Wisconsin Month-to-Month Lease Agreement
A Wisconsin Month-to-Month Lease Agreement is a written agreement used for adding structure and rules to a lease in which a tenant will be renting on a short-term, monthly basis. The type of lease offers the parties a considerably greater amount of flexibility in comparison to a standard rental contract, which tends to be more rigid in its requirements. The contract differs in that it can be terminated by either the landlord or the tenant with only twenty-eight (28) days of notice.
In accordance with § 704.19(4), the notice given by either party does not have to be formal, although it does have to be in writing. Even if the notice contains spelling mistakes, if it gives enough information to inform the other party that they intend to terminate the agreement, the notice can’t be disputed.
State Laws
Statute: § 704.19
Required Notice to Terminate (§ 704.19(3)): Either party needs to give a written notice of twenty-eight (28) days in order to officially terminate the contract. If the rental period is shorter than 28 days, (a week-to-week tenancy, for example), the agreement can be terminated so long a notice equal to the length of the rental period is given to the other party.
Note on Year-to-Year Periodic Tenancies (§ 704.19(2)(b)1.): If the landlord and tenant are engaged in a periodic tenancy on a year-to-year basis, the contract CANNOT be terminated with notice of just the rental period. For example, if the tenant pays rent on a monthly basis, they cannot give the landlord a notice of thirty (30) days to terminate the contract. In this case, the tenant would have to wait until the end of the yearly rental period to terminate the lease.