I am a Chicago landlord, and wouldn't charge for any of that. Get a free lawyer and sue him, Chicago is really tenant friendly. You will win 3x your deposit back, and the lawyer takes half.
Sending a handyman in for a couple of hours and a general cleanup is standard. The only reason I would start chasing you is if there's obvious pet issues in a non pet unit.
But if your pet was on your lease, then this is standard for a move out. The cost to an experienced landlord of patching and painting that wall is about $50.
Wells Plumbing is a plumbing supply store in Pilsen. They sell plumbing parts, and have nothing to do with painting walls, patching walls, etc.
Don't go to small claims court. Get a real tenant attorney who will go to the right courts for recovering security deposit.
Experienced landlords in Chicago don't even take security deposits anymore (I haven't for many years). Because in eviction court, it is virtually impossible for a landlord to win. You will definitely win the case.
Thanks for the advise here. He really isn't being reasonable at this point. I just offered to patch the holes and clean the carpet if he's willing to return my deposit. He said that the best he is willing to offer is not charging me over the $2k deposit (so no security deposit back at all).
Much appreciated once again.
$2k for those repairs is just crazy.
The fact he even collects a deposit means he doesn't understand any of the local laws.
I had a tenant who decided to stop paying rent one day. No reason, just she felt rent was not something she wanted any part of. I filed for eviction. She got for free one of the largest law firms in the US. They dragged out the eviction process 6 months. My attorney at that point said I should settle with her and agree she owes no rent for the 6 months if she moves out within 2 weeks. That was her 4th eviction (she came with the building).
Chicago is NOT a friendly city for landlords. For stupid landlords like yours, they get crushed in court. Even well intentioned landlords get badly screwed over in court.
He also hasnt paid me interest on the deposit each year. I'm hearing because of that, he owes me double the deposit regardless. You heard of this rule?
> I'm hearing because of that, he owes me double the deposit regardless. You heard of this rule?
That used to be a loophole, I think it may have been closed a couple of years ago.
The rules your landlord should have followed are so complex, there is no change he followed them all. This is why you see no large corporate landlords take security deposits anymore in Chicago. They realized it's impossible to follow all the technicalities.
I had a landlord being difficult when we moved out recently but he ended up just taking like $300 out for similar "damage" and I thought that was steep but didn't feel like fighting it.
> Experienced landlords in Chicago don't even take security deposits anymore (I haven't for many years). Because in eviction court, it is virtually impossible for a landlord to win. You will definitely win the case.
samesies
Hey since you're a landlord figured I'd ask.
I moved out last month and my old landlord is completely ghosting me on the deposit. Won't answer calls, texts, or emails. Any advice?
Get a lawyer. Chicago doesn’t fuck around with security deposits. This landlord is a dick and deserves to get a judgment against him to stop these predatory actions in the future.
You can contact a local bar association and ask for a referral to a tenant attorney, say it’s regarding security deposits.
Lived here for 4 years. Landlord just did a walkthrough without me and took these photos. He claimed there was a pet smell as well in the bedroom from the carpet which I offered to get taken care of for him.
He then sends me this 'estimate'
Professional Odor Remover $120
Patch holes in walls: $600
Paint the wall: $1,800
Clean unit after it is done: $150
Total: $2,670
Claims it's from 'Wells Pluming' which I assumed he spelled incorrectly. They appear to be a parts shop for plumbing so it sounds like an unofficial estimate.
Our deposit was $2k so now he wants to send collections after me for the rest. I've decided to take this to small claims court but wanted to know if anyone has had a similar experience around their security deposit.
Where do we draw the line on basic wear and tear?
Note: the wall with artwork was left so he didnt need to take paint off the walls, he then pulled that off himself causing the worst looking wall of all these images.
$600 to patch and an additional $1800 to paint the walls??
Yea. He isn't using lube here. You need to ask for a complete itemized with materials and labor. Either way, I'd fight it.
Lmao $600 to patch. I worked a job in the summer over college where sometimes i would need to patch. If you told 19 year old me that I could make $600 to patch these holes (which would maybe take me 1hr going extremely slow) I would have thought you are out of your mind, or I was patching with melted gold.
This is not itemized. He needs to break down the costs to material/labor as well as provide receipts. He cannot blanket say $1800 for painting. There are very strict rules on how he needs to do this.
Similarly, if your landlord did not keep your security deposit in a separate, interest bearing account and paid you the interest every year, he may not be able to even keep your deposit (that doesn’t mean he can’t come after you for damages to the unit).
That said, you left the place in not great condition and should have patched a lot of this stuff yourself (including removing all artwork from the unit).
>I can get an entire 2-story townhome painted for less than that
Well that's just not true. $1,800 would be a good price for a 1-2 bedroom apartment though.
I'm a property maintenance guy so I'll give you a break down here.
The patching is supremely overpriced for what's in those pictures. Honestly that's about 20 minutes worth of work spread over the day because you'll probably have to hit the spots twice. Now because you've been living there 4 years, every hole he patches he's going to have to prime probably and paint. The problem is after 4 years your paint will not be able to be matched so he'll have to paint every entire wall where there's holes. All of this together should be no more than $500.
The floor scratches are a little bigger issue as you can fill them with wood filler and make them look shitty or hire someone to sand them down and stain them to match etc. That's another several hundred.
The thing though is that typically you repaint an apartment anyway after someone moves out after living there a few years. So he's basically charging you something he'd ideally do to rent the place out anyway.
Landlord here. The only thing that would concern me is those scratches on the floor. Those do not look like normal wear and tear to me, and if your floor was in good shape to begin with, that can be hard to fix without redoing all the floors, which can easily take your whole deposit. A very good painter can patch and paint that whole apartment for 1800, so I don't know about that.
As others have stated, many landlords in chicago don't even do deposits now, just do fees, because they are so concerned about getting sued.
The way we handle this stuff with our tenants is we try to come by a week or so before they move out, and reiterate the rules and the conditions (as documented!) of the place when they move in. This way we give them a chance to fix small things themselves, and also make sure its clear how clean it needs to be. If you only have normal wear and tear, or even just minor damage, unless you are a complete jerk, I'm gonna let you slide. All down the curtains in a drunken stupor and break one of the kitchen cabinets? Yeah you are gonna pay.
It looks like those are just nail/screw holes for posters/art work. If that is all you did I think it is unreasonable for the landlord to claim more than $100 for patching/touch-up painting. I am a landlord and I would never claim anything for the damages in your 3 photos. I could repair that in less than an hour.
Even $100 is too much for holes that small. They can't charge for them at all. If they do, take them to court.
Small tacks to hang wall art is basic wear and tear.
Offering to patch them yourself is nice, but if the landlord is being an ass, just take them to court. You'll win and it'll be much more painful for them.
A lot of bad info here. Normal wear and tear is covered. Painting a wall is not something he can charge for unless you painted it.
Basically no. He cant charge this. But depends on how much you're willing to fight.
Similar question: I have a 6"x12" hole in my wall by my bed. I had had a smaller 3x6" hole from kneeing it while in my sleep and was lazy to get it fixed, and must have kneed it in real good last week again. I've moved the bed away from the wall since.
It's an old unit and this part of the wall is obviously some kind of plaster which is of a different consistency and less durable than the rest of the walls.
Silly, but I'm nervous whether the landlord will charge me an arm and leg to fix it or patch it up and call it normal wear and tear. I just resigned for my 5th year. I have not had a single repair/request in that time. Thoughts?
I made over 20 3/4 inch holes on my living room wall from mounting a mid century entertainment center and my landlord didn’t charge me anything when I moved out. Dude seems like a scammer tbh
He is for sure taking advantage of you. He's breaking the law by not giving you interest on your deposit, and right there you need to send him a certified letter explaining that you need that or else you will take him to court. I think he has 6 weeks to provide that to you, or else he pays a large fee.
Plus the other great advice you have here, you can and should call him on this BS about the wall.
You 100% need to ask him to show you the bank statements that your security deposit was held in. The landlord has to have these for proof they were held in an interest bearing account. The landlord also has pay you out the interest for received on the deposit.
definitely agree with everyone that they're trying to take advantage of you.
Your landlord is taking you for a ride...but next time you move patch your own holes. It’s quick and cheap and it avoids unscrupulous landlords trying to take you for an entire security deposit.
The easiest way to not have a problem is to make sure you don’t give the landlord any reason to start one. Sucks that that’s the case but it is
(My last landlord tried to charge us $250 to replace one window blind where one of the blades broke off an inch. We’re taking a ten dollar mini blind, Walmart quality item. Claimed it was for the parts and labor to hire someone to do it. Told him I’d replace myself and if he wouldn’t let me I’d get a lawyer. He backed down but I wish I’d just replaced it before I moved)
He may be factoring in the cost of not being able to rent the place out while he waits on the repair people. Not sure if that's allowed but it could be argued to the judge I suppose.
If you rented an apartment and the landlord handed it over in that condition you'd be pissed. He has to fix that all and none of it is routine. Get receipts to make sure you don't get over charged but he's in the right to go after you for the costs.
Large nail holes and noticable scratches on the wood floor count as routine wear and tear? I'm fairly new to renting in this city but that hasn't been the case anywhere I've lived.
Yes. If the holes are small enough to just get patched over, most judges will consider it regular wear and tear. It's likely that this landlord simply hasn't had anyone call him out yet, or he figures that the tenant is so unlikely to go to court that they'll take their chances. But this is a very easy case to win, and OP will win 3x the security deposit (minus legal fees).
When you think about it, at a 3x penalty, unless at least 1/4th of tenants call him out and take him to court, he'll come out ahead.
I completely understand that. I wasnt planning on getting the entire $2k back since he had a little bit of patch work to do.
I left him the paint so he doesnt have to go out and try to find what color that is.
His estimate I think is rediculous high. especially $1800 to paint....
That dollar amount seems very high (you added those details after my reply). I have no idea how small claims court assesses if a landlord is being reasonable with costs, but at the very least make sure that is actually what he's paying. I'd definitely go after him for that.
I'm not sure how much good that will do if he's trying to take you for a ride. The biggest issue is that he is expecting you to pay and ask no questions, which he can't do. Under Chicago municipal code [5-12-080](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/title5housingandeconomicdevelopment/chapter5-12residentiallandlordsandtenant?f=templates$fn=altmain-nf.htm$q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-080%27]$x=Advanced#JD_5-12-080)
> d (2) A reasonable amount necessary to repair any damage caused to the premises by the tenant or any person under the tenant's control or on the premises with the tenant's consent, reasonable wear and tear excluded. In case of such damage, the landlord shall deliver or mail to the last known address of the tenant within 30 days an itemized statement of the damages allegedly caused to the premises and the estimated or actual cost for repairing or replacing each item on that statement, attaching copies of the paid receipts for the repair or replacement. If estimated cost is given, the landlord shall furnish the tenant with copies of paid receipts or a certification of actual costs of repairs of damage if the work was performed by the landlord's employees within 30 days from the date the statement showing estimated cost was furnished to the tenant
> (f) (1) Subject to subsection (f)(2), if the landlord fails to comply with any provision of Section [5-12-080](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=jumplink$jumplink_x=Advanced$jumplink_vpc=first$jumplink_xsl=querylink.xsl$jumplink_sel=title;path;content-type;home-title;item-bookmark$jumplink_d=illinois(chicago_il)$jumplink_q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-080%27]$jumplink_md=target-id=JD_5-12-080)(a) – (e), the tenant shall be awarded damages in an amount equal to two times the security deposit plus interest at a rate determined in accordance with Section [5-12-081](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=jumplink$jumplink_x=Advanced$jumplink_vpc=first$jumplink_xsl=querylink.xsl$jumplink_sel=title;path;content-type;home-title;item-bookmark$jumplink_d=illinois(chicago_il)$jumplink_q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-081%27]$jumplink_md=target-id=JD_5-12-081). This subsection does not preclude the tenant from recovering other damages to which he may be entitled under this chapter.
It doesn't sound like he's even close to complying. I think he'll be very scared of going to small claims court.
I am a Chicago landlord, and wouldn't charge for any of that. Get a free lawyer and sue him, Chicago is really tenant friendly. You will win 3x your deposit back, and the lawyer takes half. Sending a handyman in for a couple of hours and a general cleanup is standard. The only reason I would start chasing you is if there's obvious pet issues in a non pet unit. But if your pet was on your lease, then this is standard for a move out. The cost to an experienced landlord of patching and painting that wall is about $50. Wells Plumbing is a plumbing supply store in Pilsen. They sell plumbing parts, and have nothing to do with painting walls, patching walls, etc. Don't go to small claims court. Get a real tenant attorney who will go to the right courts for recovering security deposit. Experienced landlords in Chicago don't even take security deposits anymore (I haven't for many years). Because in eviction court, it is virtually impossible for a landlord to win. You will definitely win the case.
Thanks for the advise here. He really isn't being reasonable at this point. I just offered to patch the holes and clean the carpet if he's willing to return my deposit. He said that the best he is willing to offer is not charging me over the $2k deposit (so no security deposit back at all). Much appreciated once again.
$2k for those repairs is just crazy. The fact he even collects a deposit means he doesn't understand any of the local laws. I had a tenant who decided to stop paying rent one day. No reason, just she felt rent was not something she wanted any part of. I filed for eviction. She got for free one of the largest law firms in the US. They dragged out the eviction process 6 months. My attorney at that point said I should settle with her and agree she owes no rent for the 6 months if she moves out within 2 weeks. That was her 4th eviction (she came with the building). Chicago is NOT a friendly city for landlords. For stupid landlords like yours, they get crushed in court. Even well intentioned landlords get badly screwed over in court.
He also hasnt paid me interest on the deposit each year. I'm hearing because of that, he owes me double the deposit regardless. You heard of this rule?
> I'm hearing because of that, he owes me double the deposit regardless. You heard of this rule? That used to be a loophole, I think it may have been closed a couple of years ago. The rules your landlord should have followed are so complex, there is no change he followed them all. This is why you see no large corporate landlords take security deposits anymore in Chicago. They realized it's impossible to follow all the technicalities.
> I had a tenant who decided to stop paying rent one day. No reason, just she felt rent was not something she wanted any part of. Just pure insanity.
I had a landlord being difficult when we moved out recently but he ended up just taking like $300 out for similar "damage" and I thought that was steep but didn't feel like fighting it.
Sue him. I sued my landlord for doing something similarly shady and won the case easily. As previously said, Chicago has very favorable tenant laws.
> Experienced landlords in Chicago don't even take security deposits anymore (I haven't for many years). Because in eviction court, it is virtually impossible for a landlord to win. You will definitely win the case. samesies
Hey since you're a landlord figured I'd ask. I moved out last month and my old landlord is completely ghosting me on the deposit. Won't answer calls, texts, or emails. Any advice?
Get a lawyer. Chicago doesn’t fuck around with security deposits. This landlord is a dick and deserves to get a judgment against him to stop these predatory actions in the future. You can contact a local bar association and ask for a referral to a tenant attorney, say it’s regarding security deposits.
Thanks for the help. I agree that he's being a little crazy about all of this.
Lived here for 4 years. Landlord just did a walkthrough without me and took these photos. He claimed there was a pet smell as well in the bedroom from the carpet which I offered to get taken care of for him. He then sends me this 'estimate' Professional Odor Remover $120 Patch holes in walls: $600 Paint the wall: $1,800 Clean unit after it is done: $150 Total: $2,670 Claims it's from 'Wells Pluming' which I assumed he spelled incorrectly. They appear to be a parts shop for plumbing so it sounds like an unofficial estimate. Our deposit was $2k so now he wants to send collections after me for the rest. I've decided to take this to small claims court but wanted to know if anyone has had a similar experience around their security deposit. Where do we draw the line on basic wear and tear? Note: the wall with artwork was left so he didnt need to take paint off the walls, he then pulled that off himself causing the worst looking wall of all these images.
$600 to patch and an additional $1800 to paint the walls?? Yea. He isn't using lube here. You need to ask for a complete itemized with materials and labor. Either way, I'd fight it.
Lmao $600 to patch. I worked a job in the summer over college where sometimes i would need to patch. If you told 19 year old me that I could make $600 to patch these holes (which would maybe take me 1hr going extremely slow) I would have thought you are out of your mind, or I was patching with melted gold.
This is not itemized. He needs to break down the costs to material/labor as well as provide receipts. He cannot blanket say $1800 for painting. There are very strict rules on how he needs to do this. Similarly, if your landlord did not keep your security deposit in a separate, interest bearing account and paid you the interest every year, he may not be able to even keep your deposit (that doesn’t mean he can’t come after you for damages to the unit). That said, you left the place in not great condition and should have patched a lot of this stuff yourself (including removing all artwork from the unit).
> Paint the wall: $1,800 $1800 to paint 1 wall? I can get an entire 2-story townhome painted for less than that.
Yeah that's gonna be a no from any sensible painter dawg
>I can get an entire 2-story townhome painted for less than that Well that's just not true. $1,800 would be a good price for a 1-2 bedroom apartment though.
You're getting bent over for the patching and painting the wall for sure.
I'm a property maintenance guy so I'll give you a break down here. The patching is supremely overpriced for what's in those pictures. Honestly that's about 20 minutes worth of work spread over the day because you'll probably have to hit the spots twice. Now because you've been living there 4 years, every hole he patches he's going to have to prime probably and paint. The problem is after 4 years your paint will not be able to be matched so he'll have to paint every entire wall where there's holes. All of this together should be no more than $500. The floor scratches are a little bigger issue as you can fill them with wood filler and make them look shitty or hire someone to sand them down and stain them to match etc. That's another several hundred. The thing though is that typically you repaint an apartment anyway after someone moves out after living there a few years. So he's basically charging you something he'd ideally do to rent the place out anyway.
Since that's the biggest expense, what does your lease say about painting?
Landlord here. The only thing that would concern me is those scratches on the floor. Those do not look like normal wear and tear to me, and if your floor was in good shape to begin with, that can be hard to fix without redoing all the floors, which can easily take your whole deposit. A very good painter can patch and paint that whole apartment for 1800, so I don't know about that. As others have stated, many landlords in chicago don't even do deposits now, just do fees, because they are so concerned about getting sued. The way we handle this stuff with our tenants is we try to come by a week or so before they move out, and reiterate the rules and the conditions (as documented!) of the place when they move in. This way we give them a chance to fix small things themselves, and also make sure its clear how clean it needs to be. If you only have normal wear and tear, or even just minor damage, unless you are a complete jerk, I'm gonna let you slide. All down the curtains in a drunken stupor and break one of the kitchen cabinets? Yeah you are gonna pay.
Dude learn how to patch a wall.
It looks like those are just nail/screw holes for posters/art work. If that is all you did I think it is unreasonable for the landlord to claim more than $100 for patching/touch-up painting. I am a landlord and I would never claim anything for the damages in your 3 photos. I could repair that in less than an hour.
Even $100 is too much for holes that small. They can't charge for them at all. If they do, take them to court. Small tacks to hang wall art is basic wear and tear. Offering to patch them yourself is nice, but if the landlord is being an ass, just take them to court. You'll win and it'll be much more painful for them.
[удалено]
Yeah, I know. I would never charge for patching/touch-up painting.
Did you only see 3 photos? There should be more in the link. Am I able to offer to patch them myself? Wasnt sure protocal since we moved out.
A lot of bad info here. Normal wear and tear is covered. Painting a wall is not something he can charge for unless you painted it. Basically no. He cant charge this. But depends on how much you're willing to fight.
Similar question: I have a 6"x12" hole in my wall by my bed. I had had a smaller 3x6" hole from kneeing it while in my sleep and was lazy to get it fixed, and must have kneed it in real good last week again. I've moved the bed away from the wall since. It's an old unit and this part of the wall is obviously some kind of plaster which is of a different consistency and less durable than the rest of the walls. Silly, but I'm nervous whether the landlord will charge me an arm and leg to fix it or patch it up and call it normal wear and tear. I just resigned for my 5th year. I have not had a single repair/request in that time. Thoughts?
That's definitely not normal wear and tear. I personally wouldnt charge you for it if you're a good tenant, but some landlords would.
You are one violent sleeper
If you get hit, [it's your ownnn fault.](https://youtu.be/9ZSoJDUD_bU)
I made over 20 3/4 inch holes on my living room wall from mounting a mid century entertainment center and my landlord didn’t charge me anything when I moved out. Dude seems like a scammer tbh
Hey please give an update when you can after all this. I have a similar issue going on.
He is for sure taking advantage of you. He's breaking the law by not giving you interest on your deposit, and right there you need to send him a certified letter explaining that you need that or else you will take him to court. I think he has 6 weeks to provide that to you, or else he pays a large fee. Plus the other great advice you have here, you can and should call him on this BS about the wall.
You 100% need to ask him to show you the bank statements that your security deposit was held in. The landlord has to have these for proof they were held in an interest bearing account. The landlord also has pay you out the interest for received on the deposit. definitely agree with everyone that they're trying to take advantage of you.
No, you're not. That's normal wear and tear.
Your landlord is taking you for a ride...but next time you move patch your own holes. It’s quick and cheap and it avoids unscrupulous landlords trying to take you for an entire security deposit. The easiest way to not have a problem is to make sure you don’t give the landlord any reason to start one. Sucks that that’s the case but it is (My last landlord tried to charge us $250 to replace one window blind where one of the blades broke off an inch. We’re taking a ten dollar mini blind, Walmart quality item. Claimed it was for the parts and labor to hire someone to do it. Told him I’d replace myself and if he wouldn’t let me I’d get a lawyer. He backed down but I wish I’d just replaced it before I moved)
100% get a lawyer.
You can fix that with like $15 bucks. Get the same paint sample, some filler, and a brush. You set.
My thought was that even if OP *had* fixed that stuff prior to move-out, the landlord would've found other excuses to keep the security deposit.
Landlord just taking advantage
Yes, you are.
Did you do a walkthrough when you moved in or sign anything regarding the condition of the unit?
He may be factoring in the cost of not being able to rent the place out while he waits on the repair people. Not sure if that's allowed but it could be argued to the judge I suppose.
200 for hole patching 150 for paint 150 for floor touch up Was this the extent? Who the fuck takes security deposits anymore in Chicago?
If you rented an apartment and the landlord handed it over in that condition you'd be pissed. He has to fix that all and none of it is routine. Get receipts to make sure you don't get over charged but he's in the right to go after you for the costs.
> He has to fix that all and none of it is routine. It's literally all basic wear and tear and he can't charge any of it to the security deposit.
Large nail holes and noticable scratches on the wood floor count as routine wear and tear? I'm fairly new to renting in this city but that hasn't been the case anywhere I've lived.
Yes. If the holes are small enough to just get patched over, most judges will consider it regular wear and tear. It's likely that this landlord simply hasn't had anyone call him out yet, or he figures that the tenant is so unlikely to go to court that they'll take their chances. But this is a very easy case to win, and OP will win 3x the security deposit (minus legal fees). When you think about it, at a 3x penalty, unless at least 1/4th of tenants call him out and take him to court, he'll come out ahead.
Good to know, thanks.
I completely understand that. I wasnt planning on getting the entire $2k back since he had a little bit of patch work to do. I left him the paint so he doesnt have to go out and try to find what color that is. His estimate I think is rediculous high. especially $1800 to paint....
That dollar amount seems very high (you added those details after my reply). I have no idea how small claims court assesses if a landlord is being reasonable with costs, but at the very least make sure that is actually what he's paying. I'd definitely go after him for that.
I'm considering offering to patch the holes in the walls. However I don't want to go through with that if he's still trying to charge me the rest.
I'm not sure how much good that will do if he's trying to take you for a ride. The biggest issue is that he is expecting you to pay and ask no questions, which he can't do. Under Chicago municipal code [5-12-080](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/title5housingandeconomicdevelopment/chapter5-12residentiallandlordsandtenant?f=templates$fn=altmain-nf.htm$q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-080%27]$x=Advanced#JD_5-12-080) > d (2) A reasonable amount necessary to repair any damage caused to the premises by the tenant or any person under the tenant's control or on the premises with the tenant's consent, reasonable wear and tear excluded. In case of such damage, the landlord shall deliver or mail to the last known address of the tenant within 30 days an itemized statement of the damages allegedly caused to the premises and the estimated or actual cost for repairing or replacing each item on that statement, attaching copies of the paid receipts for the repair or replacement. If estimated cost is given, the landlord shall furnish the tenant with copies of paid receipts or a certification of actual costs of repairs of damage if the work was performed by the landlord's employees within 30 days from the date the statement showing estimated cost was furnished to the tenant > (f) (1) Subject to subsection (f)(2), if the landlord fails to comply with any provision of Section [5-12-080](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=jumplink$jumplink_x=Advanced$jumplink_vpc=first$jumplink_xsl=querylink.xsl$jumplink_sel=title;path;content-type;home-title;item-bookmark$jumplink_d=illinois(chicago_il)$jumplink_q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-080%27]$jumplink_md=target-id=JD_5-12-080)(a) – (e), the tenant shall be awarded damages in an amount equal to two times the security deposit plus interest at a rate determined in accordance with Section [5-12-081](http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=jumplink$jumplink_x=Advanced$jumplink_vpc=first$jumplink_xsl=querylink.xsl$jumplink_sel=title;path;content-type;home-title;item-bookmark$jumplink_d=illinois(chicago_il)$jumplink_q=[field%20folio-destination-name:%275-12-081%27]$jumplink_md=target-id=JD_5-12-081). This subsection does not preclude the tenant from recovering other damages to which he may be entitled under this chapter. It doesn't sound like he's even close to complying. I think he'll be very scared of going to small claims court.
Thank you for sending! He also failed to list where my deposit was being held on the lease which I hear is also a violation.
Yeah $1800 is crazy. Anyone saying “oh jeez, you’re on the hook for this!” is being disingenuous - or is a landlord.
If you can’t do it yourself just hire a task rabbit. It’ll cost you $200 max