A Wisconsin 5 Day Notice To Vacate is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for criminal or illegal activity on the premises. The tenant is not given an opportunity for corrective action, and must move out within five (5) judicial days (i.e., not counting weekends or legal holidays) of receiving notice.
When To Use a Wisconsin 5 Day Notice To Vacate
A Wisconsin 5 Day Notice To Vacate begins the eviction process for the following tenant violations:
- Committing drug related criminal acts on the premises
- Threats of imminent physical harm to other persons
- Committing criminal acts that threaten the health or safety of other persons
- Threats to the right of peace and enjoyment of other persons
Some types of Wisconsin lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write a Wisconsin 5 Day Notice To Vacate
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Vacate:
- Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve a Wisconsin 5 Day Notice To Vacate
Wisconsin landlords may deliver a Notice To Vacate using any of these methods:
- Hand delivery to the other party
- Hand delivery to a family member of the other party at least age 14 on the property and informing them of the contents of the notice
- Hand delivery to someone in charge of or occupying the tenant’s address of record, PLUS delivery by mail
- Only after all hand delivery attempts fail: Posting at a conspicuous place on the premises, such as the entry door, PLUS delivery by mail
- Delivery by registered or certified mail to the tenant’s last known address
Counting for a notice period begins immediately upon delivery unless there is a mailed component. If the letter is mailed by regular mail, counting begins when the notice has been both mailed, and hand-delivered/posted. When delivering by registered or certified mail ONLY, counting begins on the 2nd calendar day after mailing (or 5th calendar day, if mailed out of state).
Sources
- 1 WI Stat § 704.17(3m)
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Drug-related criminal activity” means criminal activity that involves the manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance. “Drug-related criminal activity” does not include the manufacture, possession, or use of a controlled substance that is prescribed by a physician for the use of a disabled person, as defined in s. 100.264 (1) (a), and that is manufactured by, used by, or in the possession of the disabled person or in the possession of the disabled person’s personal care worker or other caregiver.
A landlord may, upon notice to the tenant, terminate the tenancy of a tenant, without giving the tenant an opportunity to remedy the default, if the tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a guest or other invitee of the tenant or of a member of the tenant’s household engages in any criminal activity that threatens the health or safety of, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by, other tenants; engages in any criminal activity that threatens the health or safety of, or right to peaceful enjoyment of their residences by, persons residing in the immediate vicinity of the premises; engages in any criminal activity that threatens the health or safety of the landlord or an agent or employee of the landlord; or engages in any drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises.
The notice shall require the tenant to vacate on or before a date at least 5 days after the giving of the notice. The notice shall state the basis for its issuance; include a description of the criminal activity or drug-related criminal activity, the date on which the activity took place, and the identity or description of the individuals engaging in the activity; advise the tenant that he or she may seek the assistance of legal counsel, a volunteer legal clinic, or a tenant resource center; and state that the tenant has the right to contest the allegations in the notice before a court commissioner or judge if an eviction action is filed. If the tenant contests the termination of tenancy, the tenancy may not be terminated without proof by the landlord by the greater preponderance of the credible evidence of the allegation in the notice.
Source Link - 2 WI Stat § 704.16
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A landlord may terminate the tenancy of an offending tenant if all of the following apply:
The offending tenant commits one or more acts, including verbal threats, that cause another tenant, or a child of that other tenant, who occupies a dwelling unit in the same single-family rental unit, multiunit dwelling, or apartment complex, or a manufactured home or mobile home in the same community, as the offending tenant to face an imminent threat of serious physical harm from the offending tenant if the offending tenant remains on the premises
Source Link - 3 Wis. Stat. § 704.21(1)
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704.21 Manner of giving notice.
(1)Notice by landlord. Notice by the landlord or a person in the landlord’s behalf must be given under this chapter by one of the following methods:
(a) By giving a copy of the notice personally to the tenant or by leaving a copy at the tenant’s usual place of abode in the presence of some competent member of the tenant’s family at least 14 years of age, who is informed of the contents of the notice;
(b) By leaving a copy with any competent person apparently in charge of the rented premises or occupying the premises or a part thereof, and by mailing a copy by regular or other mail to the tenant’s last-known address;
(c) If notice cannot be given under par. (a) or (b) with reasonable diligence, by affixing a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the rented premises where it can be conveniently read and by mailing a copy by regular or other mail to the tenant’s last-known address;
(d) By mailing a copy of the notice by registered or certified mail to the tenant at the tenant’s last-known address.
Source Link - 4 Wis. Stat. § 704.19(7)
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(7) WHEN NOTICE GIVEN. Notice is given on the day specified below, which is counted as the first day of the notice period: Source Link(a) The day of giving or leaving under s. 704.21(1) (a) and (2) (a) and (b). (b) The day of leaving or affixing a copy or the date of mailing, whichever is later, under s. 704.21(1) (b) and (c). (c) The 2nd day after the day of mailing if the mail is addressed to a point within the state, and the 5th day after the day of mailing in all other cases, under s. 704.21(1) (d) and (2) (c). (d) The day of service under s. 704.21(1) (e) and (2) (d). (e) The day of actual receipt by the other party under s. 704.21(5).
