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Wisconsin residential lease agreement

Answer the questions, download the lease. Free, no account, and it holds your figures to what Wisconsin allows.

What Wisconsin law does to your lease

These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.

RuleWisconsinWhere it says so
Most a landlord may take as a depositNo statutory limitWisconsin caps nothing but gives the tenant a check-in: the landlord must tell them in writing, before taking the deposit, that they may inspect and report existing damage within seven days and may ask what was charged against the last tenant's deposit.Wis. Stat. ch. 704, Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134
Earliest a late fee may be chargedThe day after it is dueWis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(8)
Most a late fee may beNo statutory limit, but it has to be reasonableA late fee may be charged only where the rental agreement provides for it, any rent prepayment must be applied before one is charged, and there is no fee for not paying a fee.Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(8)
Notice before the landlord may enter12 hoursTwelve hours unless the tenant, told of the proposed entry, agrees to less.Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy28 daysWis. Stat. 704.19(3)

What Wisconsin makes you disclose

The tenant's right to inspect before the deposit is taken
Before accepting a security deposit the landlord must notify the tenant in writing that they may inspect the unit and report any pre-existing damage or defect within at least seven days of moving in, and that they may ask for a list of what was charged against the previous tenant's deposit. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(1)

The clause most landlords get wrong

Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.

The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.

After it is signed

Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.

Is this Wisconsin lease legally binding?

A written lease signed by the landlord and every adult tenant is a contract, and this one is built to say what Wisconsin requires a residential lease to say. What it is not is legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. It is a form you complete yourself, the same category as the fill-in-the-blank lease sold in an office supply shop, and it is worth having a lawyer in your state read it before you rely on it, especially on a property you will hold for years.

How much can a landlord charge as a security deposit in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin sets no statutory ceiling (Wis. Stat. ch. 704, Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134), so the figure is yours to choose. One month is the usual ask and two is the most a tenant will normally accept; every dollar above that is money you have to hold, account for line by line at move-out, and return on the state's clock.

Can a landlord charge a late fee in Wisconsin?

Yes. Wisconsin sets neither a grace period nor a ceiling (Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(8)), which leaves the common-law rule: the fee has to be a reasonable estimate of what a late payment costs you, not a penalty, or a court will not enforce it. A few days' grace and a fee in the range of 5% of the rent is the shape that holds up.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Wisconsin?

12 hours for anything that is not an emergency, at a reasonable hour (Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)). A lease cannot shorten it, so the builder raises your figure if you enter a smaller one. Genuine emergencies need no notice anywhere. Twelve hours unless the tenant, told of the proposed entry, agrees to less.

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

28 days of written notice from either side (Wis. Stat. 704.19(3)). The builder writes that figure into the term clause. A lease may agree on longer notice than the statute; one that gives less is unenforceable to that extent, and the statutory period governs instead.

Do I have to include a lead-based paint disclosure?

Only if the home was built before 1978, and then yes, everywhere in the country. Federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint, hand over any report they have, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet before the tenant is committed to the lease (42 U.S.C. 4852d). Enter the year built and the builder attaches it for you.

Can I have the tenant sign it online?

Yes. Download the PDF and sign it however you like, or make a free Kouzr account and send it to the tenant for signature from here: they get a link, sign on a phone, and the executed copy files itself against the tenancy alongside rent and the deposit record. The PDF is free either way and does not require an account.

Kouzr is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The builder produces a form you complete yourself, and no lawyer has reviewed the document it assembles. Have one admitted in Wisconsin read it before you rely on it.