Understanding Security Deposit Deductions

A landlord can keep part of your security deposit only for costs your state's deposit law allows: rent you still owe, a reasonable amount to repair damage beyond normal wear and tear, and in some states cleaning or other charges your lease makes you owe. Ordinary wear from living in the unit, and damage that was there before you moved in, stay the landlord's cost. Each deduction must appear on an itemized statement sent by your state's deadline, such as 14 days after you move out in New York or 21 days in California. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington require receipts, invoices, or estimates for repair charges, and California does once repairs and cleaning total more than $125.

What can a landlord deduct?

Massachusetts and New York treat their lists as complete, so a charge that fits none of the categories, such as a flat turnover fee, cannot come out of the deposit there. Our guide to cleaning deductions covers what move-in-level cleaning includes. Leaving your last month's rent unpaid so the deposit covers it is a separate issue, and Texas presumes a tenant who does that acted in bad faith; see last month's rent vs. a security deposit.

What can't a landlord deduct?

• Normal wear and tear. Texas defines it as deterioration from the intended use of the home, as opposed to deterioration from negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by you, your household, or your guests. Our guide to normal wear and tear vs. damage sorts common items into each group.
• Conditions from before your tenancy. California bars charges for damage or defects that existed before you moved in. New York bars charges for a prior tenant's damage and for anything noted in a move-in condition agreement you requested. Massachusetts bars charges for damage listed on the move-in statement of condition, unless the landlord repaired it and proves you caused new, unrelated damage.
• Built-up wear and upgrades. California bars charges for the combined effect of ordinary wear over several tenancies, such as years of wax buildup on a kitchen floor, and limits repairs to restoring the unit's condition when your tenancy began, so better materials are the landlord's cost.
• Items left off a California pre-move-out inspection. California lets you request an inspection during the last two weeks of your tenancy. If you had one, the landlord cannot later deduct for repairs or cleaning missing from its list, except damage that happened after the inspection or was hidden by your belongings.
• Undocumented items in Washington. A landlord that collected a deposit without giving you a written move-in checklist owes you the amount of the deposit. It also cannot charge for fixtures, appliances, or furnishings whose condition the checklist did not reasonably document, and a damage charge without the required paperwork cannot be billed to you, reported to a credit bureau or tenant screening service, or sent to collections.

How does an item's age limit a replacement charge?

Depreciation is the value an item loses as it ages. When you ruin something that was already partly worn out, a reasonable charge covers the life it had left, not the price of a new one. California's tenant guide describes a common way to figure this, which it calls consistent with the law but not necessarily the law itself: multiply the replacement cost by the share of the item's expected life that remained.

Example: the statement charges $800 to replace living room drapes your cat shredded. The drapes were 6 years old, and the landlord's records give them an 8-year life.

1. Life remaining: 8 - 6 = 2 years.
2. Share remaining: 2 / 8 = 25%.
3. Prorated charge: $800 x 0.25 = $200, which leaves $600 of the line to dispute.

Washington writes a related limit into its statute: when only part of an item is damaged, the landlord can keep no more than the cost to repair or replace the damaged part. In California, New York, and Texas, a landlord taken to court must prove that the amount it kept was reasonable.

What must the itemized statement include?

California's statement must also include photos the landlord took after you moved out and after the repairs or cleaning, plus move-in photos for a tenancy that began on or after July 1, 2025. A good-faith estimate is allowed when a repair cannot reasonably be finished in 21 days or a vendor's bill has not arrived, with the final paperwork due within 14 days after the repair is done or the bill arrives. The receipts and photos can be left out when repairs and cleaning total $125 or less or you signed a written waiver, but you can still request them within 14 days after you receive the statement.

A New York landlord that misses its deadline forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit, and a Washington landlord that misses its deadline owes you the full deposit. For caps, interest, and penalties in other states, see our overview of state security deposit laws.

How do you challenge a specific line item?

1. Request missing proof. If the statement lacks receipts, invoices, photos, or labor hours your state requires, ask for them in writing. In California, send the request within 14 days after you receive the statement; the landlord then has 14 days to provide them.
2. Check each line against your records. Note whether the charge claims rent, damage, cleaning, or a lease charge, and mark any that fits none of your state's categories. Compare each damage or cleaning line with your move-in checklist and photos and your move-out photos of the same spot, as our guide to documenting your apartment's condition explains.
3. Check the amount. Match the charge to its invoice, multiply any labor hours by the stated rate, and apply the useful-life math to any replacement.
4. Dispute each line in writing. For each contested charge, give the amount, your reason (normal wear and tear, a condition that predates your tenancy, missing proof, or a new-item price for a used item), and your supporting photo or document. Then total the disputed amounts and set a date for payment. In Florida, send your written objection to the address in the landlord's notice within 15 days after you receive it; if you miss that window, the landlord may deduct its claim, though you can still sue for a refund later.
5. Escalate if the landlord does not pay. Our guide to what to do when your landlord won't return your deposit covers the demand letter, free complaint and mediation options, and small claims court.