Normal Wear and Tear vs Damage in the Netherlands

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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.

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. After a tenancy of two or more years, a landlord is expected to repaint at their own cost regardless of the tenant.

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: A property that has been lived in will require routine cleaning before the next tenant moves in. Standard cleaning — vacuuming, wiping surfaces, cleaning the oven — is a landlord’s cost of business.

Chargeable damage: Exceptional filth that goes beyond normal use — mould caused by the tenant’s failure to ventilate, heavy grease buildup, damage from pets not disclosed in the contract, or a property left in an objectively uninhabitable state.

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, minor wear on mechanisms, slight fraying at edges over time. This is the landlord’s cost.

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:

• Painting and decorating after a normal tenancy period
• Worn-out door and window seals
• General upkeep of shared facilities
• 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, Dutch law generally assumes the property was in good condition when you moved in. This actually creates problems in both directions: the landlord cannot easily prove what damage is attributable to you, but you also cannot point to pre-existing issues.

• 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

1. Respond in writing — dispute each specific deduction and state why. Do not accept a partial refund without reserving your right to dispute the remainder.
2. Request the evidence — ask the landlord for inspection reports, contractor invoices, and photographs supporting each deduction. They are required to provide these.
3. 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?
4. 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 isn’t returning your deposit.
5. Get legal advice — if the amounts are significant and the landlord is not cooperating, this is when a specialist deposit lawyer adds real value.

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. These clauses are enforceable if the property was professionally cleaned when you moved in (evidenced in the check-in report). If it was not, the clause is harder to enforce.

Even with such a clause, a landlord charging for professional cleaning while the property was already clean at handover is on weak legal ground.

For illegal or excessive deductions beyond wear and tear, see illegal security deposit deductions in the Netherlands.

11. Frequently asked questions