(1) Whenever a levy shall be made upon lands of any person, the landowner may notify the officer making such levy, at any time before the sale, that the landowner claims an exempt homestead in such lands, giving a description thereof, and the landowner’s estimate of the value thereof; and the remainder alone shall be subject to sale under such levy, unless the plaintiff in the execution shall deny the right to such exemption or be dissatisfied with the quantity or estimate of the value of the land selected.
815.21.Homestead, how set apart after levy.
Ch. 815: Executions · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 815.21 lays out how a landowner claims a homestead exemption after a levy on their land, how the officer surveys and sets apart the exempt homestead if the judgment creditor disputes its size or value, and what happens if the owner never selects one at all.
Full Text of Section 815.21
(2) If such plaintiff is dissatisfied with the quantity selected or the estimate of the value thereof, the officer shall cause such lands to be surveyed, beginning at a point to be designated by the owner and set off in compact form. After the lands are surveyed and set off, if in the opinion of the plaintiff, the same shall be of greater value than $75,000, the officer may still advertise and sell the premises so set off, and out of the proceeds of such sale pay to the exempt homestead claimant the sum of $75,000 and apply the balance of the proceeds of such sale on the execution; but no sale shall be made in the case last mentioned unless a greater sum than $75,000 is paid for said premises. The expenses of such survey and sale shall be collected on the execution if the owner claimed as the owner’s homestead a greater quantity of land or land of greater value than the owner was entitled to; otherwise such expenses shall be borne by the plaintiff.
(3) If such survey be made the land not exempt shall be sold, but if any person shall neglect or refuse to select the person’s exempt homestead and notify such officer, such officer shall, upon request of the plaintiff, and may without such request, give notice to such person that at a time and place to be therein named such officer will survey and locate the exempt homestead; and unless such person shall on or before the time so fixed select such exempt homestead, such officer shall survey and locate and set the same off in a compact form. If the owner after such notice selects the owner’s exempt homestead, this section shall apply the same as if the owner had selected it before such notice.
(4) A homestead so selected and set apart by such officer shall be the exempt homestead of such person. The costs of such notice and survey shall be collected upon the execution. A failure of the officer to set apart such homestead shall affect such levy, only as to such homestead; and the failure of such person to select that person’s homestead shall not impair that person’s right thereto, but only that person’s right to select the same when such selection is lawfully made by such officer. After such homestead is thus set off by such officer, if, in the officer’s opinion or in the opinion of the plaintiff, the premises are of greater value than $75,000 the officer may sell the same as where the owner makes the selection.
(5) If the land claimed as an exempt homestead exceeds in value $75,000, the officer shall not be bound to set off any portion thereof but may sell the same, unless the debtor shall make the debtor’s selection of such a portion thereof as shall not exceed $75,000 in value.
Plain-English Summary
Once land has been levied on, section 815.21(1) lets the owner claim a homestead exemption by notifying the officer, before the sale, with a description of the claimed homestead and an estimate of its value. If the plaintiff neither denies the right to the exemption nor disputes the quantity or value claimed, the remainder of the land alone is subject to sale.
If the plaintiff is dissatisfied, subsection (2) has the officer survey the land, beginning at a point the owner designates, and set it off in compact form. Even after that survey, if the plaintiff believes the set-off homestead is worth more than $75,000, the officer may still advertise and sell the whole parcel — but only if the sale brings more than $75,000 — paying the claimant $75,000 from the proceeds and applying the balance to the execution. Who bears the cost of the survey and sale then turns on whether the owner overclaimed: those expenses come out of the execution if the owner claimed more land or value than they were entitled to, and are borne by the plaintiff otherwise.
Subsections (3) through (5) cover what happens when the owner does not make a selection at all. The officer may, on the plaintiff’s request or on the officer’s own initiative, give notice of a time and place to survey and locate the homestead; if the owner still has not selected by then, the officer surveys and sets it off in compact form. A late selection, made after that notice, is treated the same as an earlier one. Once the homestead is set apart this way, it becomes the owner’s exempt homestead, and a failure by the officer to set it apart affects the levy only as to that homestead — it does not forfeit the owner’s underlying right, only the chance to make the selection personally once the officer’s process has run its course. If the claimed homestead exceeds $75,000 in value and the debtor does not narrow the selection, the officer is not bound to set off any portion and may sell the whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a landowner claim a homestead exemption once the sheriff has levied on their land?
By notifying the officer before the sale, giving a description of the land claimed as the homestead and an estimate of its value.
What happens if the judgment creditor disagrees with the homestead the owner selected?
The officer surveys the land, beginning at a point the owner designates, and sets it off in compact form, under section 815.21(2).
Can the officer sell a homestead worth more than $75,000?
Yes, but only if the sale brings more than $75,000; the officer then pays the claimant $75,000 from the proceeds and applies the balance to the execution.
Who pays for the survey if the owner claimed more land or value than they were entitled to?
Those expenses are collected on the execution; otherwise, the plaintiff bears them.
What if a landowner never claims a homestead exemption at all?
The officer may give notice of a time and place to survey and set off the homestead. The owner’s failure to select does not forfeit the right, only the right to make the choice once the officer’s selection has lawfully occurred, and if the claimed value exceeds $75,000 without a narrowed selection, the officer is not bound to set off any portion.
Amendment History
History: 1973 c. 168; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 815.21; 1985 a. 153; 1993 a. 486; 2009 a. 80.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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