When a Tenant Dies...

[Eric Huebner]

I received the terrible news that a long time tenant of ours (an original tenant when my family purchased the property in 1987) passed away yesterday. What should I do as a landlord in this situation? We are located in Wisconsin. He lived alone, but has family members in the same town. Some questions I have are: 1. How much time do I allow the family to clear out his personal property? 2. How does the lease legally end? I would think that in the case of death, the normal 60 day notice to terminate the lease is not in effect. Or is the estate responsible for 60 days of rent or until it is rented, if earlier? 3. Do I, as a landlord, need to give any sort of written notice to the family/estate? If so, for what? 4. How or where can I get in contact with the estate if there is damage to the unit? How long does it take to sort out this type of thing? 5. What else do I need to be aware of in a situation like this? Thank you for any advice offered. I hope these questions don't come off sounding heartless in this format. I just want to do the right thing and know what expect.