thatgirl70
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin
Recently I sent my previous landlord a tax form I needed signed by him, attached to it I left a note requesting a copy of my security deposit reconciliation for my records because I hadn’t received one. I received it in the mail today and he’s claiming I owe him $250 over the $725 I paid as security. Broke down as follows: $625 for last month’s rent, $150 for painting, $150 for carpet cleaning, and $50 for other cleaning. So here are my issues: 1. I didn’t receive the reconciliation until 66 days after vacating the unit…WI law(ATCP134.06) is that the landlord has 21 days to return my deposit or provide me with an itemized list of deductions. 2. WI admin law(ATCP134.06) also states that carpet cleaning cannot be deducted from the deposit (note I did clean it before I left, it wasn’t professionally done, but I did a good job) 3. I lived in the unit for 4 years and 9 months, the unit needed to be repainted due to normal wear and tear. When I requested the copy of the reconciliation I was not looking for money refunded…I knew I owed rent, and there were some damages, oddly not the ones he charged me for…but now I’m just mad! I’m thinking I should take him to small claims court and sue him for double the security deposit because he didn’t adhere to ATCP134.06 (21 days). I have some recent case law where tenants were awarded double damages for this reason, I even found a case where the landlord couldn’t collect damages because he didn’t provide the itemized list within the time frame…Even though I’m armed with an arsenal of case law on my side there are cases where it went the way of the landlord because the rules of small claims court are more laxed and the Judge has more discretion on interpreting the law….I’m afraid if I pursue this the landlord can come back on me for other things not list on the reconciliation….what should I do? Let it go? Negotiate calling it even? Negotiate to get a few bucks out of him? Or, take him to court? Your thoughts would be appreciated!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Recently I sent my previous landlord a tax form I needed signed by him, attached to it I left a note requesting a copy of my security deposit reconciliation for my records because I hadn’t received one. I received it in the mail today and he’s claiming I owe him $250 over the $725 I paid as security. Broke down as follows: $625 for last month’s rent, $150 for painting, $150 for carpet cleaning, and $50 for other cleaning. So here are my issues: 1. I didn’t receive the reconciliation until 66 days after vacating the unit…WI law(ATCP134.06) is that the landlord has 21 days to return my deposit or provide me with an itemized list of deductions. 2. WI admin law(ATCP134.06) also states that carpet cleaning cannot be deducted from the deposit (note I did clean it before I left, it wasn’t professionally done, but I did a good job) 3. I lived in the unit for 4 years and 9 months, the unit needed to be repainted due to normal wear and tear. When I requested the copy of the reconciliation I was not looking for money refunded…I knew I owed rent, and there were some damages, oddly not the ones he charged me for…but now I’m just mad! I’m thinking I should take him to small claims court and sue him for double the security deposit because he didn’t adhere to ATCP134.06 (21 days). I have some recent case law where tenants were awarded double damages for this reason, I even found a case where the landlord couldn’t collect damages because he didn’t provide the itemized list within the time frame…Even though I’m armed with an arsenal of case law on my side there are cases where it went the way of the landlord because the rules of small claims court are more laxed and the Judge has more discretion on interpreting the law….I’m afraid if I pursue this the landlord can come back on me for other things not list on the reconciliation….what should I do? Let it go? Negotiate calling it even? Negotiate to get a few bucks out of him? Or, take him to court? Your thoughts would be appreciated!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?