Can you end a month to month lease during winter in Wisconsin?

Question

I have tenants that I inherited with a duplex purchase in April. They are on a month to month lease. They are hoarders and now have bed bugs. It has cost me $3,000 to spray for bed bugs and they orkin man will not spray in their unit until it is cleared. I provided a 30 day notice to my tenants that I would not be renewing their lease. All 3 tenants in the unit are on disability and telling me I can't kick them out in winter or basically at all because they are handicapped. I know there is a law that the power company cannot disconnect your heat in winter in Wisconsin but can you end a month to month lease?? If not, what is the point of having one? I'm so FRUSTRATED

Bill B. · Answer

I’d be on your side Thomas except this is the third thread in a row I’ve read today where you’ve copied and pasted the exact same respone about the poster looking up the answer and getting PM. (At least I hope you are copying and pasting and not just posting the same thing over and over.)If you’re not going to add to the thread why bother posting at all? Maybe she was hoping a Wisconsin landlord would spend 30 seconds helping? More than 90% of the posted questions on BP could be answered with one response, “look it up” but then what’s the purpose of BP?Ps. pocketsense.com says...“In Wisconsin, landlords may evict tenants during any time of the year, including during the winter months. Landlords must, however, provide written notice to the tenant providing an adequate notice period prior to filing a summons and complaint in the county clerk’s office. After providing the tenant with written notice, serving the tenant with a complaint and summons and receiving a judgment in the landlord’s favor, the landlord can proceed with eviction through the local sheriff’s office.”

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

after bungling a few evictions.. I just hire eviction services.. if you have one in your area I recommend thembest 600 to 700 ever spent pay them you never deal with it again they go to court for you etc. and they get results because they know the law better than the tenants.. LOL its what they do for a living. I would think every medium to major city should have an eviction service like we have here in PDX> I think I just gave myself an idea :) for a new business

Rachel Larsen · Answer

@Thomas S. Thanks for the not so friendly comment! I feel I know the law pretty well just asking if anyone has this experience. Isnt that what this forum is for??

Thomas S. · Answer

Have you studied your state landlord tenant regulations. You are responsible as a landlord to learn the laws that govern your business. You should find them on line. For now you should hire a PM and a lawyer to manage your business..I am not aware of any regulations baring you from terminating a lease at any time of year. Disabilities are not a protection from non renewing a lease. Your tenants are playing you but you are not in a position of knowledge to assess. Get help.

Calvin Ozanick · Answer

Rachel, you actually do not need to file for an eviction either. In the case of the lease being a month to month, you can end the lease as long as you give notice as required in the lease. While disability often creates more hoops to jump through, unless you signed paperwork stating otherwise, you can move on from them as tenants. That is the beauty of a month-month lease. I wish you best of luck on this issue! I have had this issue with some of our tenants in Beloit, WI. We manage multiple multi-family properties and they have occasionally needed to take advantage of our month-month lease.

Craig Bellot · Answer

@Casandra M. Up here in Bridgeport, CT it's around $1200. Most of the headache is in the prep work. The residents have to dismount beds, empty drawers, and wash and dry clothes on high heat. We recommend they throw away all bedding.

Casandra M. · Answer

@Craig Bellot - We have properties in Wisconsin near Delavan and the $3000 is actually a pretty decent price compared to the multiple quotes we got for a property with bedbugs last year. Maybe it's just the area we are in?

Ryan Seib · Answer

Yes. Best wishes in doing so Rachel.

Craig Bellot · Answer

You should file for eviction immediately.$3000 is a lot to spend for bed bugs. Next time do a multi-spray treatment with a much cheaper but licensed guy while you are in the process of eviction.If it's a single family then they are responsible for that cost. There's no way you can recover $3000 from tenants on disability.

Scott Schultz · Answer

you need to give them a 28 day notice, if they are month to month neither party needs to continue tenancy at the end of the lease, Concept: Month to Month Lease renews Each month, so at the end of the month the lease renews if they pay, and you allow them to stay, if tenant doesnt pay or you dont want them to stay for any reason or no reason at all, they must vacate, or face eviction. personally I would hire a PM to get them out, it will be worth the money. Bed Bugs: I WI if the tenants brought the pests into the unit, they are responsible for the eradication for them not you the landlord, if you spent money trying to control them for the tenant, you could add that cost is a suit if you evict, (please seek legal counsel for advice) you will have a struggle with this, but as I said see if you can get a Property Manager to do the eviction, they know how to do it, they know the law, and they know how to act on your behalf in court, you will pay for their services, and plan to retain them after when you place a new tenant, this is what they do for a living, hire a professional!