In court-decided eviction outcomes for Madison, WI, tenants prevail in roughly 32.0% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
45d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Madison, WI until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 45 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$1.9-4.7k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Madison, WI costs landlords $1,902 to $4,711 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,413
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Madison, WI is $1,413 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 30% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
54.0%
of households
54.0% of occupied housing units in Madison, WI are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
16.2%
2.7% unemp.
16.2% of Madison, WI residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 2.7%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +51.7% (2024)
8.0
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
5.5
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
4.0
Economic stress
16.2% poverty · 2.7% unemp.
4.5
Supply constraint
$1,413 average · 54.0% renters
7.0
Rent Control risk
30.1% of income on rent
3.5
Eviction process difficulty
45 days filing → judgment
5.5
Tenant organizing strength
54.0% renters
7.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition
5.5
Geographic context
Risk heat across Madison and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Madison compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Dane County
Very High
#2of 25 cities
#2 of 25 cities in Dane County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Wisconsin
Very High
#11of 803 cities
#11 of 803 cities in Wisconsin for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
5
/ 10 · MODERATE
The verdict
A Moderate-tier market.
Composite 5/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+2.8 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
45d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,413/mo. A contested eviction takes 45 days and costs $1,902-$4,711 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
54.0%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 278,001 residents, 54.0% rent. 30% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 16.2% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
6.8
Local + regional
The politics
Strong-tenant coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 8 and 5.5 (Dem margin +51.7% (2024)). State climate at 4, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
4
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 4/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 5.5, housing court bias 5.5, rent-control risk 3.5. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.5 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
4.5
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 4.5. Supply constraint: 7. The numbers behind those: 16.2% poverty, 2.7% unemployment, 30% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Madison sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Madison · 45d · ~$3.3k all-in ($73/day) · score 5National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Madison, Wisconsin, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 5/10 (MODERATE tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Madison is a city of 278,001 residents where 54.0% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 30.1% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,413/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Madison eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.5/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Madison closes 45 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Madison's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 5.5/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Madison runs $1,902 to $4,711 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 45 days of typical timeline and $1,413/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 7/10 in Madison, and the city has limited rent control exposure (3.5/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Wisconsin, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Madison: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a MODERATE tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Wisconsin's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $4,711 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Madison
Trap · 2011 ACT 108
The 2011 Wisconsin preemption push hit Madison hard. 2011 Act 108 preempted Dane County's source-of-income ordinance, blocking the protections the county had enacted earlier. 2017 Act 317 (Landlord Omnibus) further restricted municipal authority over eviction-related disclosure and habitability inspections. Wis. Stat. 66.1015 preempts rent control.
Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Despite the preemption layer, Madison City Council and Dane County have continued to operate a Tenant Resource Center and tenant-protection programming that does not require regulatory authority. Dane County Circuit Court enforces ATCP 134 procedural requirements strictly; pro-se landlord cases here have a meaningful failure rate on deposit-return and check-in/check-out documentation.
04Eviction filings
Live filings tracking · Eviction Lab
Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System, state-level (no county tracker available). Last update 2026-05-01.
In the most recent month, 1,980 eviction cases were filed across the tracker's coverage area, 0.90× the historical baseline (below baseline). Past 12 months: 25,794 filings. Pandemic-era cumulative: 145,103.
1,980Past month
25,794Past 12 months
0.90×vs baseline (past mo)
15.2%Repeat-tenant filings
Notice requirement: at least five days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: $94.50 filing fee.
Last 36 months of filings2023-05-01 - 2026-04-01
Filings dropped 7% over the past 12 months.
Source: Eviction Lab Tracking System, Princeton University. Open Data Commons Attribution license.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in Madison without a lawyer?
Yes, you can represent yourself in court for an eviction in Madison. However, given the moderate eviction-process-difficulty (5.5) and housing-court-bias (5.5) scores, it's highly recommended to consult or hire an attorney. Small procedural errors can lead to dismissal and restarting the process, costing you more in the long run.
Q2
What if my tenant pays part of the rent after I give a 5-day notice?
If you accept a partial payment after issuing a 5-day pay-or-quit notice, you generally waive your right to evict based on that specific notice. You would need to issue a new notice if the remaining balance isn't paid. It's usually best to demand full payment or proceed with the eviction. Consult an attorney before accepting partial payments if you intend to evict.
Q3
Is there rent control in Madison, WI?
No, Wisconsin has a statewide preemption against rent control. This means no city or county, including Madison, can implement rent control measures. Your rent-control-risk sub-score is 3.5/10, indicating a low risk. You can find more details on the Wisconsin rent control rules page.
Q4
How long do I have to return a security deposit in Madison?
You must return the security deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions to your tenant within 21 days of them vacating the property. Be sure to document any damages thoroughly with photos and receipts to justify deductions.
Q5
Can I charge late fees on rent in Madison?
Yes, you can charge reasonable late fees as specified in your lease agreement. Wisconsin law does not set a specific cap on late fees, but they must be reasonable and reflect the actual damages incurred by the landlord due to late payment. Clearly outline your late fee policy in your lease.
A 5/10 places Madison in the 99th percentile of Wisconsin cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Neighborhoods in Madison (7 with eviction-risk data)
Click a neighborhood to see its pop-weighted score, constituent census tracts, and demographics. Sorted by population.
