In court-decided eviction outcomes for Shullsburg, WI, tenants prevail in roughly 28.5% 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
51d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Shullsburg, WI until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 51 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$2.2–5.3k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Shullsburg, WI costs landlords $2,161 to $5,305 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$914
51% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Shullsburg, WI is $914 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 51% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
14.9%
of households
14.9% of occupied housing units in Shullsburg, 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
12.1%
6.3% unemp.
12.1% of Shullsburg, WI residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.3%. 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
GOP margin +20.2% (2024)
4.9
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
4.9
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
2.9
Economic stress
12.1% poverty · 6.3% unemp.
6.7
Supply constraint
$914 average · 14.9% renters
4.5
Rent Control risk
51.0% of income on rent
7.2
Eviction process difficulty
51 days filing → judgment
2.4
Tenant organizing strength
14.9% renters
3.9
Housing court bias
County bench composition
6.6
Geographic context
Risk heat across Shullsburg and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Shullsburg compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Lafayette County
Very High
#1of 8 cities
#1 of 8 cities in Lafayette County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Wisconsin
High
#85of 803 cities
#85 of 803 cities in Wisconsin for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3.2
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3.2/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+1.0 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
51d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $914/mo. A contested eviction takes 51 days and costs $2,161–$5,305 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
14.9%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 1,184 residents, 14.9% rent. 51% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 12.1% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
4.9
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 4.9 and 4.9 (GOP margin +20.2% (2024)). State climate at 2.9, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
2.9
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 2.9/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 2.4, housing court bias 6.6, rent-control risk 7.2. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-2.6 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6.7
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6.7. Supply constraint: 4.5. The numbers behind those: 12.1% poverty, 6.3% unemployment, 51% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Shullsburg sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Shullsburg · 51d · ~$3.7k all-in ($73/day) · score 3.2National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.2/10 (LOW 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.
Shullsburg is a city of 1,184 residents where 14.9% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 51.0% of income on rent. At an average rent of $914/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 Shullsburg eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 2.4/10, 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 Shullsburg closes 51 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 Shullsburg's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 6.6/10 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 Shullsburg runs $2,161 to $5,305 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 51 days of typical timeline and $914/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 3.9/10 in Shullsburg, and the city carries meaningful rent control exposure (7.2/10). 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 Shullsburg: 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 LOW 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 $5,305 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Shullsburg
Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Compare Shullsburg to neighboring cities in Lafayette County via the grid below. The 3.8/10 score is computed from nine sub-factors plus a state-law multiplier under Wis. Stat. 704 + ATCP 134. Lafayette County 2020 presidential margin: R+13.7. Cross-reference the state overview link in the guides section for Wisconsin statutory detail.
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 Shullsburg without a reason?
No, you always need a legal reason. For non-payment of rent, you issue a 5-day pay-or-quit notice. For other lease violations, you'd typically issue a 14-day notice to cure or quit. If you have a month-to-month tenancy and simply want them to leave, you need to provide a 28-day no-cause termination notice. You can't just tell them to leave without proper notice.
Q2
How long does it typically take to get a tenant out in Shullsburg?
From the first notice to the tenant being physically removed by the sheriff, the typical timeline in Wisconsin is about 51 days. This can vary depending on court schedules and if the tenant fights the eviction, but 51 days is a reasonable expectation.
Q3
Is there a limit on how much I can charge for a security deposit in Shullsburg?
No, Wisconsin law does not set a statutory cap on security deposits. However, charging an excessively high deposit might make it harder to find good tenants. It's generally wise to keep it to 1-2 months' rent.
Q4
What if my tenant pays rent late constantly, but always within the 5-day notice period?
This is frustrating. While they are technically complying with the 5-day notice, consistent late payments can be a breach of your lease agreement if your lease specifies payment by a certain date. You might be able to issue a 14-day notice for a lease violation, but it's often easier to simply not renew their lease when the term is up, provided you give the proper 28-day no-cause notice for month-to-month tenants.
Q5
Can I just change the locks if a tenant stops paying rent?
Absolutely not. This is an illegal "self-help" eviction and can get you into serious legal trouble, including fines and damages owed to the tenant. You must follow the legal eviction process through the courts, or you risk losing your case and paying big.
Q6
Do I need a lawyer for an eviction in Shullsburg?
While you can technically represent yourself in small claims court, it's highly recommended to consult or hire an attorney, especially if it's your first eviction or if the tenant is contesting it. Eviction law has many specific procedural rules, and a small mistake can set you back weeks or months. For more on the state's rules, see our Wisconsin eviction risk overview.
A 3.2/10 places Shullsburg in the 94th 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 climbed steadily 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.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Shullsburg (3.2/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
