The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a significant landlord-tenant decision on June 5, 2026, holding that the Wisconsin Consumer Act does not apply to a typical residential lease requiring monthly rent payments. In Koble Investments v. Marquardt, the court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had expanded consumer protection claims into the residential leasing context.
The dispute arose after a landlord served an eviction notice during the COVID-19 eviction moratorium. The tenant argued that the landlord violated the Wisconsin Consumer Act by attempting to enforce a right that did not exist and further claimed the lease was void because it omitted a statutorily required domestic abuse protections notice.
The Court of Appeals had previously accepted the tenant’s theory that a residential lease could be treated as an “agreement to defer payment” under the Wisconsin Consumer Act, thereby opening the door to consumer-law remedies such as statutory damages and attorney fees. That interpretation raised concern among landlords because it would have significantly expanded the scope of the Act into routine residential leasing transactions traditionally governed by Chapter 704 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
The Supreme Court rejected that approach, concluding that a residential lease with monthly rent payments is not an “agreement to defer payment” under Wis. Stat. § 427.104. The court explained that rent obligations accrue month by month, meaning tenants do not incur a debt for the entire lease term when they sign the lease. Because no debt is being deferred, the statute does not apply.
The court also held that even if the lease were considered void due to the missing domestic abuse notice, the tenant could not recover damages because she failed to show any pecuniary loss caused by the omission. The court reasoned that the tenant received the benefit of her bargain. She received housing in exchange for rent and did not present evidence that the missing notice caused her financial harm.
As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that neither the tenant nor her former attorney was entitled to recover damages, attorney fees or costs under either the Wisconsin Consumer Act or Wisconsin’s landlord-tenant regulations.
While the majority limited its holding to the specific Consumer Act provision at issue, a concurring opinion urged the court to go further and declare that the Wisconsin Consumer Act does not apply to residential leases at all.
The decision provides important clarification for landlords and tenants by reaffirming that Chapter 704 of the Wisconsin Statutes — not the Wisconsin Consumer Act — remains the primary body of law governing residential landlord-tenant relationships.
This is a major win for the WRA Legal Action Program, which participated in a coalition amicus brief.
