Normal wear and tear vs damage: a room-by-room guide

Almost every deposit dispute comes down to one line: was it wear and tear, or was it damage? The statutes we have read all draw that line, but none of them gives a list for your kitchen. This guide explains how the law frames the question, then walks room by room through the charges renters most often see, so you can describe what happened in the words a statute uses.

01What the law actually says

Deposit statutes describe what a landlord may keep, and then carve out ordinary use. Texas is blunt: the landlord “may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear.” New York says the landlord “may not retain any amount of the deposit for costs relating to ordinary wear and tear of occupancy or damage caused by a prior tenant.” California goes further and bars claims for “the cumulative effects of ordinary wear and tear occurring during any one or more tenancies,” which matters when a carpet or a wall has been through several renters.

Idaho’s definition is a useful lens for any state: deterioration from the intended use is wear; deterioration from negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse is damage. Living in a home means walking on the floors, hanging pictures, cooking, opening blinds and sleeping in the sun. Those things leave traces. A spilled pot of oil, a pet that chews a door frame or a hole punched in a wall is a different kind of event.

02Room by room

Living room and bedrooms

• Carpet: a worn traffic path, flattened pile or fading under a window is the intended use of a carpet over time. Burns, large stains and tears are events. Even for damage, the age of the carpet matters to what a fair charge is.
• Walls: small marks from furniture and a few picture holes are ordinary living for most people. Many large holes, anchors torn out of drywall, or a wall painted a colour the lease didn’t allow are more likely to be treated as damage.
• Blinds: slats yellowed and brittle with sun are age. Snapped or bent slats are more likely to be charged.

Kitchen

• Appliances: a refrigerator that stops cooling after many years has worn out. A broken shelf or a cracked glass cooktop is an event; the question is then the repair cost and the appliance’s remaining value.
• Counters and cabinets: dulled finish and small nicks are use. Deep burns or knife cuts across a counter are damage.
• Cleaning: California ties cleaning deductions to “the same level of cleanliness it was in at the inception of the tenancy.” If the unit was not spotless when you moved in, that is the standard, not a new one.

Bathroom

• Grout and caulk: discolouring over years is age. Mould from a fan you never ran can be argued either way; photos and any repair requests you sent matter.
• Fixtures: a dripping faucet or a running toilet is maintenance. A cracked sink from something dropped is damage.

03States with rules on specific charges

A few states speak to particular items. Washington bars withholding for carpet cleaning “unless the landlord documents wear to the carpet that is beyond wear resulting from ordinary use,” and requires a signed move-in checklist before any deposit can be collected. California limits professional carpet or other professional cleaning to what is “reasonably necessary” to return the unit to its move-in condition. Our state pages list every item rule we have verified.

04How to argue a charge

1. Ask for the itemized list your state requires, with receipts where the statute calls for them (California, Washington and Massachusetts, among others, require documentation of costs).
2. Compare the charge with your move-in photos or checklist. Damage that existed when you moved in is not yours.
3. For an old item, prorate: a charge to replace a carpet near the end of its life should not be the price of a new one. Fair Charge shows the arithmetic and the source of the useful life it uses.
4. Put it in writing, citing the statute and the wear-and-tear language. Keep proof of sending.

Sources

1. Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92, subch. C (Texas Legislature). tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/PR/htm/PR.92.htm
2. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law §7-108 (New York State Senate). www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GOB/7-108
3. Cal. Civ. Code §1950.5 (California Legislative Information). leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1950.5.&lawCode=CIV
4. Idaho Code §6-321 (Idaho Legislature). legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title6/t6ch3/sect6-321/
5. RCW 59.18.280 (Washington State Legislature). app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.280
6. RCW 59.18.260 (Washington State Legislature). app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.260