In court-decided eviction outcomes for Random Lake, WI, tenants prevail in roughly 24.8% 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
50d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Random Lake, WI until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 50 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$2.2–4.8k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Random Lake, WI costs landlords $2,160 to $4,835 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$858
19% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Random Lake, WI is $858 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 19% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
22.6%
of households
22.6% of occupied housing units in Random Lake, 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
3.4%
3.4% unemp.
3.4% of Random Lake, WI residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 3.4%. 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 +16.4% (2024)
5.0
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
5.0
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
2.9
Economic stress
3.4% poverty · 3.4% unemp.
3.9
Supply constraint
$858 average · 22.6% renters
5.0
Rent Control risk
18.9% of income on rent
4.8
Eviction process difficulty
50 days filing → judgment
3.2
Tenant organizing strength
22.6% renters
5.5
Housing court bias
County bench composition
3.7
Geographic context
Risk heat across Random Lake and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Random Lake compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Sheboygan County
Elevated
#5of 14 cities
#5 of 14 cities in Sheboygan County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Wisconsin
Moderate
#441of 803 cities
#441 of 803 cities in Wisconsin for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
2.8
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 2.8/10. 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
50d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $858/mo. A contested eviction takes 50 days and costs $2,160–$4,835 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
22.6%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 1,575 residents, 22.6% rent. 19% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 3.4% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
5
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 5 and 5 (GOP margin +16.4% (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 3.2, housing court bias 3.7, rent-control risk 4.8. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-1.8 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
3.9
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 3.9. Supply constraint: 5. The numbers behind those: 3.4% poverty, 3.4% unemployment, 19% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Random Lake sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Random Lake · 50d · ~$3.5k all-in ($70/day) · score 2.8National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Random Lake, Wisconsin, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 2.8/10 (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.
Random Lake is a city of 1,575 residents where 22.6% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 18.9% of income on rent. At an average rent of $858/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 Random Lake eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 3.2/10, 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 Random Lake closes 50 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 Random Lake's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 3.7/10 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 Random Lake runs $2,160 to $4,835 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 50 days of typical timeline and $858/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 5.5/10 in Random Lake, and the city has limited rent control exposure (4.8/10). 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 Random Lake: 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 $4,835 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Random Lake
Trap · 22.6%
22.6% renter share against 1,575 residents produces roughly 357 rental occupants in Random Lake. Ozaukee County voted R 12.0% in 2020. Eviction filings tend to cluster in the multifamily rental corridor.
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 Random Lake without a reason?
For month-to-month tenancies or at the end of a fixed-term lease, Wisconsin does not require "just cause" for eviction. You can issue a 28-day no-cause termination notice. However, you cannot evict for discriminatory reasons or in retaliation for a tenant exercising their legal rights.
Q2
How much can I charge for a security deposit in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin law does not impose a cap on security deposit amounts. You can charge what you deem appropriate, but typically one to two months' rent is common practice. Remember, you must return it within 21 days of the tenant vacating.
Q3
What if my tenant refuses to leave after the 5-day notice?
If your tenant doesn't pay or move out after the 5-day notice, you must file an eviction lawsuit (unlawful detainer action) with the Ozaukee County Circuit Court. You cannot physically remove them or change locks yourself. The sheriff will enforce a court-ordered writ of restitution.
Q4
Does Wisconsin have statewide tenant protections I should know about?
Yes, Wisconsin has various tenant protections, though generally less extensive than some other states. Key protections include rules around security deposit returns, landlord entry, and requirements for safe and habitable living conditions. There is no statewide source-of-income protection or rent control. Review our Wisconsin tenant protections page for full details.
Q5
Should I use an attorney for an eviction in Random Lake?
While you can represent yourself in small claims court, it's highly recommended to consult or hire an attorney for evictions. They ensure all notices are correctly served, filings are accurate, and court procedures are followed, minimizing delays and potential legal missteps. This is especially true if the tenant hires their own lawyer.
A 2.8/10 places Random Lake in the 59th 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 Random Lake (2.8/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
