In court-decided eviction outcomes for Hales Corners, WI, tenants prevail in roughly 28.3% 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
47d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Hales Corners, WI until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 47 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$2.1-4.3k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Hales Corners, WI costs landlords $2,054 to $4,290 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,335
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Hales Corners, WI is $1,335 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
39.3%
of households
39.3% of occupied housing units in Hales Corners, 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
3.8%
1.6% unemp.
3.8% of Hales Corners, WI residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 1.6%. 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 +38.5% (2024)
7.3
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
7.3
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
2.9
Economic stress
3.8% poverty · 1.6% unemp.
3.2
Supply constraint
$1,335 average · 39.3% renters
8.0
Rent Control risk
29.8% of income on rent
5.7
Eviction process difficulty
47 days filing → judgment
3.1
Tenant organizing strength
39.3% renters
8.4
Housing court bias
County bench composition
4.2
Geographic context
Risk heat across Hales Corners and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Hales Corners compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Milwaukee County
Elevated
#9of 19 cities
#9 of 19 cities in Milwaukee County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Wisconsin
Very High
#27of 803 cities
#27 of 803 cities in Wisconsin for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
4.6
/ 10 · MODERATE
The verdict
A Moderate-tier market.
Composite 4.6/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+2.7 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
47d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,335/mo. A contested eviction takes 47 days and costs $2,054-$4,290 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
39.3%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 7,689 residents, 39.3% rent. 30% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 3.8% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
7.3
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 7.3 and 7.3 (Dem margin +38.5% (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 3.1, housing court bias 4.2, rent-control risk 5.7. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-1.9 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
3.2
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 3.2. Supply constraint: 8. The numbers behind those: 3.8% poverty, 1.6% 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
Hales Corners sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Hales Corners · 47d · ~$3.2k all-in ($67/day) · score 4.6National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 4.6/10 (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.
Hales Corners is a city of 7,689 residents where 39.3% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 29.8% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,335/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 Hales Corners eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 3.1/10, 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 Hales Corners closes 47 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 Hales Corners's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 4.2/10 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 Hales Corners runs $2,054 to $4,290 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 47 days of typical timeline and $1,335/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 8.4/10 in Hales Corners, and the city has limited rent control exposure (5.7/10). 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 Hales Corners: 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 $4,290 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Hales Corners
Trap · 3.8%
Local poverty rate is 3.8%, and the rent-burden distribution skews the eviction-filings curve toward moderate volume in Milwaukee County. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 5.7/10. Tenant organizing is most active in the rental concentration corridors.
04Eviction filings
Live filings tracking · Eviction Lab
Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System, county-level. Last update 2026-05-01.
In the most recent month, 918 eviction cases were filed across the tracker's coverage area, 0.83× the historical baseline (below baseline). Past 12 months: 12,773 filings. Pandemic-era cumulative: 70,867.
918Past month
12,773Past 12 months
0.83×vs baseline (past mo)
18.2%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 15% over the past 12 months.
Source: Eviction Lab Tracking System, Princeton University. Open Data Commons Attribution license.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
What if my tenant just disappears?
If your tenant abandons the property in Hales Corners, you still need to follow proper procedures. Don't just change the locks. Wisconsin law has specific rules about abandoned property. You might need to post an abandonment notice and wait a certain period (usually 5 days after the rent due date) before you can legally take possession. Document everything, especially the condition of the unit and any items left behind.
Q2
Can I charge late fees in Hales Corners?
Yes, you can charge late fees in Wisconsin. Your lease agreement must clearly state the late fee amount and when it applies. There's no statewide cap on late fees, but they must be "reasonable." Typically, a flat fee or a percentage of the rent (e.g., 5%) is considered reasonable. Don't make them punitive; courts can strike down excessive fees.
Q3
How do I handle tenant property left behind after an eviction?
After an eviction in Hales Corners, you cannot just throw out a tenant's belongings. Wisconsin law requires you to store the property for a certain period (usually 7-30 days, depending on the circumstances). You must also notify the tenant where their property is being stored and how they can retrieve it. If they don't claim it, you can then dispose of it or sell it, deducting storage costs. Get legal advice before selling or disposing of anything.
Q4
Is it worth it to hire an attorney for an eviction?
For most landlords in Hales Corners, especially those with 1-20 units, hiring an attorney for an eviction is usually worth the cost. While the upfront expense can seem high ($1,000-$2,500+), an attorney ensures all notices are correct, filings are timely, and court procedures are followed. A single mistake can delay the eviction for weeks or months, costing you far more in lost rent and repeated legal fees. It's an investment in getting your property back faster and legally.
A 4.6/10 places Hales Corners in the 97th 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.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Hales Corners (4.6/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
