Security Deposit Settlement Calculator

Security deposit disputes are the most common landlord-tenant claim, and they are usually lost on two points: charging for normal wear, and missing the statutory deadline for returning the balance with an itemised statement.

Both are avoidable. The deadline is a date, and the wear-versus-damage line, while judgment, follows a consistent principle: wear is what happens when a reasonable tenant lives there; damage is what happens when they do not.

What makes a withholding stick

Evidence that predates the tenancy. A dated move-in condition report signed by both parties, and photographs of the same rooms at move-out, settle almost every dispute before it starts. Without them, a charge is one person's word.

Itemise like you are explaining it to a judge

Because you might be. Each line: what was damaged, what it cost, and the invoice or estimate behind it. A single line reading "cleaning and repairs — $600" is the kind of statement that loses.

Depreciate long-lived items

Charging a departing tenant for a full carpet replacement after seven years is generally not allowed; carpet has a useful life and most of it was already used up. Prorate against remaining life rather than charging the full cost.