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AB 1137

Relating to: evicting tenants for failure to pay rent.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Clint Anderson and 5 co-sponsors

The bill extends rent nonpayment cure periods to 30 days for most tenancies, and requires full payment before judgment to halt eviction proceedings.

Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
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Bill Summary · AB 1137

Summary of Assembly Bill 1137 (2025-2026): Evicting Tenants for Failure to Pay Rent

Jurisdiction: Wisconsin

Purpose
- The bill amends specific provisions in Wisconsin law to extend deadlines related to paying rent or vacating and to modify how eviction actions interact with late payments.
- Central aim: provide tenants with longer periods to cure nonpayment before eviction and to clarify court dismissal rules when rent is paid during an eviction proceeding.

Key Provisions

1) Termination timeline for nonpayment (month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies)
- 704.17(1p)(a) – Month-to-month/weekly tenancies:
- Current rule: If rent is not paid when due, the landlord must give a notice to pay or vacate with at least 5 days to comply.
- Amended rule: The notice to pay or vacate must allow at least 30 days (instead of 5) for payment or vacating.
- Additionally, for month-to-month tenancies in default, the notice to vacate must provide at least 14 days after the notice.
- Effect: Tenants in default would have a longer buffer period (up to 30 days) to cure nonpayment and avoid eviction, compared with the existing shorter notice period.

2) Termination timeline for rent installments under a shorter-term lease (one year or less)
- 704.17(2)(a) – Leases of one year or less, or year-to-year:
- Current rule: If a rent installment is late, the landlord may terminate the tenancy with a notice to pay or vacate at least 5 days after the notice.
- Amended rule: The notice period would be 30 days (instead of 5) to pay or vacate.
- If the tenant has previously defaulted within one year, and later again fails to pay on time after a prior default, the landlord may terminate with a 14-day notice to vacate after the default.
- Effect: Longer cure periods for renters under short-term leases, with heightened enforcement after repeated defaults within a year.

3) Dismissal and reinstatement of eviction actions when rent is paid during litigation
- 799.40(1m) – Acceptance of rent or other payment:
- Current rule: An eviction action can be dismissed if the landlord accepts rent after the eviction action has been commenced (which can reinstate tenancy in some scenarios).
- Amended rule: The action “may not shall” be dismissed on the basis that the landlord accepted payment after service or after the eviction action began; rather, the tenancy is reinstated only if late payments are fully cured prior to judgment.
- Effect: Strengthens the ability of courts to proceed with eviction unless the tenant fully pays all past-due rent and any other required payments before judgment, thus reducing post-filing settlements that stall eviction.

Affected Parties

  • Tenants:
    • Longer notice periods (up to 30 days) to pay or vacate for nonpayment.
    • Potentially more favorable relief from evictions if they cure before judgment, though the threshold remains high for reinstatement in court after filing.
  • Landlords:
    • Must grant longer cure periods to tenants before initiating eviction for nonpayment.
    • Eviction proceeding outcomes may be constrained by the requirement to accept full payment before judgment to halt the action.
  • Courts:
    • Will enforce extended notice timelines and new dismissal/reinstatement rules around rent payments during eviction actions.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Effective change proposed in:
    • 704.17(1p)(a): Notice to pay or vacate extended to 30 days for month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies; 14-day vacate notice in default cases remains for month-to-month.
    • 704.17(2)(a): 30-day notice to pay or vacate for leases of one year or less; 14-day vacate notice after prior default within a year in subsequent defaults.
    • 799.40(1m): Clarifies that eviction actions cannot be dismissed solely because landlord accepted payments after filing; reinstatement requires full payment prior to judgment.
  • Legislative status:
    • Introduced March 13, 2026; referred to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate.
    • Listed sponsors include multiple representatives and senators; no reported passage as of the action history noted.

Notes
- The bill introduces a uniform 30-day cure period for rent nonpayment across several tenancy types, aligning more with a mitigation approach before eviction.
- It preserves a shorter 14-day vacate period within certain default scenarios to balance timelines.
- The procedural change on dismissal aims to reduce post-filing settlements that might undermine the eviction process, by requiring full cure before judgment.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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