Reasonable wear and tear is the damage to property resulting from ordinary use and exposure over time. It is also known as ordinary wear and tear or natural wear and tear. This term is commonly used in landlord-tenant law to limit the tenant’s liability for damage to the property.
In New York, case law has established various examples of what constitutes ordinary wear and tear:
- Repairing damage to bathroom tiles (Strafaci v. Meadowbrook Pointe Dev. Corp.);
- Clean-up including professional carpet cleaning, window washing, and interior painting (James Bohl, CPA, P.C. v. Poffenbarger); and
- Garbage left under an oven, stains in the tub and sink, leftover food in the refrigerator, dog hair throughout the apartment, garbage on the back porch, and dirty windows and ceiling fans (Hamilton v. Bosko).
New York state examples of damage that exceeds ordinary wear and tear include:
- Offensive and excessive tobacco odor as a result of tenant’s smoking in the property (McCormick v. Moran);
- Repairing holes in the wall, and
- Hiring an exterminator to remove fleas (Chill Venture v. Stahl).
In Camacho v. Paduch, the court constructed New York’s security deposit law to allow the landlord to deduct money from the tenant’s security deposit only if the damage exceeds reasonable wear and tear.
[Last updated in March of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]