In Wisconsin, do evictions stay on your record for 20 years?
Under Wisconsin Supreme Court rules, records of small claims cases — which include evictions — are kept for 20 years.
Dismissed small claims cases, however, are removed from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website after two years.
Legal Action of Wisconsin, a nonprofit law firm representing low-income renters, asked the Supreme Court in March to shorten the time frame for retaining most evictions to one year. It also requested courts apply the 20-year retention standard only to evictions that required a renter to pay money back to a landlord. The law firm notes there are "prolonged and pervasive racial disparities in the rental housing market in Wisconsin."
The director of state courts rejected a similar petition because it would be too burdensome to implement, the Cap Times reported.
The Wisconsin Apartment Association supports reducing the period to "a few years," according to FOX6 News.