Wisconsin mobile home rights cheat sheet

A quick reference to how Wisconsin law generally treats mobile home community lot tenancies. Wisconsin has a dedicated park law — Wis. Stat. §710.15 (manufactured and mobile home community regulations) — backed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's fair-trade rule, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 125. This is general information, not legal advice, and the authors are not lawyers — for a specific situation, consider consulting a licensed attorney in Wisconsin. Each line cites the controlling authority; read it at the official source linked in Sources below.

At a glance

Topic	What the law generally provides	Cite
Governing law	Dedicated §710.15 + DATCP rule ch. ATCP 125.	§710.15; ATCP 125
Written lease	Required, in writing; copy furnished to the tenant.	§710.15(1m); ATCP 125.03(1)
Lease term	At least one year unless the resident requests shorter and the operator agrees.	§710.15(1m); ATCP 125.03(2)
Rules	All rules affecting residents' rights must be part of the lease; no mid-term change.	§710.15(2); ATCP 125.05(2)
Rent during term	No rent or charge increase during the lease term (limited pass-throughs).	ATCP 125.03(4)
Rent cap	No statewide cap; 28-day written notice of a change at renewal.	ATCP 125.05(1)
Eviction	Cause only — nonpayment, breach, conduct endangering others, closure, good cause.	§710.15(5m)
Notice	Nonpayment 5 days; breach 5/14 days (30 if lease over one year).	§704.17; §710.15(5r)
Park closure	90 days' written notice to all residents before retiring the community/site.	§710.15(5r)
Retaliation	Barred (reporting a violation, tenants' association, freeing a site for operator's buyer).	ATCP 125.08(2)
Entrance/exit fee	Prohibited for moving a home in or out.	ATCP 125.04(1)
Security deposit	2 months' rent or $750, whichever is less.	ATCP 125.04(1)(b)
Forced improvements	Operator can't require/charge for permanent community improvements.	ATCP 125.09(3)
Sell in place	No removal because ownership changed; no forced operator-agent; no transfer fee.	§710.15(4); ATCP 125.06
Age of home	No removal or different terms based on the home's age.	§710.15(3)
"For Sale" sign	Allowed unless a sign limit applies uniformly to everyone.	ATCP 125.06(1)(e)
Utilities	Charged by use, competitive with retail, itemized; no markup on directly billed service.	ATCP 125.04(3)
Emergency shelter	Lease must state whether the community has one; rules give location and use.	§710.15(2m)
Title	DSPS certificate of title.	§101.9203
Real property	Made a fixture to owned/leased land under ch. 706 → taxed as real estate.	§101.9203(4); §66.0435(3)
Tax on a rented space	Monthly municipal permit fee in lieu of property tax.	§66.0435(3)(c)

How to use this

This sheet summarizes; it does not replace the statute, the rule, or legal advice. Wisconsin pairs a dedicated statute (§710.15) with a detailed consumer-protection rule (ch. ATCP 125) that bars entrance and exit fees, caps the deposit, and controls utility billing — but it does not cap rent, a gap this guide flags honestly. Start with your written lease (and the rules attached to it), then check the controlling section or rule for your issue.

Where to read more

• Wisconsin topic guides on FightMyPark: lot rent, eviction, fees, utilities, buying, selling, title, and storm.
• The official statute and rule text and agency pages, linked in the Sources section below.