Unusual Lease/Failure to Return Deposit Situation - Help?

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin

Hi. I have quite an unusual situation with a landlord and I was hoping I could get some advice.

I signed a lease one month before the lease was to begin. The day I signed the lease I gave the landlord money towards the security deposit. Shortly thereafter, I realized that I had made a poor decision by signing the lease and decided that I did not want to rent the place after all. I notified the landlord in writing one week after signing the lease (and 3 weeks BEFORE the lease went into effect) that I had decided not to go through with the lease and would not be moving in.

Long story shorter, new tenants moved into the premises the day my lease would have gone into effect. Now the landlord is refusing to return my security deposit. He did not pay for any advertising and in fact, I believe it was the ad I placed that got it re-rented. There was no lost rent, nor were there damages to the premises.

When I called the landlord about the security deposit originally, he told me he was entitled to keep the deposit for "all the G-D trips back and fourth to show the place" (which is illegal, as a landlord may not keep a security deposit for time and effort spent in mitigating). He swore at me, told me if I wanted to go after the money to take him to court, then proceeded to hang up on me.

I should also note that he never sent me anything at all in writing as to why he's keeping the deposit (itemized list of deductions). In Wisconsin, a landlord has 21 days to either return the deposit or an itemized list of deductions.

I have since filed a summons and complaint against him and we have a court date in about a month. He answered my complaint, and now he's got a whole new story as to why he kept the deposit. He's claiming that the new tenants wanted some things repaired and painting done in order to agree to sign the lease, and that he had to shell out money to get those things fixed/painted.

I know my basic rights in this matter but am confused as to how he is holding me liable for the new tenants request for repairs and painting. Is that a legit reason for him to keep my deposit?

Also, as I said, he never sent me an itemized list of deductions at all, let alone within the 21 days of me notifying him I was breaking the lease. I am suing him for 2x the amount because of that, which is legal in WI.

I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I don't even know if his claim about the repairs/painting is true but I plan to talk with the new tenants and see if they'll be nice enough to offer any info about it, because it strikes me as fishy that he originally told me he's keeping the deposit for his time and trips showing the place (basically the trouble my breaking the lease caused him), and now is claiming something totally different. I would think he would have given me that info right up front if it was true.

Anyway, any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I'm driving myself crazy here wondering how court is going to go and what the outcome will be.

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I don't think it is a good idea to talk to the new tenants. It could be considered as impeding and interfering with his business (which is illegal- He could then sue you!). Just make the LL show receipts to prove he had to do the work (which may not be deductible anyways!) I would consider these as improvements. He did not have to do them to rent the unit. Had he taken less rent per month to be able to rent it, he could have deducted the difference in their rent to what you had agreed to pay. But the items you list are not your fault. The repairs were on him to make anyways, and the painting is an improvement that he didn't have to do. I don't think you will be charged with these costs.

In many states, a LL could deduct his labor costs to show or repair a unit. In your state, a LL cannnot. While he cannot deduct his labor or time, he can deduct gas or mileage since you did sign the lease, then broke it. (When or why you broke it doesn't matter since it was a legal contract as soon as you signed it.) He can also deduct any advertising he had (again, ask for receipts). Any agent fees (if he used one to find another tenant) are also deductible. Also, he can deduct any other costs he had that were not reimbursed to him (like credit checks) that he would not have had if you hadn't broken your agreement. These should have all been itemized and sent to you at your forwarding address within the 21 days as you state. (You did give a forwarding address in writing, correct? Some states' laws say that a lack of forwarding address eliminates a LL's responsibility to send this accounting of the deposit.)

Just be prepared for court. Be courteous and respectful to him and the judge. Speak only when the judge addresses you. Ask to make your opinions heard when they differ with what the LL says. This attitude will go a long way to impress the judge or magistrate. Good luck in court.

Thanks much for the advice. You gave me a whole new perspective on talking with the new tenants - I didn't even think of the fact that could be considered impeding and interfering with his business. That does make sense. With this new info, I agree it's probably best if I didn't.

Thanks again, I appreciate it.