landlords contractor left mess

[lou manske]

When my wife, baby and I recently left for a vacation, out landlord used that as an opportunity to remodel our bathroom. When we returned, there was tile dust everywhere in the house. Tracks of white dust and footprints over the rugs. Leftover tiles on the kitchen counter. The hallway to the bathroom was a disgrace with white smearing everywhere. After calling the landlord, he said the contractor got called of the job but would be back to clean up what he left behind and that dust is an unfortunate byproduct of home remodeling...meaning it was our problem. I live in Wisconsin and am not sure of my rights.
Any suggestions?

You can sue him in small claims for clean up costs if his actions were not reasonable in your opinion--and it sounds as if he should have been more careful.

You'll probably get no where trying to sue. You allowed him to remodel. Contractors rarely clean up after themselves. Did you think there would be no mess when they remodelled? You got an improvement to the property when you returned. Clean it up and move on.