Lease Terms That Do Not Count
Wis. Stat. 704.44 — a residential lease with any of these provisions is void and unenforceable
In Wisconsin the consequence is not that the one clause drops out: a residential rental agreement that does any of the following is void and unenforceable.
- Lets the landlord raise rent, cut services, sue for possession, refuse to renew, or threaten any of those, because the tenant contacted law enforcement, health or safety services.
- Authorizes evicting or excluding the tenant other than by the judicial eviction procedure.
- Accelerates the rent on a default, or waives the landlord's duty to mitigate damages.
- Requires the tenant to pay the landlord's attorney fees or costs in a dispute under the agreement, apart from what a court orders.
- Lets the landlord confess judgment against the tenant.
- Says the landlord is not liable for property damage or injury caused by the landlord's negligence.
- Makes the tenant liable for injury from causes clearly beyond the tenant's control, or for damage from natural disasters or people other than the tenant and the tenant's guests.
- Waives the landlord's obligation to deliver and keep the premises fit and habitable.
- Allows termination based solely on a crime on the property when the tenant, or someone lawfully living with the tenant, is the victim of it.
- Allows termination for a crime related to the property when the agreement does not include the notice the statutes require for that.
Out only through the courts. A lease that authorizes putting the tenant out, or keeping the tenant out, other than by the judicial eviction procedure is void as a whole, not only in that clause.
Sources for this section (1)
- Wis. Stat. 704.44 — Residential rental agreement that contains certain provisions is void
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Wisconsin attorney.