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EXPIRATION OF LEASE

One requirement for all leases is that the duration of the lease must be specified. Therefore, the tenant agrees to leave the premises upon the expiration of the lease, unless other arrangements have been agreed upon by the landlord and the tenant. If the lease contains an automatic renewal clause, as many do, the landlord is required to provide the tenant with written notice between 15 and 30 days before the lease is automatically renewed, see Section 740.15 Wisconsin Statutes. Many leases contain option clauses that provide the tenant with the option to renew the lease before it expires.

If no renewal agreement has been reached, and the tenant continues to occupy the residence, then the landlord has a variety of options:

1. The landlord can evict the tenant. Eviction is an action in small claims court, whereby the landlord can seek to have the tenant removed from the residence. All tenants should be aware that landlords have a statutory right to recover double the daily rent or even more if it can be shown that the landlord suffered greater damages, see Section 704.27 Wisconsin Statutes. The eviction process begins with a summons and complaint being filed in small claims court. The summons and complaint is then served upon the tenant. The summons provides the tenant with a date on which to appear in court, and the complaint alleges the reason for the eviction. The tenant and landlord then appear before the judge, and are given a chance to explain their side of the story. Once the facts are clear, then the judge renders his/her decision. If the judge decides against the tenant, then an order is issued requiring the tenant to leave. If the tenant ignores this order, then the local sheriff will forcibly remove the tenant. The rules for eviction are explained at Sections 799.40 - .45 Wisconsin Statutes.

2. If the property rented is not used for private residential purposes (someones living quarters) and the expired lease was for one year or longer, then the landlord can hold the tenant on a year-to-year basis. Therefore, the tenant would be considered a "periodic, year-to-year tenant."

3. If the property is used for used for private residential purposes at any time during the past lease, or if the prior lease was for less than a year, then the landlord can hold the tenant on a month-to-month basis (unless the original lease was a week-to-week or day-to-day agreement, then the tenant can be held on for the same amount of time as the original lease provided payment).

It should be noted that once the landlord accepts payment of rent in accordance with number two or three above, then that tenant has a right to occupy the premises for the proper duration, provided that eviction actions were not previously commenced. See Section 704.25 Wisconsin Statutes for all of the relevant provisions.

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