vibrantcascade
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin
My main question lies with #4 below, but I'm including background information as well.
So I was going to go after my landlord for withholding my security deposit. He claimed several hundred dollars in general maintenance and upkeep charges. Claimed damages which aren't even possible such as cigarette butts or ashes burning holes in a linoleum floor. And he is trying to charge me for replacing a 30 year old carpet which was already shot and falling apart by claiming that it had dozens of burns in it when we had a carpet covering the entire floor.
A few things though:
1. He didn't do an inspection between the lease before mine and my lease because there were 2 people from the previous lease who renewed, and is trying to charge me for pre-existing damages, which I know violates ATCP 134.
2. He has illegal carpet cleaning charges, and a clause for them in the lease which violates ATCP 134.06, and I found the Bariel vs McTaggert case from the Wisconsin Supreme court which makes it appear like that clause voids the entire lease.
3. He has a subleasing fee which I'm pretty sure is illegal under wis. sec. 704, as we found our own subleaser and it didn't cost him a penny. And from what I can tell you can only charge for actual expenses, not your time, due to that law.
4. He falsified the security deposit deductions statement he sent to me to try to extort an extra $500 out of me to cover the security deposits he lost by allowing two renters at my house to carry over their deposits to a new property with him. Basically, two people in the house moved to a different one of his properties the next year, he allowed them to carry over their $250 security deposits, he then sent me and only me (I'm not one of the people who renewed with him another year at a different property.) a security deposit sheet after I moved out claiming that a joint lease balance of $508 was due. He made no mention of the fact that he let the two other tenants keep their $250 deposits for the next property on this security deposit deduction form, and sent me (and only me) threatening emails trying to extort the extra $508 out of me to make back the $500 in security deposits he lost until I sent him an email detailing items 1 - 3 above.
Is this illegal? Would falsifying records like this fall under any criminal statues? If I take him to small claims can I make him pay me back double my $250 deposit, plus double the $508 in additional money he tried to extort out of me with blatantly falsified records?
Thank you!
My main question lies with #4 below, but I'm including background information as well.
So I was going to go after my landlord for withholding my security deposit. He claimed several hundred dollars in general maintenance and upkeep charges. Claimed damages which aren't even possible such as cigarette butts or ashes burning holes in a linoleum floor. And he is trying to charge me for replacing a 30 year old carpet which was already shot and falling apart by claiming that it had dozens of burns in it when we had a carpet covering the entire floor.
A few things though:
1. He didn't do an inspection between the lease before mine and my lease because there were 2 people from the previous lease who renewed, and is trying to charge me for pre-existing damages, which I know violates ATCP 134.
2. He has illegal carpet cleaning charges, and a clause for them in the lease which violates ATCP 134.06, and I found the Bariel vs McTaggert case from the Wisconsin Supreme court which makes it appear like that clause voids the entire lease.
3. He has a subleasing fee which I'm pretty sure is illegal under wis. sec. 704, as we found our own subleaser and it didn't cost him a penny. And from what I can tell you can only charge for actual expenses, not your time, due to that law.
4. He falsified the security deposit deductions statement he sent to me to try to extort an extra $500 out of me to cover the security deposits he lost by allowing two renters at my house to carry over their deposits to a new property with him. Basically, two people in the house moved to a different one of his properties the next year, he allowed them to carry over their $250 security deposits, he then sent me and only me (I'm not one of the people who renewed with him another year at a different property.) a security deposit sheet after I moved out claiming that a joint lease balance of $508 was due. He made no mention of the fact that he let the two other tenants keep their $250 deposits for the next property on this security deposit deduction form, and sent me (and only me) threatening emails trying to extort the extra $508 out of me to make back the $500 in security deposits he lost until I sent him an email detailing items 1 - 3 above.
Is this illegal? Would falsifying records like this fall under any criminal statues? If I take him to small claims can I make him pay me back double my $250 deposit, plus double the $508 in additional money he tried to extort out of me with blatantly falsified records?
Thank you!