WI SB206

Tenants whose residential lease contains voidable provisions (such as clauses allowing retaliation for contacting law enforcement or terminating tenancy when tenant is a crime victim) may elect to either void the entire lease and convert to a periodic tenancy, or sever only the offending provision and continue under the remainder of the lease

Wisconsin Consumer Act (Chapters 421-427) would no longer apply to residential rental agreements or mobile home leases, effectively overturning the Koble Invs. v Marquardt (2024) Court of Appeals decision that classified landlords as "debt collectors" subject to consumer protection laws

Tenants suffering pecuniary loss from a voidable lease provision may recover twice the amount of damages plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs, but rental payments made under the lease are explicitly excluded from recoverable damages

Remedies for voidable lease provisions are limited exclusively to those specified in the new section 704.445, restricting tenants from seeking relief under other laws such as fair competition statutes

Tenants must provide notice to landlords in the manner specified under existing law (s. 704.21(2)) for their election to void or sever lease provisions to take effect