I broke my lease with my old apartment and the law is I am liable for damages but they have to find a tenant as soon as possible. Basically I have to pay them rent until they lease the apartment.

Here's the question: Can I deduct my security deposit from the my last payment? My lease doesn't say I forfeit my security deposit for breaking the lease. But it does say I cannot use the security deposit for paying rent. But I'm not paying rent, I'm paying damages (for lost rent). Isn't covering damages what the security deposit is for? Did I just come up with some clever tenant hack? (Keep in mind, I'm still going be paying thousands of dollars until they fill the unit.)

  • aiChoo0E [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    This is a burner account so I'm free to say I'm in wisconsin. We've got this weird "Tenant Resource Center" that used to be a Tenant Union back in the 70s so this is what they have to say. The legal docs they link to are geo restricted though. Actually wisconsin.gov seems to be georestricted. I have to turn on my VPN to view them. But FWIW, ATCP 134.06(3)(a)2 says the landlord may withhold a security deposit for unpaid rent - in accordance with 704.29, which is all about breaking the lease but doesn't say anything about security deposits - just that I owe them rent in damages.

    Is missed rent from breaking a lease "unpaid rent"? Does the lease saying "security deposits can't be applied to rent" waive their ability to withhold the security deposit for unpaid rent? Is it still "unpaid rent" if the lease is broken? Deep questions. Im glad I dont do enough drugs to be a lawyer.

    Anyways, the sicko shop needs a :ham-sandwich: for Scott Walker so I can :ham-sandwich: :stalin-gun-1: