Property Investment

3 min read20 Aug 2025

What counts as “fair wear and tear” in a rental property?

Learn the difference between wear and tear vs damage, who pays, and how the Tenancy Tribunal decides. Includes real examples for landlords and tenants.

Author: Tiffany Bracey

Property Manager Team Leader at Opes Property Management Auckland.

Reviewed by: Jess Knight

Business Development Manager with over 3 years of experience in Property Management in Auckland.

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You walk into your rental property after the tenants have moved out. The carpet’s a bit scuffed, there are marks on the walls, and the dishwasher door has a dent.

Naturally, your first thought might be: “The tenant should pay for this” ... but do they actually have to?

Because they don’t have to if it’s “fair wear and tear.”

In this article, you’ll learn what fair wear and tear is, who decides what counts, and how much you can charge your tenant when damage actually happens.

Fair wear and tear vs. damage: Who pays for what?

Fair wear and tear is hard to define exactly ... the law doesn’t say exactly what it is.

So there is a huge grey area between what counts as:

deliberate damage to a property and
what is just part and parcel of living in a home for a certain amount of time.

So it’s up to the Tenancy Tribunal to decide what counts as fair wear and tear, and we can tell what counts through the decisions the tribunal makes (that’s case law).

Here’s a basic breakdown:

Fair wear and tear: This is the natural deterioration that happens to a property over time through ordinary, everyday use. If it’s fair wear and tear, the landlord pays.
Intentional or careless damage: This is damage caused deliberately or through negligence by the tenant. In that case, the tenant pays.

Remember, it’s not about what you or your tenant think is fair – it’s what the Tenancy Tribunal decides.

More from Opes:

What does the Tenancy Tribunal consider as “fair wear and tear”

When a case lands in front of the Tenancy Tribunal, these are the 6 things they consider:

#1 – Where the damage is

High-traffic areas (like hallways or stairwells) are more prone to scuffs, worn carpet, or minor marks – and that’s generally accepted.

Fair wear and tear	Damage
A dent on the wall behind a couch	A hole punched through the hallway wall

#2 – How long the tenant lived there

The longer someone lives in a property, the more natural wear you should expect.

Fair wear and tear	Damage
The paint on the walls has faded after a tenant lived there for 7 years	There are major scuffs on the wall after the tenant lived there for 7 months

#3 – Age and condition of the property

An old house will already be (somewhat) worn compared to a brand new house.

Fair wear and tear	Damage
Worn carpet in a 15-year-old home	Cracked benchtop in a brand-new kitchen

#4 – What’s practical for the tenant (in terms of how they lived there)

The tribunal considers what was practical for the tenant to do.

Scrape marks on a wall from moving a mattress up narrow stairs?

That will likely to be ruled as fair – how else were they going to get their bed upstairs?

Dying grass in a backyard that doesn’t have a way to get the lawn mower out back (other than dragging it through the lounge): the tribunal might decide that’s not the tenant’s fault.

#5 – The $2 coin rule

This unofficial industry rule of thumb helps property managers tell what does (and doesn’t) count as damage:

If a mark on the wall is smaller than a $2 coin, it’s probably fair wear and tear.
If it’s larger – or there are multiple marks – that might be the tenant’s responsibility.

(Yes, we know … you’re holding your thumb and finger together now to picture the size of a $2 coin!)

#6 – How much an appliance is worth (on paper)

Just because a tenant damages a dishwasher doesn’t mean they owe you the money to replace it.

Let’s say the tenant damages a 10-year-old dishwasher.

Its book value may be $0 (fully depreciated). That’s what your accountant says it’s worth.

In that case the tenant could smash it up and not have to pay you anything.

That’s because the tribunal doesn’t factor in “betterment”. So even though it costs you to replace the dishwasher, you don’t get anything because the appliance isn’t worth anything on paper.

Examples of what counts as "fair wear and tear"

In the example below, the curtains are coming away from the railing. Is that fair? Probably not.

In this case, it would be OK for a landlord to take some of the tenant’s bond to cover the damage.

What about this tenant’s paint job in the pic below?

It looks like they marked the wall and tried to cover it up. That would not be considered fair wear and tear, so the landlord could probably take some of the bond to put it right.

Because this is such a grey area it’s worth talking about so tenants and landlords have a sense of when it’s fair to take some money out of a bond.

In the end, “fair” doesn’t mean what you think it means … it means what the tribunal says it means.

Tiffany Bracey

Property Manager Team Leader at Opes Property Management Auckland.

Tiffany is an experienced property manager who understands the importance of strong systems to deliver top-tier service. She is committed to staying ahead of the ever-changing compliance requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

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Fair wear and tear vs. damage: Who pays for what?

Fair wear and tear is hard to define exactly ... the law doesn’t say exactly what it is.

So there is a huge grey area between what counts as:

deliberate damage to a property and

what is just part and parcel of living in a home for a certain amount of time.

So it’s up to the Tenancy Tribunal to decide what counts as fair wear and tear, and we can tell what counts through the decisions the tribunal makes (that’s case law).

Here’s a basic breakdown:

Fair wear and tear: This is the natural deterioration that happens to a property over time through ordinary, everyday use. If it’s fair wear and tear, the landlord pays.

Intentional or careless damage: This is damage caused deliberately or through negligence by the tenant. In that case, the tenant pays.

Remember, it’s not about what you or your tenant think is fair – it’s what the Tenancy Tribunal decides.

Fair wear and tear

Damage

A dent on the wall behind a couch

A hole punched through the hallway wall

Fair wear and tear

Damage

The paint on the walls has faded after a tenant lived there for 7 years

There are major scuffs on the wall after the tenant lived there for 7 months

Fair wear and tear

Damage

Worn carpet in a 15-year-old home

Cracked benchtop in a brand-new kitchen