In Wisconsin and New York, the Lessor Has to Warn You Before Your Copier Lease Auto-Renews

The letter you were supposed to send three years ago

You sign a copier lease. In the back is a sentence saying that unless you send written notice inside a specific window before the term ends, the lease renews. Then you get on with your life for 36, 48 or 63 months, and the window comes and goes, because the person who signed left two office managers ago. Our own FAQ describes the evergreen clause plainly: it often renews for another full 12 months, no signature required, silence counts as consent.^[6]

Our guide to getting out of a lease admits that whether a renewal clause is enforceable varies by state and by contract.^[7] So we read the state laws written for exactly this. Two are surprisingly direct.

Wisconsin: the lessor writes first

The notice was on time. The fight was over the return.

Printree, on a 2010 New York appellate copier-lease decision

Wisconsin's business-contract renewal statute names equipment leases outright: it covers a lease of business equipment used primarily in the state, for a customer doing business there that uses the equipment itself.^[1] An office copier fits neatly.

Rule one: disclose it at signing

If a business contract entered into, modified or renewed after May 1, 2011 auto-renews for more than one month, the lessor has to put the renewal terms in front of you at signing.^[1] That means a disclosure form you sign, or a conspicuous disclosure in the contract with your initials on that page, stating:

• that the contract renews unless you decline,
• how long the renewal period is,
• whether the price goes up on renewal,
• what you have to do to decline, and
• the deadline to decline.

Skip this step and the auto-renewal provision isn't enforceable; the contract ends with the current term.^[1] Go look for your initials near the renewal language.

Rule two: remind you before the deadline

The second rule gets far less attention. If the first term is longer than a year and the renewal term is longer than a year, the lessor has to send you a written notice at least 15 days and no more than 60 days before your deadline to decline. The notice has to state that the contract will renew, give the deadline, describe any price increase, and explain what you need to do.^[1]

It can arrive by regular or certified mail, by hand to an owner or officer, or on the first page of a monthly invoice in bold type no smaller than 12-point. Email, fax and courier count only if the contract lets you decline the same way.^[1] No notice, no enforceable renewal.

The catch hiding in "more than one year"

Read that reminder rule again. It applies to renewal terms longer than one year. A 12-month renewal isn't longer than one year. So on a plain reading, a lease that auto-renews in one-year chunks doesn't trigger the 15-to-60-day reminder at all, and your protection there is the signing disclosure from rule one.^[1] That's a big difference, given that 12 months is the renewal period our own FAQ calls common.^[6]

Other carve-outs include contracts that let you end a renewed period on one month's notice or less, contracts with a government entity, and medical equipment leases.^[1] Whether a clinic's copier counts as office equipment is a question for an attorney, not a blog.

What it's worth if they skip it

If the lessor fails to send a required reminder and then refuses to end the contract after you decline, Wisconsin lets you sue or counterclaim. Damages are either twice your actual damages, or twice the periodic payment or $1,000, whichever is less, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees.^[1] On Printree's published $209–$349 a month, twice the payment is $418–$698, under that $1,000 cap.^[5]

Lessors get an exit, though. One that agrees to end the contract as of the day you declined owes you nothing extra unless its failure was willful or malicious, and written compliance procedures plus a refund can also shield it.^[1] Translation: the law is a lever to get out, not a lottery ticket.

New York: two statutes, one copier

New York's version is shorter and blunter. For leases of personal property, a clause that renews the lease for a specified additional period unless you give notice isn't operative unless the lessor gives you written notice, personally or by mail, at least 15 and no more than 30 days before your own notice deadline. That notice has to call your attention to the renewal provision. It doesn't apply when the automatic renewal period is one month or less.^[2]

A separate section covers contracts for service, maintenance or repair of real or personal property. Same idea, same 15-to-30-day window, but the notice has to be served personally or by certified mail.^[3]

Why does that matter for copiers? The leasing company owns the equipment and controls renewal notices; the dealer supplies and services it.^[6] If your deal is split into a lease and a service agreement, each piece can carry its own renewal clause, and in New York, potentially its own notice rule.

The renewal that hinged on a shipping instruction

A 2010 decision from a New York appellate court shows how messy this gets in real life. The case involved a 48-month copier lease that would automatically renew for another 12 months if the lessee failed to give timely notice of cancellation and return the equipment to a place the lessor designated.^[4]

The lessee sent its cancellation notice on time but returned the copiers late, saying the lessor never gave written crating and shipping instructions. The lessor said an oral instruction was enough and the late return triggered the renewal. The court found the lease language reasonably supported both readings, so the dispute couldn't be decided on summary judgment.^[4]

The notice was on time. The fight was over the return. Ending a copier lease is a sequence, and the renewal clause can hang on any link in it.

What one missed letter costs

The lease itself is non-cancelable, and these laws don't change that. They decide whether an extra period gets tacked on after your term, so the money at stake is the renewal period.

At Printree's published price band, a 12-month renewal is $2,508 at $209 a month, $3,348 at the $279 midpoint, and $4,188 at $349.^[5] Month to month, the same missed letter costs one payment.

The renewal length matters more than the notice window. Signing something new? Ask for month-to-month renewal in writing. You can compare structures on our page about the types of copier lease contracts, and run your own payment and term through the copier lease calculator.

A 10-minute checklist, wherever you are

Most of this applies in any state.

1. Find the end date and the notice window. Ask the leasing company, in writing, for the end date, the notice deadline, the required delivery method, and the return instructions.^[7]
2. Check the renewal length. It sets what a mistake costs, and whether these notice rules apply at all.^[1][2]
3. Look for your initials. In Wisconsin, an auto-renewal over one month needs a signed disclosure form or initials on a conspicuous disclosure.^[1]
4. Read your invoices. A Wisconsin reminder can legally arrive on the first page of one.^[1]
5. Send notice the way the contract says. If it says certified mail, use certified mail and keep the receipt.^[7]
6. Get return instructions in writing. The New York case is the reason.^[4]
7. Ask an attorney before you stop paying anything.

If you're already past the window, our guide on how to get out of a copier lease walks through the real options and what each costs.^[7]