How You Can Break Your Lease in Wisconsin Without Any Fees

As a renter in Wisconsin, you have many rights and responsibilities to maintain your lease and your home. Your landlord also has many rights and responsibilities, which should complement yours so that you can both live healthy and happy lives during your business relationship. However, there are some situations in which landlords misuse their rights and fail in their responsibilities, which may make it necessary for you to break your lease in Wisconsin.

If you're the victim of a landlord who is not properly supporting you while you live in Wisconsin, you are not alone. It's essential that you build a safe home for your family, so if you feel that you need to break your lease, don't hesitate to seek help in doing so. If you need legal guidance and support, DoNotPay is here to help.

Tenant Rights and Responsibilities in Wisconsin

As in every state, Wisconsin provides tenants with many rights and responsibilities as they begin renting their home from a landlord. These rights and responsibilities allow the tenant to build a safe and healthy life in a home that they don't own but will live in for some time. The rights and responsibilities of a tenant in Wisconsin include:

• The right to know of any health hazards in the home before beginning to rent it.
• The right to know how utilities will be paid for and how much they may cost each month.
• The right to review and sign a written rental agreement, if one is provided.
• The right to maintenance support from a designated maintenance person.
• The right to see all defects and safety hazards repaired by the landlord.
• The responsibility to maintain your home and conduct minor routine repairs.
• The right to receive notice at least 28 days before your rental agreement ends and the responsibility to notify the landlord at least 28 days before you seek to end your lease.
• The right to reasonable negotiations if you choose to break your lease before it officially ends.
• The right to receive a refund of your security deposit within 21 days of leaving the apartment and ending your lease.
• The responsibility to pay rent on time.
• The right to an eviction trial in small claims court.

You have the right to ensure each of these rights is upheld, and if your landlord fails to provide you with the rights you deserve, you may be able to break your lease early and leave the property for a healthier and better home.

When Breaking a Lease is Justified in Wisconsin

According to Wisconsin law, there are very few justified reasons for breaking your lease in Wisconsin. However, you are allowed to do so if the landlord is unreasonably refusing to repair damage in your home or deal with issues that make the home hazardous to your health. For example, there are three main reasons you could break your lease:

1. There’s a significant fire or water damage.
2. Any condition is hazardous to your health (lead paint, bed bugs, pests, etc.).
3. The need for repair would place undue hardship upon you and your family.

Other Reasons You Could Break a Lease in Wisconsin

You can break your lease early if you and/or your children are in immediate and serious danger from someone else in the home or living nearby who knows your home. Your landlord cannot force you to stay if staying puts you in physical danger.

In addition, you can terminate your lease early if you are required to move for active military duty, if you signed an early termination clause, or if you can prove that your landlord is harassing you.

How To Break Your Lease in Wisconsin

The main thing you will need to effectively break your lease in Wisconsin is evidence. The necessary evidence will vary based on why you are leaving. For example, evidence you might need includes:

• Proof of your military assignment and active duty for at least 90 days.
• Proof that your home is uninhabitable and unsafe.
• Proof that you contacted your landlord about the uninhabitable conditions.
• Proof that you have maintained your property in accordance with the lease requirements.
• Proof of harassment (phone calls, emails, video recordings, etc.).
• Proof of an imminent threat from domestic abuse.

You will also need to provide at least 30 days’ notice if you intend to leave because of an early termination clause in the contract or for military duty. In Wisconsin, you will also have to pay whatever was required in your early termination cause if you are leaving simply because you have that option in the lease agreement.

To break your lease, simply:

1. Give notice to your landlord.
2. Provide any necessary evidence.
3. Enter a termination agreement, if possible.
4. Move out.

Refer to this table to better understand your notice times in breaking a lease:

If your landlord tries to take you to court, you can use the evidence you have on hand to prove that you were justified in leaving.

How DoNotPay Can Help You Break Your Lease in Wisconsin

Breaking a lease can be a confusing process. You'll have to gather evidence, give proper notice to your landlord, and make sure you fulfill all your responsibilities so that you don't get in legal trouble. If you're not sure how to get started with breaking your lease in Wisconsin, DoNotPay can help.

In three easy steps, you can break your Wisconsin lease today:

1. Search Break My Lease on DoNotPay.

2. Prepare a signed copy of your lease that you can use as a reference and enter the state the lease was signed in.

3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options.

• If you're a uniformed service member breaking a lease to fulfill your service obligations, we'll send your landlord an SCRA Protection Letter.
• If you're breaking your lease for a reason protected by your state's tenant laws, we'll write your landlord a letter detailing your protections for breaking the lease under the relevant law.
• If your reasons for breaking your lease aren't protected by federal or state law but you'd like to try to convince your landlord to let you break the lease through mutual agreement, we'll draft a hardship letter making your case to your landlord.
• If there are no remaining options for breaking the lease with protection but your state requires landlords to mitigate damages to tenants who break their leases, we'll notify your landlord of that obligation and minimize the remaining rent you have to pay.

Other Ways DoNotPay Can Help

DoNotPay is here to help you with a variety of legal and personal issues. In addition to helping you break your lease, DoNotPay can help you:

• Handle a breach of contract.
• Reduce your property taxes.
• Create a power of attorney.
• Handle neighbor complaints.
• And more!

If you need personalized legal support, don't hesitate to get in touch! Sign up for a free account with DoNotPay to start solving your problems today.