Security Deposit Recovery Skill

Deposit disputes are won at move-out, weeks before the landlord decides anything: the tenant with timestamped photos of every wall, a completed walkthrough, and a forwarding address in writing collects; the tenant with memories negotiates. This skill runs both phases — the evidence protocol while there's still access, and the challenge-and-escalate ladder when deductions arrive — anchored on the distinction that decides almost every dispute: normal wear and tear (the landlord's cost of doing business, in most jurisdictions not deductible) versus damage (yours).

What This Skill Produces

• The move-out protocol — the photo/video sweep, the walkthrough ask, the cleaning-receipts file, the forwarding-address letter
• The deduction challenge — each claimed deduction sorted wear-vs-damage-vs-unsubstantiated, with the response
• The escalation ladder — the itemization request, the demand letter, and the deadline math (jurisdiction-flagged)
• The small-claims prep sheet — when the amount justifies it, what to bring, and how these hearings actually go

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The phase — still in the unit (run the protocol — the highest-value case), moved out awaiting the deposit, or holding an itemized deduction list (the challenge case)
• The paper so far — lease clauses on the deposit, move-in inspection report if one exists (its absence is itself useful), photos from move-in and move-out, any communication
• The numbers — deposit amount, deductions claimed, time elapsed since move-out (return deadlines are jurisdiction-specific and often short — the clock may already be the tenant's best argument)
• The landlord shape — individual owner vs. property management company; the ladder's tone is identical, but companies respond to process and owners to specifics