Tenants who moved out of their apartment on Aug. 14 or Aug. 15 should have received a security deposit with a list of itemized deductions Tuesday.
Security deposits must be returned within 21 days of the move-out date and cannot be more than a month's rent, according to Madison ordinances.
Brenda Konkel, executive director of Madison's Tenant Resource Center, said students lose money because they do not make the effort to contact their former landlords about their security deposit if they do not receive it.
""Some [landlords] have openly told me their schedule is to just deduct the money from everybody's security deposit and when somebody comes in and protests then they just give it back to them because they still end up further ahead,"" she said.
According to Madison ordinances, landlords can issue deductions for damage by tenants, waste, neglect of the building, unpaid utility bills or non-payment of rent. Property owners may not, however, charge for carpet cleaning, re-painting, window washing or other normal wear and tear issues.
According to Konkel, many tenants claim repair requests from their check-in sheets were never addressed. She said tenants also say they have been overcharged or not charged the correct amount when items were repaired.
""[Landlords] just round numbers off and don't actually have receipts or evidence of what the items actually cost,"" she said.
Konkel added, under a 2008 law, landlords are required to take photos of damaged items, but landlords have not been complying with the policy.
