A landmark legal battle that threatened to upend Wisconsin’s rental housing market has finally reached its conclusion. On June 5, 2026, the Wisconsin Supreme Court delivered a decisive, unanimous victory for housing providers in Koble Investments v. Marquardt (2026 WI 19), re-establishing stability for residential leases across the state.
Here is the story behind the case, the severe risks our industry faced and how the WRA fought on multiple fronts.
The case: the eviction heard throughout the state
The legal saga began when a landlord served an eviction notice to a tenant for failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 eviction moratorium. As soon as the tenant filed the counterclaims pointing out the violation of the eviction moratorium, the landlord recognized the error, admitted to serving the notice during the prohibited period, and immediately moved to voluntarily dismiss its own eviction action. Consequently, the circuit court dismissed the eviction.