Normal wear and tear Netherlands: what landlords can deduct
Normal wear and tear (normale slijtage) is what ordinary use and age do to a home, like faded paint or carpet worn in walkways. It is the landlord’s cost: you pay only for damage you are responsible for, not for what has worn out through age (art. 7:218 and 7:224 BW, checked 28 Sep 2026). Plain-English guidance on wear vs damage under Dutch tenancy law – and how it affects your deposit – from €49.
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Your landlord can deduct only four things from your deposit: damage you are responsible for, unpaid rent, service costs and the energy performance fee (art. 7:261b BW), with a full written cost breakdown. Paint that has aged, sun fading and carpet worn in walkways are not on that list. Rijksoverheid says ordinary wear may not come off your deposit.
| Wear and tear (landlord pays) | Damage (tenant pays) |
|---|---|
| A few small nail or screw holes from hanging pictures (depends on the number of holes and your lease) | Large holes or plug holes from heavy fixtures, such as a TV bracket, left unrepaired |
| Paint that has faded or yellowed with age | Writing, drawings or deep marks on the walls |
| Small scuffs near light switches and doors (depends: see the note on paint and holes below) | Walls painted a bold colour you were required to change back (depends on your lease and what was agreed) |
| Carpet worn flat in walkways | Burns in the carpet, floor or worktop |
| Curtains, blinds or carpet faded by sunlight | Large stains that will not come out |
| Light scratches on wood or laminate floors from normal use | Deep gouges or water damage in the floor |
| Hairline cracks in grout or tiles from age | Broken or chipped tiles from something dropped |
| A worktop dulled by everyday use | Knife cuts or scorch marks on the worktop |
| An appliance that stopped working through age | An appliance broken by misuse |
| Kitchen cupboard fronts worn by years of use | Broken doors, locks or windows, or lost keys |
| Bath or shower enamel dulled by years of use | Chips or cracks in the bath or basin from something dropped; torn curtains or broken blind slats |
| Mould from a leak or another building defect the landlord did not fix | Pet damage (scratched doors, chewed skirting boards, urine stains); mould from not airing the home (depends on the cause) |
Where it depends: Dutch rules list whitewashing interior walls and filling small holes as kleine herstellingen (small repairs) that you do during the tenancy (Besluit kleine herstellingen), while what has aged is excluded at handover (art. 7:224 BW). For paint and holes, your lease, the check-in report and how long you lived there decide who pays.
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You moved out. The landlord sent a deduction list. It includes repainting the entire apartment, a professional clean, and a carpet replacement. Now you are wondering: is any of that actually legal?
The answer depends on whether each item is normale slijtage – normal wear and tear – or genuine damage caused by you. Dutch law treats these very differently. Your landlord can charge you for the second. They cannot charge you for the first. The problem is that many landlords present normal wear and tear as damage and count on tenants not knowing the difference.
This guide explains the distinction clearly, item by item.
Wear and tear vs damage at a glance
- Normal wear (normale slijtage): natural deterioration from ordinary use – landlord’s cost
- Damage: negligence, misuse, or abuse beyond normal living – may be chargeable if evidenced
- Repainting: fading and minor scuffs from ordinary use are usually wear; full repaint invoices are often disputed
- Cleaning: routine turnover clean is landlord cost; the actual cost of cleaning a home left dirty or not as agreed may be deducted
- Carpet: depreciation applies – you rarely owe 100% of a new carpet for an old floor
- Baseline: check-in report (opnamestaat) defines what changed during your tenancy
- Service type: FindLawyer coordinates intake, document collection, case summary preparation, and handoff to a specialist Dutch deposit lawyer for wear-and-tear and other unlawful deduction disputes.
- Coordination fee: €49, charged only if the case appears suitable after review. Fully refunded if FindLawyer cannot start coordination or route the case to the specialist lawyer.
- Lawyer/legal-aid contribution (2026): €188 in the lowest bracket. For eligible tenants, typically international students and low-income earners assessed on 2024 income, this €188 is not paid upfront. If the case succeeds, the €188 is paid from the recovered deposit. The specialist lawyer confirms eligibility individually.
- Total upfront cost for eligible users: €49 coordination only. No €188 upfront.
- Eligibility check: free, takes about 2 minutes at findlawyer.nl/deposit. No BSN or document upload required to complete the check.
- Remote cases: accepted. Tenants who already left the Netherlands can still use the service if the rental property was in the Netherlands.
- Legal work: performed by the specialist partner deposit lawyer. FindLawyer is not the lawyer.
1. What does “normal wear and tear” mean under Dutch law?
Dutch tenancy law (huurrecht) holds that a tenant returns a property in the same condition they received it, accounting for normal wear and tear (normale slijtage). Normal wear and tear is the natural deterioration that results from using a property as intended, over time.
The landlord is responsible for maintaining the property against normal wear. A tenant is responsible only for damage caused by negligence, misuse, or actions beyond the scope of normal living.
Courts apply a proportionality test: how old was the item, how long did the tenancy last, and does the claimed cost reflect genuine damage or simply the passage of time?
2. Repainting: the most disputed deduction
Normal wear and tear: Paint fades, gets minor scuffs, yellows slightly over time, or shows small marks near light switches and doors. This is normal. What has aged is excluded when you hand the home back (art. 7:224 BW). No official source sets a paint lifespan in years: how long you lived there, your lease and the check-in report all matter.
Chargeable damage: Large holes in walls, deep gouges, intentional markings, spray paint, or paint removed by poorly applied tape from a tenant’s own decorations.
What landlords try to charge for: Full apartment repaints after any tenancy, claiming the walls were “dirty” or “marked.” Without a check-in report confirming the walls were freshly painted at the start of your tenancy, a landlord has difficulty justifying this cost. Even if the walls were freshly painted when you moved in, Dutch courts apply a depreciation model – the older the paint, the smaller the deduction even for genuine damage.
3. Professional cleaning: the second most common dispute
Normal wear and tear: Keeping the home clean is your job as the tenant (Besluit kleine herstellingen, annex p). If you leave it clean or as agreed, the landlord may not charge you for cleaning, and never for normal wear (Rijksoverheid).
Chargeable: Cleaning is not a separate item on the list in article 7:261b BW, but if you left the home dirty or not as agreed, the landlord may deduct the actual cost of cleaning it (Rijksoverheid). Mould caused by not ventilating, heavy grease buildup or damage from pets not disclosed in the contract can also be damage beyond normal wear.
What landlords try to charge for: A standard professional cleaning invoice regardless of how you left the property. This is extremely common and is frequently not a legitimate deduction.
4. Carpet replacement
Normal wear and tear: Carpet flattens, fades in high-traffic areas, and develops minor wear over years of normal use. After five to seven years, a landlord should expect to replace carpets at their own cost regardless of the tenant.
Chargeable damage: Burns, large stains that cannot be removed, tears, or damage from pets.
The depreciation rule: Even for genuine damage, Dutch courts apply a depreciation calculation. A carpet that is six years old and has an expected lifespan of ten years means you are responsible for a maximum of 40% of the replacement cost if you caused damage – not the full invoice. A landlord who charges you the full cost of a new carpet for a six-year-old floor covering is overcharging.
5. Curtains, blinds, and furniture
Normal wear and tear: Fading from sunlight, slight fraying at edges over time, and parts worn out by age. This is the landlord’s cost. Keeping moving parts working, for example oiling a stiff mechanism, is your small repair during the tenancy (Besluit kleine herstellingen, annex e).
Chargeable damage: Broken slats, torn fabric caused by misuse, broken furniture mechanisms, or items missing entirely.
Watch for: Itemised charges for “replacing” curtains or blinds that faded during your tenancy. Fading is not damage.
6. Small holes in walls
Normal wear and tear: A small nail or screw hole from hanging a picture or mirror is generally considered normal use. Most Dutch courts and lawyers treat a handful of picture hooks as standard tenant behaviour.
Chargeable damage: Large holes from improper wall mounting, multiple holes across all walls suggesting extensive mounting without care, or holes left unrepaired where the tenant agreed in the contract to restore the walls.
What matters: What does your rental contract say about hanging items? Some contracts prohibit all wall mounting. If you breached a specific contract clause, that changes the analysis.
7. Items that are always the landlord’s cost
Under Dutch law, certain maintenance and upkeep items are always the landlord’s responsibility and cannot be charged to the tenant:
- Repainting needed only because the paint has aged (art. 7:224 BW)
- Structural upkeep of shared facilities (cleaning the common areas is a tenant’s small repair, Besluit kleine herstellingen, annex p)
- Repairs caused by age or structural wear rather than tenant action
- Replacement of appliances that have reached the end of their natural lifespan
8. The check-in report: your most important document
The starting point for any deduction dispute is the condition of the property when you moved in. If there was a check-in report (check-in rapport or opnamestaat) signed at the start of your tenancy, it is the baseline. The landlord can only claim deductions for deterioration beyond that baseline – accounting for wear and tear during your tenancy.
If there was no check-in report, the law presumes you received the home in the state it is in when your tenancy ends, unless the landlord proves otherwise (art. 7:224 lid 2 BW). So the landlord has to prove which damage you caused. The flip side: you also cannot easily point to issues that were already there.
- If you have a check-in report: Compare it item by item with the check-out report. Anything the check-in report already documented as present cannot be charged to you.
- If you do not have a check-in report: Gather any evidence from when you moved in – emails with the landlord, photos you took, any written communications about the condition of the property.
9. What to do when you disagree with a deduction
- Respond in writing – dispute each specific deduction and state why. Do not accept a partial refund without reserving your right to dispute the remainder.
- Request the evidence – ask the landlord for inspection reports, contractor invoices, and photographs supporting each deduction. They are required to provide these.
- Apply the wear and tear test – for each item: how old was it, how long was the tenancy, and is this normal deterioration or actual damage?
- Send a demand letter – if the landlord refuses to return the disputed amounts, a formal demand letter (aanmaning) is the next step. See our guide on what to do when your landlord is not returning your deposit.
- Get legal advice – if the amounts are significant and the landlord is not cooperating, this is when a specialist deposit lawyer adds real value. Start with the free eligibility check.
FindLawyer.nl offers tenants in the Netherlands a free 2-minute deposit check. If the deposit looks recoverable, it matches the tenant with an independent tenancy lawyer. FindLawyer is not a law firm.
More on finding an English-speaking tenant lawyer in the Netherlands.
10. “Professional cleaning required” clauses in rental contracts
Many Dutch rental contracts – particularly in the private sector – include a clause requiring the tenant to have the property professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy, sometimes with a specific cleaning company. Rijksoverheid says the landlord may deduct cleaning costs if you did not leave the home clean or as agreed, so a clause like this matters: if you did not do what it asks, the actual cost of the cleaning can be deducted. What it cannot do is add a deduction outside the four that article 7:261b BW allows.
If you left the home clean and did what the lease asked, a landlord charging for professional cleaning anyway is on weak ground.
For illegal or excessive deductions beyond wear and tear, see illegal security deposit deductions in the Netherlands.
Who can help with a withheld deposit
- Do it yourself: a written demand, then the kantonrechter (sub-district court).
- Juridisch Loket: free legal information (income limits apply for further help).
- Huurteam or !WOON: local tenant support in some cities.
- Huurcommissie: rent disputes (rent level, service costs, repairs), not deposit disputes.
- FindLawyer.nl: €49 coordination fee. We prepare your case file in English and an independent lawyer who specialises in deposit recovery takes it on. Useful if the landlord ignores your letter, disputes deductions, or you have already left the Netherlands.
11. Frequently asked questions
1. What is normal wear and tear?
Normal wear and tear (normale slijtage) is the deterioration a home shows from ordinary use and age: faded paint, a carpet worn in walkways, small scuffs. Dutch law makes you liable only for damage caused by your own failure to meet your lease obligations (art. 7:218 BW), and at handover it excludes what has worn out or been damaged through age (art. 7:224 BW). That ageing is the landlord’s cost.
2. What counts as normal wear and tear in a rental?
In a rental it covers the signs of everyday living: a few picture holes, sun-faded curtains, light floor scratches, carpet worn in walkways, an appliance at the end of its life. Your landlord may not deduct these from your deposit. Only four things can be set off against it: unpaid rent, service costs, the energy performance fee, and damage that is your responsibility (art. 7:261b BW and Rijksoverheid).
3. Can a landlord charge for painting, and how much?
Only for paint work caused by more than ordinary use, such as writing on walls, large holes, or a colour you were required to change back. Paint that has faded or yellowed with age is excluded at handover (art. 7:224 BW). No official source sets a fixed amount or a paint lifespan. A deduction must be costs actually made to repair the damage, with a full written cost breakdown (art. 7:261b BW).
4. What is the difference between ordinary wear and tear and damage?
Ordinary wear and tear is what normal use does to a home over time, whoever lives there. Damage is harm from misuse, accidents or neglect, like burns, pet scratches, broken tiles or large stains. The law presumes damage during the tenancy was caused by you, except fire damage and damage to the outside (art. 7:218 BW), so move-in photos and a check-in report help you show what was already there.
5. Who pays for wear and tear, the landlord or the tenant?
The landlord pays for wear and tear, and for damage caused by maintenance the landlord neglected. Rijksoverheid says neither may come off your deposit. You pay for damage that is your responsibility, for cleaning if you did not leave the home clean or as agreed, and for small repairs during the tenancy, such as tightening a loose door handle (art. 7:217 BW and the Besluit kleine herstellingen).
6. How much does FindLawyer charge for a wear-and-tear deposit dispute?
The eligibility check is free and takes about 2 minutes. If your case appears suitable, FindLawyer charges a €49 coordination fee. For eligible students and low-income tenants, the separate €188 lawyer contribution is not paid upfront and is instead paid from the recovered deposit if the case succeeds.
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