Leaving A Lease Early
Wis. Stat. 704.29 — the landlord recovers rent only less what reasonable efforts to rerent would bring
When a Wisconsin tenant leaves before the tenancy ends without justification and stops paying rent, or is removed for a breach, the landlord can recover rent and damages, except what the landlord could have mitigated. The exception to that is a landlord who expressly agreed to accept a surrender and end the tenant's liability.
Reduced by the rent reasonable efforts would bring. Any recovery is reduced by the net rent obtainable by reasonable efforts to rerent, meaning the steps the landlord would have taken to rent the place had it been vacated in due course, in line with local practice. The landlord also recovers reasonable listing and advertising expenses.
The landlord has to allege and prove efforts to rerent. The tenant carries the burden of proving those efforts were not reasonable and what reasonable efforts would have produced. A landlord with other similar units may reasonably rent those first.
A periodic tenant who leaves without notice and does not pay is treated as having given proper notice on the day the landlord learns of the move.
Sources for this section (2)
- Wis. Stat. 704.29 — Recovery of rent and damages by landlord; mitigation
- Wis. Stat. 704.19 — Notice necessary to terminate periodic tenancies and tenancies at will
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Wisconsin attorney.