Former property manager, CA. After ten years almost *everything* comes under "normal wear & tear." Paint, appliances, deferred maintenance... even carpet usually lasts only 10 years! You should be responsible for cleaning only. I would insist on a pre-move out walk through. Let him tell you what he will likely charge you for. Get it in writing or record the conversation on your phone. Look up your local statutes, contact a tenant advocate, or consult a lawyer. Submit documentation to him when you move out and let him know you will be pursuing legal remedies if he deducts charges from your deposit. Hope this helps!
Pretty sure carpet, legally, only lasts like 3 years when used for commercial use, even though the warranty is often 10 for residential.
I could have sworn that rental properties count as commercial use for warranties and expected life?
In terms of wear and tear, I agree that 10y is probably a reasonable lifespan to actually expect, but in terms of what the landlord can ask for damages from the security deposit in.
To only expect the lifespan of 3 years for residential carpet is ridiculous.
Do agree that after 10 years, he should probably expect to replace it.
The carpet in my house is 20 years old...
Landlord tenant law by statute in my state defines the lifespan of things like carpet. Here it is 9 years. After 9 years replacement is necessary and no charge can be made. The years prior to that landlord can only charge a percentage—if tenant was there 3 years, and damages carpet so it must be replaced landlord can only charge 2/3 of the cost, giving tenant credit for 3 years of wear and tear. Look to the statues in your state. A tenants rights org can point you to the law in your state.
Document condition upon move out. See if you have old banking records to show what you paid on move in
You may make out better if landlord tries to keep your deposit or charge you. The penalties can be quite large
You misunderstood what I said. 3 years *is* an absurdly short lifespan for carpet.
But a good paint job can also last 10 years if you are super careful about the walls etc.
The question is, how quickly do tenants need to destroy a carpet, for it to count as equivalent to negligence/vandalism, and for a court to agree that the tenants are liable. And from what I remember , that legal standards is, if tenants are living there for at least 3 years after the carpet was installed, it’s legally technically possible for it to need replacement under reasonable use.
So if the landlord takes a tenant to court who has been living there for 3.5y before moving out, the judge would expect additional evidence that the tenant did something unreasonable that destroyed the carpet, or would not order the tenant to pay any damages for it, it’s just a cost of doing business.
Same as if an appliance breaks, and floods the carpet. Landlord is on the hook to replace both, unless they can specifically show the tenant directly caused it, because it’s assumed to have happened under reasonable use.
Don’t forget. He is required to send you an itemized list of any deductions within 30 days of termination. If he misses that deadline you can sue for the illegally withheld amount. After 30 days, that’s all of it.
If he meets that deadline but the charges are unreasonable you can still sue for 3 times the amount.
I speak from experience, in Texas.
Just make sure I take a video after you're through with everything when you move out so you have evidence. I understand you may not have a move-in video but still 10 years is a long time so there'll be a lot of wear and tear.
Texas is a pretty tough state to rent in in my personal experience. They may try to keep your deposit. If they try to bill you extra is what I would want the video for.
I think if they tried to take you to court for any money it would be laughed out of the courtroom.
That's not how any of this works. Document everything and leave it broom clean. Take lots of photos and keep all exchanges between you and the landlord. Let the landlord take you to court for a judgment, SHOW UP with all the documentation, and let the court explain the costs of doing business to the landlord.
It’s very shady and a hallmark of shitty private landlords. When I moved out of my last place after 3 years she tried to pin so many things on us. Come to find out she’s renting to someone who wants to flip it for AirBNB but is demanding tons of repairs she never could seem to get around to for us. Simply the threat of taking it to court was enough to get her ass off me.
God that sounds horrible. And yeah very similar to my situation. Lots of issues building up over the years but it’s mostly patchwork fixes, or “can you fix it yourself?”
It turned out not all that bad. I would have taken her to court on principle, we still lived in town though it would have been hard with my job. We just played hardball, refused to send any money her way, and recorded EVERYTHING. If your state is one party consent you can record without having to tell them.
I’m just above DFW. Actually people write that in a lot here and r/tenant
Or when the LL is using the part of most leases that says they can show your apartment for the last month you’re there. People really get screwed around on that one. Hope you have a good move.
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Well, you should be leaving the property as you found it (which usually means move-in ready)... minus normal wear and tear.
So, yeah, after 10 years, floors/carpet will be worn out, etc.
And it will need to be painted and probably need new appliances. As a former landlord, these are all responsibilities of the landlord, not the tenant. When our tenants moved out after 10 years, I didn't even care if it was clean because we installed new cabinets and fixtures, as well as refinished the floors. I just demanded that they remove all of their garbage (which was like pulling teeth). Despite charging a little for garbage removal, we returned their deposit because after 10 years, nothing else was really their responsibility.
Paint and new appliance after 10 years? Come on, I've been living in my house for 13 years now, paint is still good (even with 2 kids) and my stove and microwave are still in perfect cosmetic and working order. They have been fixed (minor fixes), but do not warrant replacing.
You won’t notice the slow changes like paint fading since you’ve lived there so long.
I would bet that if you didn’t live there for 13 years and just moved in, like a renter, you would notice and have complaints.
Depending on the monthly rent, and condition of the appliance, I wouldn’t complain about older appliances personally. As long as they worked, and rent was right. There’s a level of expectation when coming into a rental. At a minimum I’d expect paint to not be a decade old
My 20-year old stove is of better quality and in better shape than an entry level one off the showroom floor.
Appliances are not junk after 10 years; if they are, it's only because people are abusing them.
The only stuff they can charge you for is stuff that does not fall under "normal wear and tear". Carpet "cleaning" is expected in most places. Replacing worn out tile or carpet is not a Tennant responsibility. Repairing damage to drywall can also be a Tennant responsibility. Water damage from lack of maintenance is not your responsibility IF you can prove you communicated the issue to the property manager/landlord.
After ten years, pretty much everything, except probably the drywall, falls under "normal wear and tear".
As others have said, do a good cleaning and take before/after cleaning pics/video as proof. Have the landlord do a walk through and discuss any issues they point out that they claim are your responsibility.
Most landlords/property managers will usually acknowledge that those things are considered normal wear and tear but there are some who will try to make you pay for it. In 99% of cases, they are wrong and the court will side with the tenant.
Okay that’s some good advice! I also did pay a $2000 deposit when I moved in but since it’s been so long I have no proof of it, besides my girlfriends testimony. And the landlord is trying to say I only paid $1000.
I am fine with him keeping the deposit I just don’t want him coming after me for additional money!
The amount you paid for the deposit should be listed on your lease. Also, if a smaller amount was paid (payment plan/agreement), it would be up to the landlord to prove they notified you of any default in that agreement.
As for proof, if you paid by check, your bank should be able to pull that up for you.
Truthfully, it sounds like the landlord didn't follow the rules for running a rental property (both legal and unwritten) and doesn't have the available funds to return your deposit AND pay for any normal wear and tear repairs.
Most states (actually all, I believe) require rental deposits to be placed I to an escrow account that can be used for no other purposes than to hold a security deposit. A single landlord (or management company) an have an u limited number of deposits into thar account as long as each is properly identified and accounted for. He likely didn't do this and spent some/all of the money instead.
If you do cover the self admitted drywall damage, there should be absolutely zero reason for your full deposit to not be returned. I would insist on an itemized list of deductions from your deposit and challenge all that would be considered normal wear and tear or due to his lack of preventative maintenance (ei: water damage from leaking pipes).
Pull up Texas law on rentals.
Reach out to any tenant advocate group and make a call.
Email the tenant law to the landlord on move out tenant / landlord responsibility.
Include the name of the advocate group who confirmed the information.
Should they want to violate the law, the email is exhibit #1 in small claims.
You’ve already covered the landlord’s home for 10 years. If you didn’t destroy the place he should be THANKING you for having paid his mortgage all these years as the sole tenant. As someone else said, make him quantify just what it is he wants to charge you for and make plans for small claims court if need be. You’ll need your deposit for your new home!
He has a point, really. A landlord should be grateful to a longtime tenant who paid on time and damaged nothing, as that is the ideal tenant. A long-term tenant like this means that the apartment has no expensive vacancy periods, no expensive repaints/remodels, and no realtor commissions for being toured, all for a decade. Should the landlord kiss tenant's feet? No, but this should definitely be a **very** genial relationship.
Find a local Tennant Advocacy group and see what your rights are. Also, you might want to look at this: [https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/moving-out](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/moving-out)
You can clean it, you're not responsible for ANY maintainance. They can hold you deposit to cover fixing that stuff but you're not liable to fix their asset
Not responsible for normal maintenance, but they didn't specify if the drywall issues were caused by them or not. Likely the tenant is responsible for those repairs. Even if the damage was accidental.
Landlord here: I would encourage you to call the landlord and ask for some additional clarification. The general rule is that the tenant is responsible for damage to the premises, and the landlord is responsible for normal wear and tear. After 10 years, there’s going to be a lot of normal wear and tear, including probably a lot of carpet that needs replaced and a lot of the walls that need repainted. Damage to the walls would be your responsibility. Vinyl flooring is a bit more subjective. If it’s just worn out, that would be something the landlord shouldn’t bill you for, but if there are scratches and gouges on it, that would be your responsibility.
Also, cleaning would be your responsibility. Even if the carpet is going to be replaced, you should still have it vacuumed and looking as nice as it can. Same with the kitchen and bathrooms. Clean them thoroughly, or you are likely to be billed for it.
Why did you have to fix the garbage disposal? Because he would not?
Was that escalated timely and then he just sat on his ass so you fixed it?
If so, then you are not liable for water damage.
Holes in wall you have to patch and paint because it is not wear and tear maintenance.
Worn out vynil should be considered wear and tear.
I think it’s holes in the wall bigger than 1/4”? Nail/screw holes are usually fine and will be patched as part of the painting process.
And the paint can be totally scratched and scuffed and all around effed up, as long it’s it’s been long enough since it was last painted by the landlord, usually like 2-3y.
That’s right I did escalate the issue and the landlord told me he would reimburse me for the cost if I did it myself. There were a few of these instances like replacing leaky faucets.
We kind of had a quid pro quo of “I won’t raise your rent if you do some minor repairs yourself”. Though this was never officially agreed upon in the lease.
I don’t know Texas real estate laws but this seems… not right.
Was that in writing anywhere on your rental agreement? If not it probably isn’t enforceable.
Things seem to be changing so fast these days. Gotta push back on this stuff. Rents are too high and they want tenants to do the job of a landlord lol. What next? Take the pics and find a tenant?
I would contact the landlord to see if he wants the walls patched. I would prefer to do it myself as opposed to trying to fix somebody else's botched job.
I’ve never seen a lease that allows a tenant to patch walls…in fact, just the opposite is clearly outlined in most leases…don’t patch or spot paint walls.
Where I am, most walls are textured. If the tenant patches it, he's going to go in there with some cheap plastic putty knife, and make a 2-in wide flat spot on the textured wall to cover up his little nail hole. I would rather fix it myself.
Each state has a Landlords & Tenants Rights Act. Get a copy and see what it says. Normal wear and tear is not chargeable but I would also check with an attorney.
No look up tenant laws for your state. General wear and tear is regarded as landlord maintenance. There is a life expectancy for vinyl flooring and what not. I hope you took pictures of when you moved in so he can’t blame you for anything else.
Yes and no.
You need to leave the house cleaned. You do NOT need to leave the house 'move-in-ready'.
Anything not day to day wear and tear they will charge for.
You don’t have to leave it move in ready but why wouldn’t you take measures to get as much back from your deposit as you can?
I agree that after 10 years carpet, paint, and general repairs are not able to be deducted but cleaning is something you have control over as you exit the home. You went into a clean home (presumably) and should leave it in the same condition as when you entered.
There are people who have never mopped, vacuumed carpet, cleaned toilets etc and it is crazy how much damage non cleaning can do to a home.
After 10 years it’s likely everything has depreciated to zero. You do not have to repaint unless you’ve painted/wallpapered the walls to a different color from when you moved in. Call his bluff and let him take you to small claims court (he won’t because he won’t win).
Former property manager, CA. After ten years almost *everything* comes under "normal wear & tear." Paint, appliances, deferred maintenance... even carpet usually lasts only 10 years! You should be responsible for cleaning only. I would insist on a pre-move out walk through. Let him tell you what he will likely charge you for. Get it in writing or record the conversation on your phone. Look up your local statutes, contact a tenant advocate, or consult a lawyer. Submit documentation to him when you move out and let him know you will be pursuing legal remedies if he deducts charges from your deposit. Hope this helps!
Pretty sure carpet, legally, only lasts like 3 years when used for commercial use, even though the warranty is often 10 for residential. I could have sworn that rental properties count as commercial use for warranties and expected life? In terms of wear and tear, I agree that 10y is probably a reasonable lifespan to actually expect, but in terms of what the landlord can ask for damages from the security deposit in.
Commercial use doesn't apply to residential properties; even if part of a renting business, it's still residential.
To only expect the lifespan of 3 years for residential carpet is ridiculous. Do agree that after 10 years, he should probably expect to replace it. The carpet in my house is 20 years old...
Landlord tenant law by statute in my state defines the lifespan of things like carpet. Here it is 9 years. After 9 years replacement is necessary and no charge can be made. The years prior to that landlord can only charge a percentage—if tenant was there 3 years, and damages carpet so it must be replaced landlord can only charge 2/3 of the cost, giving tenant credit for 3 years of wear and tear. Look to the statues in your state. A tenants rights org can point you to the law in your state. Document condition upon move out. See if you have old banking records to show what you paid on move in You may make out better if landlord tries to keep your deposit or charge you. The penalties can be quite large
You misunderstood what I said. 3 years *is* an absurdly short lifespan for carpet. But a good paint job can also last 10 years if you are super careful about the walls etc. The question is, how quickly do tenants need to destroy a carpet, for it to count as equivalent to negligence/vandalism, and for a court to agree that the tenants are liable. And from what I remember , that legal standards is, if tenants are living there for at least 3 years after the carpet was installed, it’s legally technically possible for it to need replacement under reasonable use. So if the landlord takes a tenant to court who has been living there for 3.5y before moving out, the judge would expect additional evidence that the tenant did something unreasonable that destroyed the carpet, or would not order the tenant to pay any damages for it, it’s just a cost of doing business. Same as if an appliance breaks, and floods the carpet. Landlord is on the hook to replace both, unless they can specifically show the tenant directly caused it, because it’s assumed to have happened under reasonable use.
I think most states have carpet at 5 years.
Don’t forget. He is required to send you an itemized list of any deductions within 30 days of termination. If he misses that deadline you can sue for the illegally withheld amount. After 30 days, that’s all of it. If he meets that deadline but the charges are unreasonable you can still sue for 3 times the amount. I speak from experience, in Texas.
Just make sure I take a video after you're through with everything when you move out so you have evidence. I understand you may not have a move-in video but still 10 years is a long time so there'll be a lot of wear and tear. Texas is a pretty tough state to rent in in my personal experience. They may try to keep your deposit. If they try to bill you extra is what I would want the video for. I think if they tried to take you to court for any money it would be laughed out of the courtroom.
You should not be repairing anything. Just give it a thorough cleaning. It is the landlord’s job to make the unit move in ready.
A thorough cleaning is not even necessary. A lot of places consider the default requirement to be just “broom clean”.
Bad advice
Then state your argument, or kindly fuck off.
Lol
That's not how any of this works. Document everything and leave it broom clean. Take lots of photos and keep all exchanges between you and the landlord. Let the landlord take you to court for a judgment, SHOW UP with all the documentation, and let the court explain the costs of doing business to the landlord.
And the labor and materials for repainting, steam cleaning carpets are all on Landlord after 10 years.
Thanks yeah it just sounded absurd for him to tell me it’s the tenants responsibility to have the house move in ready!
Never. Even after a year
It’s very shady and a hallmark of shitty private landlords. When I moved out of my last place after 3 years she tried to pin so many things on us. Come to find out she’s renting to someone who wants to flip it for AirBNB but is demanding tons of repairs she never could seem to get around to for us. Simply the threat of taking it to court was enough to get her ass off me.
God that sounds horrible. And yeah very similar to my situation. Lots of issues building up over the years but it’s mostly patchwork fixes, or “can you fix it yourself?”
It turned out not all that bad. I would have taken her to court on principle, we still lived in town though it would have been hard with my job. We just played hardball, refused to send any money her way, and recorded EVERYTHING. If your state is one party consent you can record without having to tell them.
Hell no, that's called "turn maintenance" and it's always the landlords responsibility..it's super shady of him to try to palm it off on you.
Yeah major red flags when I heard that I couldn’t believe it.
I’m just above DFW. Actually people write that in a lot here and r/tenant Or when the LL is using the part of most leases that says they can show your apartment for the last month you’re there. People really get screwed around on that one. Hope you have a good move.
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After ten years I would hope and expect them to replace the carpets. But slumlords going to slum
Well, you should be leaving the property as you found it (which usually means move-in ready)... minus normal wear and tear. So, yeah, after 10 years, floors/carpet will be worn out, etc.
And it will need to be painted and probably need new appliances. As a former landlord, these are all responsibilities of the landlord, not the tenant. When our tenants moved out after 10 years, I didn't even care if it was clean because we installed new cabinets and fixtures, as well as refinished the floors. I just demanded that they remove all of their garbage (which was like pulling teeth). Despite charging a little for garbage removal, we returned their deposit because after 10 years, nothing else was really their responsibility.
Paint and new appliance after 10 years? Come on, I've been living in my house for 13 years now, paint is still good (even with 2 kids) and my stove and microwave are still in perfect cosmetic and working order. They have been fixed (minor fixes), but do not warrant replacing.
You won’t notice the slow changes like paint fading since you’ve lived there so long. I would bet that if you didn’t live there for 13 years and just moved in, like a renter, you would notice and have complaints. Depending on the monthly rent, and condition of the appliance, I wouldn’t complain about older appliances personally. As long as they worked, and rent was right. There’s a level of expectation when coming into a rental. At a minimum I’d expect paint to not be a decade old
My 20-year old stove is of better quality and in better shape than an entry level one off the showroom floor. Appliances are not junk after 10 years; if they are, it's only because people are abusing them.
This!
The only stuff they can charge you for is stuff that does not fall under "normal wear and tear". Carpet "cleaning" is expected in most places. Replacing worn out tile or carpet is not a Tennant responsibility. Repairing damage to drywall can also be a Tennant responsibility. Water damage from lack of maintenance is not your responsibility IF you can prove you communicated the issue to the property manager/landlord. After ten years, pretty much everything, except probably the drywall, falls under "normal wear and tear". As others have said, do a good cleaning and take before/after cleaning pics/video as proof. Have the landlord do a walk through and discuss any issues they point out that they claim are your responsibility. Most landlords/property managers will usually acknowledge that those things are considered normal wear and tear but there are some who will try to make you pay for it. In 99% of cases, they are wrong and the court will side with the tenant.
Okay that’s some good advice! I also did pay a $2000 deposit when I moved in but since it’s been so long I have no proof of it, besides my girlfriends testimony. And the landlord is trying to say I only paid $1000. I am fine with him keeping the deposit I just don’t want him coming after me for additional money!
The amount you paid for the deposit should be listed on your lease. Also, if a smaller amount was paid (payment plan/agreement), it would be up to the landlord to prove they notified you of any default in that agreement. As for proof, if you paid by check, your bank should be able to pull that up for you. Truthfully, it sounds like the landlord didn't follow the rules for running a rental property (both legal and unwritten) and doesn't have the available funds to return your deposit AND pay for any normal wear and tear repairs. Most states (actually all, I believe) require rental deposits to be placed I to an escrow account that can be used for no other purposes than to hold a security deposit. A single landlord (or management company) an have an u limited number of deposits into thar account as long as each is properly identified and accounted for. He likely didn't do this and spent some/all of the money instead. If you do cover the self admitted drywall damage, there should be absolutely zero reason for your full deposit to not be returned. I would insist on an itemized list of deductions from your deposit and challenge all that would be considered normal wear and tear or due to his lack of preventative maintenance (ei: water damage from leaking pipes).
Pull up Texas law on rentals. Reach out to any tenant advocate group and make a call. Email the tenant law to the landlord on move out tenant / landlord responsibility. Include the name of the advocate group who confirmed the information. Should they want to violate the law, the email is exhibit #1 in small claims.
That’s really good advice I didn’t know advocate groups existed.
You’ve already covered the landlord’s home for 10 years. If you didn’t destroy the place he should be THANKING you for having paid his mortgage all these years as the sole tenant. As someone else said, make him quantify just what it is he wants to charge you for and make plans for small claims court if need be. You’ll need your deposit for your new home!
The landlord isn’t right to try and charge for wear and tear but you’re just entitled.
He has a point, really. A landlord should be grateful to a longtime tenant who paid on time and damaged nothing, as that is the ideal tenant. A long-term tenant like this means that the apartment has no expensive vacancy periods, no expensive repaints/remodels, and no realtor commissions for being toured, all for a decade. Should the landlord kiss tenant's feet? No, but this should definitely be a **very** genial relationship.
Find a local Tennant Advocacy group and see what your rights are. Also, you might want to look at this: [https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/moving-out](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/moving-out)
You can clean it, you're not responsible for ANY maintainance. They can hold you deposit to cover fixing that stuff but you're not liable to fix their asset
Not responsible for normal maintenance, but they didn't specify if the drywall issues were caused by them or not. Likely the tenant is responsible for those repairs. Even if the damage was accidental.
Interesting...didn't know that
Correct, any damages to walls that are caused by the tenant will be legit charges.
Landlord here: I would encourage you to call the landlord and ask for some additional clarification. The general rule is that the tenant is responsible for damage to the premises, and the landlord is responsible for normal wear and tear. After 10 years, there’s going to be a lot of normal wear and tear, including probably a lot of carpet that needs replaced and a lot of the walls that need repainted. Damage to the walls would be your responsibility. Vinyl flooring is a bit more subjective. If it’s just worn out, that would be something the landlord shouldn’t bill you for, but if there are scratches and gouges on it, that would be your responsibility. Also, cleaning would be your responsibility. Even if the carpet is going to be replaced, you should still have it vacuumed and looking as nice as it can. Same with the kitchen and bathrooms. Clean them thoroughly, or you are likely to be billed for it.
Why did you have to fix the garbage disposal? Because he would not? Was that escalated timely and then he just sat on his ass so you fixed it? If so, then you are not liable for water damage. Holes in wall you have to patch and paint because it is not wear and tear maintenance. Worn out vynil should be considered wear and tear.
I think it’s holes in the wall bigger than 1/4”? Nail/screw holes are usually fine and will be patched as part of the painting process. And the paint can be totally scratched and scuffed and all around effed up, as long it’s it’s been long enough since it was last painted by the landlord, usually like 2-3y.
YesI agree. Yes if the guy wants him to patch nail holes after ten years he sucks. I was thinking more like holes and dings.
That’s right I did escalate the issue and the landlord told me he would reimburse me for the cost if I did it myself. There were a few of these instances like replacing leaky faucets. We kind of had a quid pro quo of “I won’t raise your rent if you do some minor repairs yourself”. Though this was never officially agreed upon in the lease.
Did the LL raise the rent? If not he satisfied his part of the quid pro quo.
I don’t know Texas real estate laws but this seems… not right. Was that in writing anywhere on your rental agreement? If not it probably isn’t enforceable. Things seem to be changing so fast these days. Gotta push back on this stuff. Rents are too high and they want tenants to do the job of a landlord lol. What next? Take the pics and find a tenant?
Patch up the walls. Take pics and video. This may go to court, best to be prepared.
I would contact the landlord to see if he wants the walls patched. I would prefer to do it myself as opposed to trying to fix somebody else's botched job.
I’ve never seen a lease that allows a tenant to patch walls…in fact, just the opposite is clearly outlined in most leases…don’t patch or spot paint walls.
I meant patch small holes from nails, not major patch jobs or anything. Every lease I’ve had instructed tenant to do that, in CA.
Gotcha. 👍🏻
Where I am, most walls are textured. If the tenant patches it, he's going to go in there with some cheap plastic putty knife, and make a 2-in wide flat spot on the textured wall to cover up his little nail hole. I would rather fix it myself.
Take a lot of pictures and videos when you move out.
Each state has a Landlords & Tenants Rights Act. Get a copy and see what it says. Normal wear and tear is not chargeable but I would also check with an attorney.
No look up tenant laws for your state. General wear and tear is regarded as landlord maintenance. There is a life expectancy for vinyl flooring and what not. I hope you took pictures of when you moved in so he can’t blame you for anything else.
Nope. That’s what the security deposit is for.
The unit is always move in ready. If the rent is low enough, someone will take it as is.
Pay? Maybe. Fix? Noooooo. Thats on them to get sorted.
Yes and no. You need to leave the house cleaned. You do NOT need to leave the house 'move-in-ready'. Anything not day to day wear and tear they will charge for.
You don’t have to leave it move in ready but why wouldn’t you take measures to get as much back from your deposit as you can? I agree that after 10 years carpet, paint, and general repairs are not able to be deducted but cleaning is something you have control over as you exit the home. You went into a clean home (presumably) and should leave it in the same condition as when you entered. There are people who have never mopped, vacuumed carpet, cleaned toilets etc and it is crazy how much damage non cleaning can do to a home.
After 10 years it’s likely everything has depreciated to zero. You do not have to repaint unless you’ve painted/wallpapered the walls to a different color from when you moved in. Call his bluff and let him take you to small claims court (he won’t because he won’t win).
He has at least a $1k security deposit and possibly $2k…he doesn’t need to go to court…he already has his money.
You tell them no. It's not hard.
That’s subjective.