Security deposit depreciation table: useful life by item
Compare useful-life estimates for common rental items, then calculate remaining value. These are reference values; the item’s condition, your evidence and state rules determine a defensible deduction.
Useful life by item: HUD reference values
Values from HUD’s sample life-expectancy chart for its covered housing programs, not a nationwide legal schedule. Where HUD distinguishes family and elderly housing, both values are shown. Check your item’s condition and applicable rules.
| Item | HUD sample useful life |
|---|---|
| Plush carpeting | 5 years (family); 7 years (elderly housing) |
| Interior paint - flat | 3 years (family); 5 years (elderly housing) |
| Interior paint - enamel | 5 years (family); 7 years (elderly housing) |
| Tiles / linoleum | 5 years (family); 7 years (elderly housing) |
| Window shades, screens and blinds | 3 years |
| Refrigerator | 10 years |
| Range / stove | 20 years |
| Water heater | 10 years |
| Air conditioning unit | 10 years |
What's the damaged item actually worth? Run the depreciation
Presets use HUD’s family-housing sample values. Choose an item or enter a useful life supported by your item’s records. The result depends on that assumption.
How the proration works
The formula is straight-line depreciation: remaining value = replacement cost x (useful life - age) / useful life. A $1,400 carpet with a 7-year life, destroyed at year 5, has two years of value left: $1,400 x 2/7 = $400. That is the estimated remaining value under these assumptions, not a legal ruling.
An item past its useful life has little or no chargeable value. Ten-year-old carpet, eight-year-old paint, a fifteen-year-old water heater - replacing those is maintenance the landlord owed the unit anyway, whoever the tenant was.
Where these lifespans come from
This table reproduces HUD’s sample life-expectancy values, not a statutory schedule. HUD’s Special Claims Guide includes a carpet example prorated over five years for its covered programs. That example does not make five years a legal rule for every rental. Appendix 5D distinguishes family and elderly housing for several items.
Use records of the actual item’s quality, installation, condition and expected service life when available. Tax depreciation schedules serve a different purpose and do not establish what a tenant legally owes.
Using the table in a dispute
Ask for two numbers behind any damage charge: the age of the item and the replacement cost claimed. If the itemization does not say, request both in writing - the burden of justifying a deduction is the landlord's. Then run the formula and put the math in your demand letter: "the carpet was installed in 2019; at a 7-year life its remaining value is $X, not the $Y charged."
A replacement can improve the unit beyond its previous condition. Explain that concern with the item’s age, condition and your calculation rather than relying on the price of a new item alone.
Your state's rules on this
The calculator estimates remaining value; your state sets the rules for deductions, documentation and deadlines. Pick it:
Putting the math in your letter
Request the item’s installation date, condition and replacement cost. Explain your useful-life assumption and show the calculation alongside the records that support it. Free demand letter for your state →
Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord charge full replacement cost for old carpet?
Age and condition are reasons to question a full replacement charge. Ask when the carpet was installed, why replacement was necessary and how the amount was calculated. Remaining-value math can support a dispute, but state law and the evidence control.
Is this depreciation table legally binding?
No. These are illustrative useful-life estimates, not a nationwide legal schedule. Check the rules that apply to your tenancy and use records of the actual item’s age, quality and condition.
How do I find out how old the carpet or paint actually is?
Ask in writing - age and replacement cost are exactly what an itemization should support, and the burden of justifying the charge is the landlord's. Move-in photos, prior listings, and even the flooring style itself are evidence; a landlord who cannot show age cannot defend new-for-old math.
Does depreciation apply to cleaning charges too?
No - depreciation is for damaged items with a useful life. Cleaning is judged by a different rule: only cleaning beyond ordinary wear, back to move-in condition, is chargeable. See the cleaning-fees guide for that line.
Run the math on every charge at once
The case builder applies depreciation to each deduction, flags replacement-cost overcharges, and writes the demand letter with the exact statute citations.
Build your case →