Residential landlords in Wisconsin recently received welcome clarification from the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in Koble Invs. v. Marquardt. The Court overturned significant portions of the Court of Appeals’ 2024 decision. The Koble case addressed the enforceability and consequences of illegal residential lease provisions.
The Court of Appeals had previously held that Koble’s (the landlord) lease violated Wisconsin law and that the Wisconsin Consumer Act (“WCA”) applied to residential leases. Specifically the Court found that by serving a five-day eviction notice during the COVID-19 moratorium, the landlord attempted to “enforce a right with knowledge or reason to know that the right does not exist” in violation of Wis. Stat. § 427.104. Because violations of the WCA can result in significant penalties—including statutory damages and payment of the tenant's attorney's fees—the decision raised substantial concerns for residential landlords.
Additionally, the Koble decision found that the landlord violated Wis. Stat. § 704.44, which voids rental agreements that contain certain lease provisions. See Wis. Stat. § 704.44. The landlord in the Koble case violated § 704.44(10) because the rental agreement allowed the landlord to terminate the lease for a crime committed in relation to the rental property without providing the proper notice of the domestic abuse protections as required by Wis. Stat. § 704.14. Consequently, the Court of Appeals ordered Kobleto repay the tenant for all payments that were made under the unenforceable lease as a result of Koble’sviolation.
On June 5, 2026, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision. In doing so, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held thatWis. Stat. § 427.104 does not apply to residential leases requiring monthly rental payments. The Supreme Court concluded that routine month-to-month rental obligations do not fall within the scope of the WCA’s debt collection provisions. As a result, routine landlord-tenant disputes and eviction notices arising under residential leases are generally outside the scope of the WCA.
The decision significantly limits the remedies recognized by the Court of Appeals. By reversing the application of the WCA, the Supreme Court eliminated the basis for the expansive statutory damages, attorney’s fees, and restitutionary remedies that had generated considerable concern among residential landlords and property managers.
The Supreme Court’s decision further clarified that a tenant is not automatically entitled to repayment of all rent paid under an illegal lease. Instead, the Supreme Court clarified that a tenant must show a “causal connection between a prohibited trade practice [the illegal lease provision]” and the “pecuniary loss.” Logically, because the landlord in Koble did not attempt to enforce its illegal lease provision, the tenant could not reasonably argue that caused the tenant to make payments under the lease. Therefore, the Supreme Court found that the tenant was not entitled to recoup all of the rent paid. However, nothing in the decision eliminates the duty of landlords to draft lease agreements that comply with Wis. Stat. § 704.44. Although Koble substantially narrows the potential exposure created by the Court of Appeals’ decision, residential landlords should continue to review their lease agreements for compliance with Wis. Stat. § 704.44 and other statutory requirements. The Supreme Court’s decision does not eliminate the substantive obligations imposed by Wisconsin’s landlord-tenant laws; rather, it clarifies that ordinary residential leasing disputes do not give rise to liability under the WCA.