a tenancy under a lease, a periodic ten-ancy or a tenancy at will.(5) tenant at will means any tenant holding with the permis-sion of the tenant s landlord without a valid lease and under cir-cumstances not involving periodic payment of rent; but a personholding possession of real property under a contract of purchaseor an employment contract is not a tenant under this : 1983 a. 189; 1993 a. 486; 2007 a. Severability of rental agreement provisions of a rental agreement are severable. If any provi-sion of a rental agreement is rendered void or unenforceable byreason of any statute, rule, regulation, or judicial order, the inval-idity or unenforceability of that provision does not affect otherprovisions of the rental agreement that can be given effect withoutthe invalid : 2011 a.

5 Requirement of writing for rental agreementsand termination. (1)ORIGINAL AGREEMENT. Notwithstandings. , a lease for more than a year, or a contract to make sucha lease, is not enforceable unless it meets the requirements of and in addition sets forth the amount of rent or other con-sideration, the time of commencement and expiration of the lease,and a reasonably definite description of the premises , or unless awriting, including by means of electronic mail or facsimile trans-mission, signed by the landlord and the tenant sets forth theamount of rent or other consideration, the duration of the lease,and a reasonably definite description of the premises and the com-mencement date is established by entry of the tenant into posses-sion under the writing.

6 Sections and govern as tomatters within the scope of such sections and not provided for insuch written lease or contract.(2)ENTRY UNDER UNENFORCEABLE LEASE. If a tenant entersinto possession under a lease for more than one year which doesnot meet the requirements of sub. (1), and the tenant pays rent ona periodic basis, the tenant becomes a periodic tenant . If the prem-ises in such case are used for residential purposes and the rent ispayable monthly, the tenant becomes a month to month tenant ;but if the use is agricultural or nonresidential, the tenant becomesa year to year tenant without regard to the rent payment for duration of the tenancy and matters within the scope ofss. and , the tenancy is governed by the terms andconditions agreed upon.

7 Notice as provided in s. is neces-sary to terminate such a periodic tenancy.(3)ASSIGNMENT. An assignment by the tenant of a leaseholdinterest which has an unexpired period of more than one year isnot enforceable against the assignor unless the assignment is inwriting reasonably identifying the lease and signed by theassignor; and any agreement to assume the obligations of the orig-inal lease which has an unexpired period of more than one year isnot enforceable unless in writing signed by the assignee.(4)TERMINATION OF WRITTEN LEASE PRIOR TO NORMAL EXPIRA-TION DATE. An agreement to terminate a tenancy more than oneyear prior to the expiration date specified in a valid written leaseis not enforceable unless it is in writing signed by both other agreement between the landlord and tenant to terminateUpdated 17 18 Wis.

8 AND TENANTU pdated 2017 18 Wis. Stats. Published and certified under s. April 1, 18 Wisconsin Statutes updated by 2017 Wis. Acts 368 to 370 and through all Supreme Court and Controlled SubstancesBoard Orders filed before and in effect on April 1, 2019. Published and certified under s. Changes effective after April1, 2019, are designated by NOTES. (Published 4 1 19)a lease prior to its normal expiration date, or to terminate a peri-odic tenancy or tenancy at will without the statutory noticerequired by s. may be either oral or written. Nothing hereinprevents surrender by operation of law.(5)PROOF. In any case where a lease or agreement is not inwriting signed by both parties but is enforceable under this sec-tion, the lease or agreement must be proved by clear and convinc-ing : 1993 a.

9 486; 2011 a. reference: See also ss. ATCP , , , and there is no written lease, section applies to the obligation to make there to be a remedy for a breach of a duty to repair other than that provided ins. , the obligation must be in a written lease signed by both parties. Halversonv. River Falls Youth Hockey Association, 226 Wis. 2d 105, 593 895 (Ct. ), 98 Rights and duties of landlord and tenant inabsence of written agreement to contrary. (1)WHEN SEC-TION APPLICABLE. So far as applicable, this section governs therights and duties of the landlord and tenant in the absence of anyinconsistent provision in writing signed by both the landlord andthe tenant . Except as otherwise provided in this section, this sec-tion applies to any tenancy.

10 (2)POSSESSION OF tenant AND ACCESS BY landlord . Untilthe expiration date specified in the lease, or the termination of aperiodic tenancy or tenancy at will, and so long as the tenant is notin default, the tenant has the right to exclusive possession of thepremises, except as hereafter provided. The landlord may uponadvance notice and at reasonable times inspect the premises , makerepairs and show the premises to prospective tenants or purchas-ers; and if the tenant is absent from the premises and the landlordreasonably believes that entry is necessary to preserve or protectthe premises , the landlord may enter without notice and with suchforce as appears necessary.(3)USE OF premises , ADDITIONS OR ALTERATIONS BY tenant can make no physical changes in the nature of thepremises, including decorating, removing, altering or adding tothe structures thereon, without prior consent of the landlord .