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Unless there's a written agreement to the contrary, a landlord can take various actions in this situation.

 

Wisconsin Code Ch. 704.05(5)(a), entitled "STORAGE OR DISPOSITION OF PERSONALTY LEFT BY TENANT" states:

 

If a tenant removes from the premises and leaves personal property, the landlord may do all of the following:

 

1. Store the personalty, on or off the premises, with a lien on the personalty for the actual and reasonable cost of removal and storage or, if stored by the landlord, for the actual and reasonable value of storage. The landlord shall give written notice of the stor- age to the tenant within 10 days after the charges begin. The landord shall give the notice either personally or by ordinary mail addressed to the tenant's last-known address and shall state the daily charges for storage. The landlord may not include the cost of damages to the premises or past or future rent due in the amount demanded for satisfaction of the lien. The landlord may not include rent charged for the premises in calculating the cost of storage. Medicine and medical equipment are not subject to the lien under this subdivision, and the landlord shall promptly return them to the tenant upon request.

 

2. Give the tenant notice, personally or by ordinary mail addressed to the tenant's last-known address, of the landlord's intent to dispose of the personal property by sale or other appropri- ate means if the property is not repossessed by the tenant. If the tenant fails to repossess the property within 30 days after the date of personal service or the date of the mailing of the notice, the landlord may dispose of the property by private or public sale or any other appropriate means. The landlord may deduct from the proceeds of sale any costs of sale and any storage charges if the landlord has first stored the personalty under subd. 1. If the proceeds minus the costs of sale and minus any storage charges are not claimed within 60 days after the date of the sale of the person- alty, the landlord is not accountable to the tenant for any of the pro- ceeds of the sale or the value of the property. The landlord shall send the proceeds of the sale minus the costs of the sale and minus any storage charges to the department of administration for deposit in the appropriation under s. 20.143 (2) (h).

 

3. Store the personalty without a lien and return it to the tenant.

 

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