Landlord & tenant · Wisconsin
the short answer
Your landlord has 21 days to return the deposit. The doubling here does not come from landlord-tenant law at all — the deposit rule is a consumer-protection regulation, so keeping money wrongly is an unfair trade practice worth twice your loss, plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
Wis. Stat. § 704.28; Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
deadline
21 days
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 7 of the 47 states written up answer this the same way as Wisconsin. The shortest is 14 days, as in Alaska; the longest is 60 days, as in Alabama. Compare every state →
penalty
Withholding in breach of ATCP 134 is actionable under Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5) for twice the pecuniary loss, together with costs and a reasonable attorney fee.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$10,000
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
exceptions: $5,000 for a claim in tort, which includes a personal injury. Eviction has no limit at all. The general limit rises to $15,000 on 1 January 2027.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
also
The doubling does not come from the landlord-tenant statute at all — it comes from Wisconsin's unfair-trade-practice law, because the deposit rule is an administrative rule issued under it.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Wisconsin. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
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