Inherited rental property. Can I evict current tenant?

It really depends on the rental agreement that's currently in place! In Wisconsin, inheriting a property doesn't automatically give you the right to evict the existing tenants. Their rental agreement generally carries over with the property. The first thing I'd want to know is whether they're on a month to month agreement or have a lease for a specific period of time. If they're month to month, Wisconsin generally allows you to terminate the tenancy with proper written notice, typically at least 28 days, with the termination date lining up with the end of the rental period. If they have a lease that runs for another six months or a year, you'll generally need to honor that lease unless there's a legal reason to terminate it early. I'd also want to know what your plans are for the property. Are you hoping to move into it yourself, sell it, or just no longer want to be a landlord? That may help determine your best options. I would definitely recommend reviewing the lease and speaking with a Wisconsin attorney who handles landlord and tenant matters before taking any action. I am a Wisconsin Licensee but not an attorney. There are specific legal requirements for terminating a tenancy, and you want to make sure everything is handled correctly!

If you inherited a rental property, you generally cannot evict the current tenant simply because you inherited the property. In most cases, the existing lease remains valid and you step into the previous owner’s role as the landlord, meaning you must honor the lease until it expires unless there is a legally valid reason for an earlier eviction. If the tenant is month-to-month, you may have more options, but you still have to follow the required notice and eviction laws, which can vary by state and city. If the property is in California, additional just-cause and tenant-protection rules may apply, so it’s important to check the specific local laws before serving an eviction notice.

First, I am sorry. Inheriting property usually means you have lost someone, and the paperwork lands on you at the worst possible time. I need to say up front that I am not licensed in Wisconsin, so nothing here is advice for your state. What I can do is walk you through exactly how we would handle this same situation in Alabama, step by step, so you have a map of the questions to ask. The order of operations tends to be the same most places even when the specific law is not, so hopefully this gives you real insight into what to go find out where you are. Here is how we would work it. First, we would confirm you actually own it yet. Inheriting and holding title are two separate events. If the property is still moving through probate, the estate owns it until it is distributed, and the personal representative, not the heir, is the one with authority to act on it. We would not let a client take a single landlord action until that is settled, because acting like an owner before you are one is where people create real problems for themselves. So question one for you: has title actually passed, or is this still in an estate? Second, we would read the lease before doing anything else. When property changes hands, an existing lease generally goes with it. A tenant in the middle of a fixed term usually keeps that term. A month to month arrangement is a different situation with different notice requirements. If there is no written lease at all, that is its own category and state law fills the gap. We would also track down where the security deposit is and whether it was ever transferred, because that obligation follows the property and it becomes yours. Find out which of those three situations you are in. That single answer changes everything that comes after it. Third, we would get a real estate attorney involved before anybody talks to the tenants. In Alabama, removing a tenant is a court process with statutory notice periods and specific forms, and I would expect Wisconsin to have its own version of the same thing. Doing it informally, changing locks, shutting off utilities, telling someone to be out by Friday, creates liability that dwarfs whatever you were trying to solve. An hour with a local attorney is the cheapest part of this by a wide margin. Fourth, and this is the one we would actually spend the most time on, we would ask what you want the property to do for you. I ask heirs this constantly, because can I evict them is usually really what do I do with this house. A paying tenant in place is an asset if you are keeping it as a rental. It is also an asset if you are selling, because investor buyers frequently prefer an occupied property with income already attached. It is an obstacle mainly if you need it vacant for an owner occupant buyer or for your own use. Those are three different plans and only one of them starts with removing anyone. We would run the numbers on all three before touching the tenancy. Fifth, we would send you to a CPA early. Inherited property typically gets a stepped up basis, and that affects what a sale actually costs you in tax. That conversation is worth having before you decide, not after. So, to be clear, that is our Alabama playbook and not a recommendation for Oshkosh. Take those five questions to a Wisconsin real estate attorney and a local agent who handles rentals, and you will get through the first meeting with your file in far better shape than most people do. I am an agent, not an attorney or a CPA, and this one genuinely needs both. Dustin Woodley, Camelot Properties, LLC — Tri County River Region area.

Inheriting the property does not automatically give you the right to evict the existing tenants. Generally, the lease and Wisconsin landlord-tenant laws continue to apply even though ownership has changed. The first thing I would do is review the existing lease to determine whether it is still in effect, when it expires, and what termination provisions apply. If the tenants are violating the lease or there is another legally valid reason for termination, you may have options, but you need to follow the required notice and eviction procedures. If you're simply looking to have the tenants move out because you inherited the property, you shouldn't assume you can terminate the tenancy immediately. Wisconsin has specific rules regarding notices and evictions, and the exact situation can depend on whether the tenancy is fixed-term or month-to-month. I'd recommend speaking with a Wisconsin landlord-tenant attorney or local housing authority before serving any notice. One improperly handled notice can create unnecessary delays and costs. Juan Picos Real Estate Agent JohnHart Real Estate

Tina, sorry for the loss behind this. The short answer is that a change of owner usually doesn't end a tenancy. The lease came with the building, so whatever your relative signed keeps running, with you now standing in as the landlord. What decides your options is the type of tenancy. A fixed term generally runs to its end date unless the tenant breaks it. Month to month can usually be ended with proper written notice, and the length of that notice is set by state rules rather than by you. Start by tracking down the written lease and any security deposit, since that money becomes your responsibility. Check whether probate is finished too, because you may not have authority to act yet. Talk with a Wisconsin landlord tenant attorney before serving anything in Oshkosh. My license is California only, so the notice rules there aren't mine to quote. Alla Novytska, Realtor®, JohnHart Real Estate, DRE #02254775

Tina, since we do not know the full extent of the situation, there is no way for us to be able to answer this with 100% certainty. I would suggest speaking with a legal professional to discuss your options. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

You will need to review the terms of the lease. I would highly recommend consulting with someone in your area who specializes in landlord tenant law to keep yourself protected. Tenants have rights under their lease and there is a process you must follow for eviction. Evictions can become costly and if your tenants feel they were wrongly evicted could potentially damage the property out of spite causing you more financial distress. If their lease has a specific end date and you can wait until then, it may be your best bet. Or if you can speak to them and mutually agree to an early termination you may be able to find an amicable solution for both you and the tenants. You definitely need to look at the lease as your first step.

Tina, you inherited the lease along with the building. In Wisconsin a change of ownership does not end an existing tenancy, so under Wis. Stat. 704.09 you step into the previous owner's shoes as landlord and the lease keeps running on its own terms. That is the piece that surprises almost every heir, and it decides what you can and cannot do next. Before you do anything about the tenant, confirm one thing: is the property actually titled in your name yet? If probate is still open, the personal representative controls the property, not you personally. An eviction filed by the wrong party gets dismissed, and you pay for the privilege of starting over. Sort out who legally owns it first. Once that is settled, what you can do depends entirely on what kind of tenancy exists. If there is a written lease with time left on it, you cannot end it early just because ownership changed. You either wait it out or you negotiate. A cash for keys agreement, in writing, is usually faster and cheaper than any other path, and it is a normal thing to offer. If the tenancy is month to month, Wis. Stat. 704.19 lets either side end it with at least 28 days written notice, and you do not need a reason. The notice has to be in writing and it has to state the termination date. That is the whole requirement, and people still get it wrong by being vague about the date. If you are ending it for cause, such as nonpayment or a breach, that runs under Wis. Stat. 704.17, which has its own notice types and timelines that change depending on the tenancy and on whether it is a first or a repeat violation. I am not going to quote you a day count, because getting that wrong restarts the clock. That is a fifteen minute question for a Wisconsin landlord tenant attorney and it is worth the fee. This week, get these four things out of the estate and into your hands: the signed lease, a ledger of what rent has actually been paid, the security deposit amount and where the money physically is, and copies of any notices the previous owner already gave. The deposit is the one that bites. The tenant is going to look to you for it at move out whether or not the estate ever handed it to you, so get it transferred with a written accounting, and tell the tenant in writing who the new owner is and where to send rent. Confirm the deposit rules with a Wisconsin attorney, because the sources on successor responsibility are not consistent and I am not going to guess on your money. One more thing worth saying, because most people never consider it. If your goal is to sell rather than to live there, a tenant in place is not automatically a problem. Occupied rentals sell to investor buyers all the time, and an empty house means you carry the taxes, insurance and utilities with no rent coming in. If you go that route, the document that makes it work is a tenant estoppel certificate, signed by the tenant, confirming the rent, the deposit, the term and that there are no side agreements. Buyers pay more when they are not guessing. I am a real estate professional, not an attorney, so treat the notice mechanics and the deposit question as legal questions and get them confirmed locally. Oshkosh is a long way from the Los Angeles market I work, so I am not the right person to handle this on the ground. If you want an introduction to a Wisconsin agent who actually works with inherited and tenant occupied property, tell me and Zoltan Peresztegi will connect you with someone. Zoltan