Related pillars: Move-Out & Security Deposit and Move-In Records. The wear-vs-damage test only matters if you can compare against a clean baseline, the move-in pillar covers how to build one.
A tenant moves out after two years. The bedroom carpet has a worn path between the door and the bed where they walked thousands of times. You deduct $600 for carpet replacement.
The tenant disputes. You go to small claims. The judge looks at the photo, looks at the lease, looks at the 24-month tenancy, and rules for the tenant. Not because you were wrong about the carpet being worn. Because what you described is the definition of normal wear and tear, and tenants don’t pay for that.
This single misunderstanding loses more deposit cases than any other. The line between wear and tear and damage is more specific than most landlords realize, and getting it wrong doesn’t just cost you the disputed deduction, it often costs you the rest of your legitimate deductions too, because judges tend to throw out the whole list when one item is clearly improper.
This is a field guide to that line, category by category.
The framework judges actually use
Strip away the legal language and most courts use a three-part test:
Was the condition caused by ordinary, intended use of the unit? Walking on the carpet, opening cabinets, sitting on the toilet seat. If yes, it’s wear and tear.
Was it caused by accident, negligence, or abuse? A dropped iron, a forgotten bathtub, a punched wall. If yes, it’s damage.
Did the time of tenancy exceed the expected useful life of the item? A 10-year-old carpet at the end of a 4-year lease is at the end of its useful life regardless of what the tenant did. The owner pays for replacement, not the tenant.
The third point is the one most landlords miss. Useful life matters. A new carpet damaged in year one is one calculation. A 9-year-old carpet damaged in year four is a completely different one.
Carpets: the most contested category
More disputes happen over carpet than any other single item. The rules are surprisingly specific.
Wear and tear
- Worn paths in traffic patterns (door to couch, couch to kitchen).
- Matting in front of the TV or recliner.
- Slight color fading from sunlight near windows.
- Loose pile at edges in a high-traffic doorway.
- Minor flattening throughout from foot traffic.
These are not deductible. They happen to every carpet over time.
Damage
- Burns from cigarettes, candles, irons, or hot pans.
- Pet urine stains, especially with subfloor damage.
- Bleach spots or chemical discoloration.
- Cuts, tears, or rips from furniture or appliances dragged across.
- Heavy stains from spilled wine, oil, paint, or makeup that didn’t come out with professional cleaning.
These are deductible, but only at depreciated value, not full replacement cost.
The useful-life math
The IRS gives carpet a 5-year useful life. State laws often follow this. So:
- New carpet at move-in, damaged after 1 year: tenant owes ~80% of replacement (4 of 5 years remaining).
- 3-year-old carpet at move-in, damaged after 1 year: tenant owes ~20% of replacement (1 of 5 years remaining).
- 6-year-old carpet at move-in, damaged after any tenancy: tenant owes $0. The carpet’s useful life was already used up.
Charging $1,800 to replace a 7-year-old carpet because the tenant stained it is the textbook example of how to lose a deposit case. The carpet was at end of life anyway.
Walls and paint
The wall category is where almost every landlord overcharges at some point.
Wear and tear
- Small nail holes from picture hanging (most states explicitly allow this).
- Scuffs at chair-rail height behind dining furniture.
- Minor paint fading from sunlight.
- Light marks along hallway walls from shoulders and bags.
- Touchup paint that doesn’t quite match.
Damage
- Large holes from doorknobs, furniture, or impacts.
- Anchored shelf or TV mounts removed without filling the holes.
- Crayon, marker, or paint not in the original color.
- Walls painted a non-approved color without restoration.
- Smoke damage, including nicotine staining on ceilings.
Repainting deductions
Repainting is almost never fully deductible. Paint has a 2-3 year useful life in most state guidelines. A tenant who stays two years and leaves walls in normal condition is not responsible for repainting cost, even if the unit needs it.
A tenant who leaves walls with significant damage is responsible for spot-repair and matching paint, prorated for paint age. Full repaint of a unit because of nail holes is not a defensible deduction.
Flooring beyond carpet
Hardwood, laminate, vinyl, and tile each have their own wear patterns.
Hardwood
Wear and tear: light scratches in traffic areas, dulled finish, minor gaps between boards from seasonal humidity.
Damage: deep gouges, water damage from pet bowls or spills, burn marks, sections refinished or repaired by tenant without approval.
Hardwood floors typically have a 25-year useful life with refinishing required every 7-10 years. A scratched floor at the end of a 5-year tenancy may simply be due for the routine refinishing that’s the owner’s responsibility.
Laminate and vinyl
Wear and tear: scuffs, slight color loss, surface scratches.
Damage: water damage causing swelling or warping, broken or chipped planks, sections lifted from improper cleaning.
Tile
Wear and tear: grout discoloration, minor caulk yellowing.
Damage: cracked tiles, missing grout sections, tiles loosened from improper installation of fixtures by the tenant.
Kitchens
The kitchen wear-and-tear line is more forgiving than most landlords think.
Wear and tear
- Slight cabinet door warping from steam.
- Minor wear on cabinet pulls and handles.
- Light scratches on countertop surfaces.
- Faded interior of fridge gaskets.
- Worn-down nonstick coating on appliances (if you provided them with that coating already worn).
Damage
- Burns or melted spots on countertops.
- Chips in porcelain sinks or stovetops.
- Broken oven racks, missing fridge shelves.
- Heavy grease buildup that requires more than standard cleaning to remove.
- Cabinet doors broken off hinges.
Cleaning vs damage
A unit that needs ordinary cleaning at move-out is the owner’s responsibility unless the lease specifies otherwise. A unit that’s been left in a condition requiring above-and-beyond cleaning (caked grease, mold in the fridge, neglected garbage) is the tenant’s responsibility and is deductible at actual cleaning vendor cost, with the receipt.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms collect wear quickly because of moisture and daily use. Judges expect this.
Wear and tear
- Soap scum on tile and glass.
- Minor caulk yellowing.
- Worn faucet finishes from daily use.
- Toilet seats showing wear.
- Cabinet finish wear near sinks.
Damage
- Mold from a tenant’s failure to use the exhaust fan or ventilate (this is harder to prove than most landlords think).
- Cracked toilet bowls or tanks.
- Broken tile or chipped tubs.
- Sealant failure caused by tenant repairs or modifications.
- Permanent staining from products like hair dye or cleaning chemicals.
Appliances
If you supplied the appliance, you supplied it with a remaining useful life. That clock runs whether the tenant uses it gently or hard.
Useful life baselines
- Refrigerator: 10-15 years.
- Range/oven: 15 years.
- Dishwasher: 9 years.
- Microwave: 7-9 years.
- Washer/dryer: 10-13 years.
A dishwasher that breaks during year 8 of its life is not the tenant’s responsibility, even if it broke “while they were using it.” A dishwasher with a clearly forced or broken latch is.
The repair-vs-replace question
When an appliance breaks during a tenancy, the question of whether to repair or replace it isn’t a wear-and-tear question, it’s an operating decision. The repair vs replace HVAC and appliances guide walks through the thresholds.
Doors, windows, and hardware
These get overlooked at inspection and overcharged at move-out.
Wear and tear
- Worn interior door hinges and finishes.
- Sticky locks that need lubrication.
- Window blinds with slight sun damage.
- Slightly warped exterior doors from weather.
Damage
- Doors with kicked-in panels or broken jambs.
- Locks deliberately broken or replaced without approval.
- Blinds with bent or missing slats from rough handling.
- Window screens torn or missing.
Screens are a common deduction. The fair charge is replacement cost of the screen, not the whole window unit.
Outdoor spaces
Yard wear-and-tear standards depend on what the lease said the tenant was responsible for.
Wear and tear
- Lawn condition consistent with the watering schedule the tenant was responsible for.
- Minor dead spots from drought or seasonal conditions.
- Worn paths through grass.
Damage
- Lawn destroyed by pets without remediation.
- Trees or shrubs removed without permission.
- Holes dug in the yard.
- Deck or patio with permanent stains from grills or fire pits placed against the lease terms.
What this means for your inspection
Walking the wear-and-tear line is the single most important judgment call at move-out. Three rules keep you out of trouble.
When in doubt, photograph it but don’t deduct. A photo of a worn carpet edge is useful context. A deduction for the worn carpet edge is a losing case.
Itemize specifically. “Carpet damage in master bedroom, 4-inch burn mark, photo attached, vendor estimate $X” wins. “Carpet, $600” loses.
Show your math on useful life. “Carpet age 4 years, useful life 5 years, replacement cost $1,200, deduction $240 (1/5 remaining)” is a calculation a judge can validate. A flat replacement cost is a calculation that gets thrown out.
For the broader question of what makes a deduction defensible end-to-end, the itemize deposit deductions guide covers letter structure, receipts, and state-by-state requirements.
The hidden cost of overcharging
Landlords who overcharge tenants for wear and tear lose more than the disputed deduction. In many states, a wrongfully withheld deposit triggers penalties of two to three times the deposit amount, plus the tenant’s legal fees.
A $400 over-deduction can turn into a $1,200 judgment plus $800 in legal fees, plus a small-claims judgment on your record. The right move when you’re unsure is almost always to err toward returning more of the deposit, document why, and move on.
The cheapest deductions are the ones that are clearly damage, clearly photographed at move-in and move-out, and clearly itemized with receipts. Anything fuzzier than that costs more to defend than it brings in.
A move-out walkthrough that captures this kind of detail (paired side-by-side with the move-in record, with photos and a clean itemized breakdown) is what the Move-Out Checkout flow exists to produce.
