Tenant violating lease but pays rent on time (Kenosha, WI)

[Marcus Gaethke]

Hello all - Thanks in advance,

I have a tenant that moved in in September and I made the rookie mistake of looking past some red flags that occurred right before move in (I know, foolish).  Now this tenant is allowing many people on the property (5-15 people daily) and they hang out all day every day drinking and doing drugs on the porch.  The cops have been out to the property for disputes and I just found out there was recently a fight where one of the tenants guests hit another guest over the head with a brick amongst other fighting and the cops had to tase these people.  I asked the police to trespass these offenders from the property and they said that the tenant is allowed to have whoever they want on the property.  I have tried to reason with the tenant and they are unwilling to work with me.  I have previously spoken with my attorney and his comments on evictions in Wisconsin are that it is near impossible to evict for anything other than non-payment of rent.  They are on Section 8 so I have no problems collecting rent and I have tried to reach out to the housing authority and they have told me there is nothing they can do.  I'm at a loss right now and feel like there is nothing I can do to stop all this criminal activity from occurring on the property.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Marcus Gaethke:

Find another attorney because these guys don't know your law or they just don't want the job.

Here's your statute: https://law.justia.com/codes/w...

There are paragraphs in there detailing your authority to remove someone that violates terms of the lease. There's even a paragraph specifically addressing criminal activity taking place on your property.

The Pareto Principle applies here. About 80% of all Tenants will leave when you give them a termination letter and 30 days to leave. Of the remaining 20%, about 80% of those will leave when you involve an attorney or start the eviction process through court. That's 94.6% of all tenants. They know they are wrong, they can't afford to fight it in court, so they will move on to a Landlord that doesn't bother them so much. I get rid of dozens of tenants every year, but I've only had to evict one through the court system since 2014.

Do yourself a favor: buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO. Written by attorney investors, it's full of practical advice pertaining to management of investment property, has sample forms that can be edited, and - most importantly - they tell you what your primary state laws are and where you can read them. It's updated every year and is the best $40 you'll spend as a Landlord. There is one book for 49 states and a separate book for California.