A landlord can generally deduct for damage you caused, but not for normal wear and tear — the ordinary ageing that happens when someone lives in a property. Cleaning, repainting and carpet replacement are the three charges where that line is most often crossed, and they are the most commonly disputed deductions we see.
What is "normal wear and tear"?
The wording differs by state, but the idea is consistent: deterioration that happens through ordinary use, without negligence or abuse.
Generally treated as wear and tear:
- Carpet flattened or faded along walkways after years of use
- Paint that has dulled, scuffed or faded
- Small nail holes from hanging pictures
- Worn finish on a bath or worktop
- Loose door handles, sticking windows, minor grouting wear
- Faded curtains or blinds
Generally treated as damage:
- Burns, tears or pet stains through to the underlay
- Holes in walls or doors beyond small nail holes
- Broken fixtures, cracked worktops, shattered glass
- Paint applied by the tenant without permission
- Missing appliances or fittings
The test is not whether the landlord spent money. It is whether what they fixed goes beyond what ordinary living does to a property.
Can I be charged for professional cleaning?
Usually only if the property was left dirtier than ordinary use would leave it.
Most states expect a property back in a reasonably clean condition, not a professionally cleaned one. A blanket "professional cleaning fee" applied to every tenant regardless of condition is a frequent point of dispute, and in several states a routine, automatic cleaning charge is not a permissible deduction at all.
Some leases include a cleaning clause. A lease term does not always survive a statute — states differ on whether such clauses are enforceable — so a clause in your lease is not automatically the end of the question.
Worth asking: is the charge for actual cleaning that was needed, or a standard fee?
Can I be charged for repainting?
Repainting between tenancies is usually treated as a cost of doing business, not a deduction.
It becomes chargeable when the paintwork is damaged beyond ordinary use — heavy marking, unapproved colours, smoke staining — or in some cases when the tenancy was short enough that fresh paint should still have been fresh.
Many states apply depreciation here. Paint has an expected life, often three to five years. If it was already four years old when you moved out, its remaining value was low, and charging you the full cost of a repaint does not reflect what was actually lost.
Can I be charged for carpet replacement?
Only rarely for the full cost.
Carpet is the clearest example of depreciation. Rental carpet is commonly assigned a useful life of five to ten years. If a seven-year-old carpet is replaced at the end of your tenancy, most of its value was already gone before you moved in, and a charge for a brand-new carpet is charging you for an upgrade.
Two questions usually decide it:
- How old was the carpet? You are entitled to ask.
- Is this damage or wear? A stain through the underlay is damage. Flattening down the hallway is wear.
Replacing an entire carpet because one room was damaged is also commonly challenged, since the deduction should reflect the loss.
What about charges for unpaid rent or breaking the lease?
These are the other big category, and they follow different rules from cleaning and carpet.
A landlord can generally apply a deposit to rent you genuinely did not pay. But a charge for rent covering months after you left — because you ended the tenancy early — is not the same thing. In most states the landlord must try to re-rent the property and can claim only what they actually lost, not the whole remaining term.
If your statement includes "lease break", "re-letting" or "loss of rent" charges, that is worth its own look: I left before my lease ended.
How do I know if a charge is unreasonable?
Five signs a deduction is worth looking at more closely:
- No itemization — a single figure covering several things
- No receipts or invoices, particularly for larger amounts
- A charge for the full replacement cost of something that was not new
- A standard fee that looks like it is applied to every tenant
- Charges you cannot match to anything in your move-out photos or checklist
None of these prove a charge is wrong. All of them are reasons to ask the landlord to substantiate it — which in most states is their obligation, not yours.
What do I do if I think a charge crosses the line?
Raise it in writing rather than by phone, and be specific about which charges you are questioning.
Whether a particular deduction stands up is genuinely fact-dependent. It turns on what your state permits a landlord to deduct, how old the item was, what the landlord documented, and what you can show about the condition. Those interact, which is why a general article can tell you a charge is worth questioning but not whether yours will hold.
That evaluation is what SecurityDeposit.co does. It takes your answers and the rules that apply in your state, and produces the written demand that follows from them — signed by you, delivered by certified mail.
Frequently asked questions
My lease says I must professionally clean the carpets. Is that enforceable? It depends on the state. Some allow such clauses, others treat them as an unenforceable attempt to charge for ordinary wear. A clause is not automatically the end of the matter.
The landlord replaced the carpet in the whole flat because of one damaged room. Deductions are generally expected to reflect the actual loss. A whole-property replacement for localised damage is commonly challenged.
What if I have no move-out photos? It is harder, but not fatal. The landlord usually still has to substantiate the deduction. Move-in photos, the checklist, and the age of the item all still matter.
Can they charge me for a professional cleaner when I cleaned it myself? Only if what you did fell short of the standard your state expects — usually reasonable cleanliness, not professional standard.
They charged me rent for months after I moved out. Is that a permitted deduction? Only up to their actual loss in most states, and only after making reasonable efforts to re-rent. Ask when the property was re-listed and when a new tenant moved in.
Does depreciation apply everywhere? Not identically. Many states apply it explicitly, others through what counts as a reasonable deduction. Either way the age of the item is relevant.
Last reviewed: 30 August 2026. Rules on permitted deductions vary by state and change; check your state's current statute before relying on any of the above.
Sources. What a landlord may and may not deduct is defined by statute in most states. Two representative examples: Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b), which permits cleaning only to the condition at move-in and bars any claim for ordinary wear and tear; and Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104, which provides that a landlord may not retain any portion of a deposit to cover normal wear and tear. Your own state's provision is linked from the state table.
SecurityDeposit.co helps renters challenge deposit deductions with a demand written for the rules in their state.