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Wisconsin month-to-month lease agreement
Written for Wisconsin law, checked September 24, 2026 General information, not legal advice
A month-to-month tenancy renews each month until the landlord or the tenant gives notice. Choose month-to-month as the lease type, or set a fixed-term lease to convert to month-to-month when its term ends.
Wisconsin rules that apply
- Ending a month-to-month tenancy
- 28 days
- written, ending at the end of a rental period
- Wis. Stat. § 704.19(3)
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either side may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 28 days' written notice, and the termination date must be the end of a rental period. If rent is paid more often than monthly, notice at least as long as the rent period is enough.
Wis. Stat. § 704.19(2)(b) Wis. Stat. § 704.19(3)
More detail (6)
- The notice must be in writing and substantially tell the other side of the intent to end the tenancy and the termination date. Errors that do not mislead do not make it invalid. Wis. Stat. § 704.19(4)
- A notice naming a date that is too early or not at the end of a rental period is still valid, but takes effect on the first date that could properly have been named. Wis. Stat. § 704.19(5)
- The day the notice is given counts as day one. A notice sent by registered or certified mail to a Wisconsin address counts as given on the second day after mailing. Wis. Stat. § 704.19(7)
- If a periodic tenant leaves without notice and does not pay rent, the tenancy ends on the first date it could have ended had you received proper notice on the day you learned of the move. Wis. Stat. § 704.19(6)
- When a residential lease expires and the tenant stays, you may choose to hold the tenant month to month on the old lease terms, and accepting rent for a period after expiration counts as that choice unless you already started eviction. The lease may provide otherwise. Wis. Stat. § 704.25(2) Wis. Stat. § 704.25(3) Wis. Stat. § 704.25(4)
- A tenant who stays without your consent after the tenancy ends owes at least twice the daily rental value for each day of holding over, unless you prove greater damages. Wis. Stat. § 704.27
The lease's termination clause states the 28-day written notice ending at the end of a rental period.
Rent increase notice
Not set by statuteChapter 704 and the rental practices code set no notice period for a rent increase. To end a month-to-month tenancy, either side must give at least 28 days' written notice ending at the end of a rental period.
More detail (4)
- No city, village, town or county may regulate the amount of rent or fees for a residential rental unit. Wis. Stat. § 66.1015(1) See Rent control and local rules on the Wisconsin page
- A rent increase that would not happen but for retaliation against a tenant's protected complaint or legal right is prohibited. Wis. Stat. § 704.45(1) See Retaliation on the Wisconsin page
- A rental agreement that lets a landlord raise rent because a tenant contacted police, health or safety services is void. Wis. Stat. § 704.44(1m)
- Keep routine rent-change messages separate from Chapter 704 termination notices. For termination, section 704.19(7) counts registered or certified mail on the second day after mailing within Wisconsin and the fifth day elsewhere; paired leaving or posting and mailing counts from the later act. Section 704.21(5) can recognize actual receipt outside the listed methods, but the sender must prove it by clear and convincing evidence. An agreed software channel alone does not establish that proof or convert termination rules into a rent-increase notice period. Wis. Stat. 704.19(7) Wis. Stat. 704.21(5)