A Wisconsin sublease agreement lets you rent your leased space to someone else while your own lease with the landlord stays in place. You become the sublessor, the new occupant becomes the sublessee, and you remain responsible to the landlord for everything the original lease requires. Whether you can do this at all depends on your tenancy type and what your lease says.
Whether You Can Sublease
Wis. Stat. 704.09(1) draws a bright line. Month-to-month tenants and anyone on a periodic tenancy shorter than year-to-year cannot sublease without the landlord’s agreement or consent.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.09 – Transferability, Effect of Assignment or Transfer, Remedies If you hold a fixed-term lease of a year or longer, you can sublease unless the lease itself expressly restricts that right.
Most residential leases in Wisconsin do include a clause requiring written landlord approval before subletting, and that restriction is enforceable. If your lease is silent and your term runs a year or more, the default favors you, but telling the landlord anyway is wise because a landlord who doesn’t know about the sublessee may not recognize that person’s rights as a tenant.
When consent is required, ask in writing and keep a copy. Landlords commonly screen the proposed sublessee’s credit and rental history before approving. If the landlord refuses and your lease requires consent, going ahead anyway sets up an eviction.
If You Sublease Without Permission
Subletting in violation of a lease clause is a non-rent breach, which triggers the cure-or-vacate process under Wis. Stat. 704.17. For leases of one year or less and year-to-year tenancies, the landlord must give at least five days’ written notice identifying the violation and demanding that you fix it or move out.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.17 – Notice Necessary to Terminate Tenancies You’re treated as in compliance if you promptly take reasonable steps to remedy the situation, such as removing the unauthorized sublessee.
The second time is worse. If you breach the same or any other non-rent lease provision within one year of that first notice, the landlord can serve a 14-day notice to vacate with no chance to cure.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.17 – Notice Necessary to Terminate Tenancies For leases longer than one year, the initial notice period runs 30 days instead of five.
Disclosures You Owe the Sublessee
Wisconsin treats most sublessors as landlords under the state’s Residential Rental Practices rules. ATCP 134.02(5) explicitly includes sublessors in the definition of “landlord,” with one carve-out for someone subleasing an individual unit they personally occupy.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134 – Residential Rental Practices If you’re moving out and handing over the whole unit, ATCP 134 treats you as the landlord and its disclosure rules apply.
Habitability and Code Violations
Before signing the sublease or taking any deposit, ATCP 134.04 requires you to disclose any building or housing code violation you actually know about, as long as it affects the unit or a common area, presents a significant threat to health or safety, and hasn’t been corrected.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.04 – Disclosure Requirements You also have to disclose habitability problems you know about or could discover through a reasonable inspection, including:
- No hot or cold running water
- Heating facilities not in safe condition or unable to maintain at least 67°F in all living areas
- No electricity or unsafe wiring, outlets, or fixtures
- Plumbing or sewage facilities not in good operating condition
- Any structural condition creating a substantial health or safety risk from reasonably foreseeable use
You also need to give the sublessee the name and address of the person authorized to collect rent and manage the property, plus the name and address of the property owner or someone authorized to accept legal notices on the owner’s behalf.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.04 – Disclosure Requirements
Lead-Based Paint
Federal law adds another layer for older buildings. Under 42 U.S.C. 4852d, any residential property built before 1978 requires a lead-based paint disclosure before signing a lease or sublease.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property The EPA requires sellers, landlords, and property managers to share any known information about lead-based paint hazards and provide the sublessee with a federally approved pamphlet about lead risks.6U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X) Skipping this exposes you to federal liability even if the state disclosures are clean.
Check-In Sheet
Before accepting a security deposit, you must notify the sublessee in writing that they have at least seven days after the start of the sub-tenancy to inspect the unit and report any pre-existing damage or defects.7Legal Information Institute. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.06 – Security Deposits The sublessee can also request a list of physical damages charged against the previous tenant’s security deposit, whether or not those damages have been repaired. Without a documented baseline, proving later damage happened on the sublessee’s watch gets hard. Hand over the form at move-in and keep a signed copy.
Writing the Agreement
A sublease doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it does have to nail down the essentials:
- Full legal names of the sublessor and sublessee
- Property address including unit number
- Start and end dates of the sub-tenancy
- Monthly rent amount and the date it’s due
- Security deposit amount and return terms
- Who pays which utilities
- The landlord’s written consent, if the lease requires it
The sublease cannot grant more rights than your master lease gives you. If your lease prohibits pets or caps occupancy, those restrictions pass through. Attaching the master lease or its key provisions to the sublease heads off disputes about which rules apply. Both parties sign; if the landlord consented, include that approval in the package. Wisconsin doesn’t require notarization, and electronic signatures work and create a timestamped record. Give copies to both parties and deliver one to the landlord if the landlord approved the arrangement.
Security Deposit Rules
Because ATCP 134 treats sublessors as landlords, Wisconsin’s security deposit rules apply to you in full. The state does not cap deposit amounts, so you can charge what the sublessee agrees to, though pricing well above one month’s rent will drive most candidates away.
You have 21 days after the sublease ends to return the full deposit, minus any amounts you’re entitled to withhold.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.28 – Withholding From and Return of Security Deposits The clock starts on the termination date if the sublessee leaves on time. If they vacate early, the 21-day period runs from either the sublease termination date or the date a new occupant moves in, whichever comes first.7Legal Information Institute. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.06 – Security Deposits
You can withhold only for specific reasons listed in the statute:
- Damage, waste, or neglect beyond normal wear and tear
- Unpaid rent
- Unpaid utilities the sublessee owed and that you as sublessor became liable for
- Other charges spelled out in a signed “Nonstandard Rental Provisions” document
You cannot deduct for normal wear and tear.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.28 – Withholding From and Return of Security Deposits If you plan to charge for anything outside the standard categories, you need the sublessee’s written acknowledgment of those nonstandard provisions before the sublease begins.
Missing the 21-day deadline violates ATCP 134, which is enforceable under Wisconsin’s consumer protection statutes. A sublessee who suffers a monetary loss from a violation can sue for up to twice their actual out-of-pocket damages plus reasonable attorney’s fees under Wis. Stat. 100.20(5).9Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Landlord Tenant Guide Courts can also impose civil forfeitures between $100 and $10,000 per violation.
You Stay Liable to Your Landlord
Handing the keys to a sublessee does not relieve you of a single obligation under the master lease. Wis. Stat. 704.09(2) says it plainly: unless the landlord expressly releases you, you remain bound.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 704.09 – Transferability, Effect of Assignment or Transfer, Remedies If your sublessee stops paying rent, the landlord comes after you. If your sublessee damages the property, you owe the landlord for the damage.
You’re simultaneously a tenant to the landlord and a landlord to the sublessee. That dual role means following your own lease and meeting ATCP 134’s landlord obligations toward the sublessee at the same time.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134 – Residential Rental Practices Collecting rent and disappearing for six months isn’t an option. When maintenance issues come up, the sublessee will come to you, and the landlord will expect you to handle them or coordinate.
Screen carefully. Run a credit check, call previous landlords, and verify employment. A bad sublease can cost you your own tenancy, not just a deposit.
When the Sublease Ends
Normal Expiration
When the term ends, the sublessee has to leave. Staying past that date without your consent makes them a holdover. Under Wis. Stat. 704.27, a holdover tenant who refuses to leave owes at minimum twice the daily rental value for every day they remain, and the landlord can seek additional damages. As the sublessor, a holdover sublessee is your problem; the landlord may hold you responsible rather than chase someone they never contracted with. Build a buffer into the sublease end date so it expires before your own lease does. A sublessee who holds over past your own lease termination creates a situation where both of you could face eviction.
Early Termination by Service Members
Federal law overrides any sublease provision that would penalize a service member for leaving early. Under 50 U.S.C. 3955, a service member who receives permanent change of station orders or deployment orders for 90 days or more can terminate a residential lease by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 U.S. Code 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases For leases with monthly rent payments, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date following delivery of the notice. You cannot charge an early termination fee.
Taxes on the Rent You Collect
The IRS treats rent collected from a sublessee as taxable rental income. Report it on Schedule E of Form 1040 for the tax year you receive it, even if the payment covers a future period.11Internal Revenue Service. Rental Income and Expenses Advance rent covering multiple months goes on the return for the year you got it, not spread across the months it covers.
You can offset that income with deductible expenses. The rent you pay your own landlord for the subleased unit, utilities you cover, and repairs you make all reduce your taxable rental income. If the sublessee pays expenses on your behalf, those payments count as additional rental income to you, though you can also deduct the same expenses when they qualify.11Internal Revenue Service. Rental Income and Expenses
Security deposits follow a different rule. If you have to return the deposit, don’t include it in income when you receive it. Any portion you keep because the sublessee broke the sublease or caused damage becomes income in the year you keep it.11Internal Revenue Service. Rental Income and Expenses Keep records of every payment received and every expense paid.