State Specific Question About: WISCONSIN (WI)

I have a tenant in my lower unit, They have been there for 5 years. She has 2 Aussie's (m/f) and a son (almost 17)no one else. She got a promotion w/better pay about a month ago. The son has been sick for almost 5 years (cancer) doing better now. I did give her breaks when I could, because of this.

The problem is she singed a new lease (one year) Starting September 1st. Stating that I would not raise her rent ($5.00 per month) as long as she keeps up to date with her water bill (each unit has it"s own meter). Late in the past and it usually ends up going on my tax bill. She has a $92.00 water bill, past due now (since signing)and she is late with the full payment of rent. Rent is $850 per month, I got $400 0n the 10/01 late evening, $400 late evening on 10/2. I sent her a message that night stating that it must be paid in full by 10/3 at 9am. Never got a response to the message or cash. The last time I got rent in full & on time was May 1st, 2009

The lease agreement was she'd pay rent in full on the first of the month or let me know before so we could work out a plan. No notice was given.

Would you evict or not?

Sorry for some of the misspelled words, trying to do three things at once.

Nope.

"The lease agreement was she'd pay rent in full on the first of the month or let me know before so we could work out a plan"

Gail, I hope you don't have this in writing on the lease. If you do, your tenant can fight eviction by stating your lease is allowing her to be late due to the "work out a plan" wording.

Would I evict her? No. But you have got to get her on a plan and stick to it and let her know you will evict her if her payment timeliness doesn't improve. She got a promotion with better pay and therefore should be able to pay. Her son, while I sympathize, should be getting a disability check. Since he should be collecting disability he should also have medicaid or medicare and his insurance premiums and medication co-pays should be minimal.

Since she's a long-term tenant, I know you're looking to do the right thing and want to give the tenant a chance. You also have to do what's right for you and your business and income.

I think you should maybe write her a lease agreement that says her rent is due on the 1st with a three to five day grace period and once the grace period is up a late fee applies. But that's just what I would do.

Can you picture yourself sitting at the bench looking at this and asking yourself what is the legal thing to do - who is at fault, by what law or sequence of laws?

The wording on the lease is " If you are not going to be able to pay rent by the first of each month, you MUST let me know A.S.A.P.

ASAP, oh my cell phone with your number fell and I can no longer read the screen, I have one ordered and in 2 weeks when it come I will see if I can recover your number, pretend I am the tenant and that is my story, it sounds normal to me, I have 5 girls and 2 have phones with this problem, so based on this the late fee applies after I can call you, not a case you could win with logic applied threu this lease clause.

try this -->

I don't need to get a Post office box and the lost your number thing doesn't work. My tenant lives across the street from me 2 houses down. I have a mail box that is attached to my brick house where the mail drops to the floor inside. I lived in my duplex for 6 years before I got the single family that I live in, easier to maintain the duplex being close by.

The addendum refers to past addendum's that might be why it comes across too vague to you.

I have been in the landlady business since 1985. I haven't had many problems considering the amount of years I've been doing this.

I emailed her and told her if I don't hear back by 5pm today I will start the eviction process. I'm not in this business to pay tenants bills.

Time for her to go...

Sounds like she has recieved plenty of good will from you and now is repaying you by ditching your phone calls. Thats not the way to stay in the LLs good graces. Start following the lease to the letter from now on.

You give them a crutch and they depend on it more and more. She needs to get things in order. Sadly if she hasn't after 5 years I doubt she ever will.

A good 10 years before I became a LL a dear friend said something to me that I will never forget.

He was cutting my hair. It is his vocation.

We were talking about friends of ours and family. When he paused and asked me

"Josh when is the last time you thanked your broom?" I laughed and said ... I've never thanked my broom Steve! Have you?

"No I haven't. You are cleaning up other peoples messes and they are use to you doing it. You are a busy broom and you need to stop for your own sake. No one thanks a broom. Treat yourself better than that.

You deserve good treatment from yourself if from no one else. Let them notice their own messes and let them clean them up. Retire the broom in you. PLEASE!"

My internal broom was retired that day.

The wording on the lease is " If you are not going to be able to pay rent by the first of each month, you MUST let me know A.S.A.P."

I mentioned to the tenant that if I didn't hear from her by 5pm (10-5-09) I would start the eviction process. I received a response and the rest of the rent and water bill money. It would have and will evict her if I have to but I'd rather wait until warmer weather, Spring maybe. As anyone knows the Winter weather in Wisconsin isn't the best time to find tenants. I know I'd have a lot of work to do (myself) to ready the unit so it wouldn't be ready to rent until December if I'm lucky.