12 Things Your Landlord Will Deduct From Your Deposit

You signed the lease on the new place in Folsom. The truck is booked for Saturday. Boxes are stacked in the living room, and somewhere under them is the question you keep putting off: what is the landlord going to charge me for when I hand back the keys?

Cleaning helps, but cleaning alone will not save your deposit. Property managers from Midtown to Natomas photograph every scuff, stain and leftover item, and California law (Civil Code §1950.5) decides which of those they can bill you for. This is the list of the 12 deductions we see most on Sacramento move-outs, what each one usually costs, and the cheap fix for every one of them. It works as a tenant move out checklist for a downtown apartment near the Capitol and for a rental house in Elk Grove.

The short version:

• Landlords can deduct for damage beyond normal wear and tear, and nothing else. Civil Code §1950.5 draws the line.
• The biggest hits are left-behind junk and furniture (often $300 to $1,000 or more), carpet damage and pet damage.
• California’s AB 2801 reforms mean the landlord has to show receipts, not estimates. Know that before the walkthrough.
• Almost every charge below is avoidable with one weekend, a $50 trip to the hardware store and a pre-move cleanout.

1. Holes in Walls Beyond Normal Wear and Tear

Typical deduction: $25 to $150 per hole, more for large patches

A few small nail holes from picture frames count as normal wear and tear in California. Your landlord cannot charge for them. The anchor bolts you drilled to hang a 65-inch TV above the fireplace are a different story. Sacramento landlords commonly charge for:

• Large anchor holes from mounted TVs, shelving or heavy mirrors
• Clusters of holes from rearranging wall art again and again
• Holes with damage around them: cracked drywall, chipped paint, torn texture
• Unauthorized changes like removed shelf brackets or cable holes cut through the wall

How to avoid it: Pick up a lightweight spackle kit ($5 to $10) at the Home Depot on Arden Way or the Lowe’s in Rancho Cordova. Fill, let it dry, sand smooth, touch up with matching paint. Walls in Sacramento rentals built in the ’80s and ’90s are usually textured, so hit the patch with a textured spray first.

Then photograph every wall after the repair and before you return the keys. Under Civil Code §1950.5 the landlord has 21 days to send an itemized statement of deductions. Your photos are the only thing that beats a charge you think is unfair.

2. Stained or Damaged Carpet

Typical deduction: $200 to $800 or more (partial or full replacement)

This is the most disputed deduction in Sacramento and one of the most expensive. A landlord can charge for stains, burns, tears and heavy matting. A landlord cannot charge you the full cost of replacing carpet that was already old. California treats carpet as having a useful life of roughly 8 to 10 years, so if it was 7 years old when you moved in and you stayed 3, you owe at most a prorated slice, never the whole bill.

What gets charged: large or dark stains (wine, coffee, pet accidents), burn marks from cigarettes or space heaters, rips from dragging furniture, and heavy wear paths in hallways (that last one is arguable as normal wear).

How to avoid it: Rent a carpet cleaner. Raley’s and Safeway stores usually stock Rug Doctor units for about $30 to $40 a day. A professional cleaning runs $100 to $250 for a full apartment, a fraction of a replacement deduction.

Worth knowing: AB 2801 (effective 2024) requires landlords to attach receipts or invoices for repair and cleaning charges, not estimates. A vague “$500 carpet cleaning” line with no paperwork behind it is now much easier to challenge.

3. Broken Blinds or Window Coverings

Typical deduction: $30 to $100 per blind

Blinds are the first thing a landlord checks and they add up fast. Bent slats, snapped tilt wands, cracked valances and missing cords across the 8 to 10 windows in a three-bedroom rental can turn into a few hundred dollars.

How to avoid it: Standard 2-inch faux wood blinds run $8 to $20 per window at the Home Depot in Natomas or the Walmart on Florin Road, and the store will cut them to size. If only a few slats are damaged, single replacement slats cost a few dollars online. Before the walkthrough:

• Wipe every blind with a damp cloth. Dust buildup reads as neglect.
• Straighten bent slats by hand.
• Replace missing or broken pull cords. Kits are under $5.

4. Dirty Oven and Stovetop

Typical deduction: $50 to $175

Sacramento property managers put a dirty oven near the top of every cleaning deduction list, because most tenants skip it. Two years of baked-on grease does not clean itself.

How to avoid it: The night before the walkthrough, spray the inside of the oven with a heavy-duty cleaner (Easy-Off works), shut the door and leave it overnight. Wipe it out in the morning. Then do the parts people forget:

• Under the burner grates on a gas stove
• The drip pans under electric coils, or buy new ones at $3 to $5 each
• The range hood and filter. A greasy hood tells the inspector the whole kitchen is dirty.
• Behind and beside the stove. Pull it out and clean the sides and the floor.

If the oven has a self-clean cycle, run it 3 or 4 days before your final clean, with the windows open and the fan on. It gets very hot and can smoke, and you do not want that on move-out day.

If you have furniture and junk to deal with on top of the scrubbing, we can take the heavy stuff so you can focus on the cleaning. Contact us for a free estimate.

5. Mold or Mildew in the Bathroom

Typical deduction: $75 to $300 or more

Hot summers and mild winters make Sacramento bathrooms grow mold, especially in older Midtown, Land Park and Curtis Park apartments with weak ventilation. Some mold is a maintenance problem and the landlord’s responsibility. Heavy buildup from months of neglect is a legitimate deduction. Landlords check the shower and tub grout, the caulk around the tub and toilet base, on and behind the toilet, the ceiling above the shower (especially with no window) and under the sink.

How to avoid it: Spray grout and caulk with a bleach-based cleaner, wait 15 to 20 minutes, scrub with a stiff brush. If the caulk is stained black all the way through, strip it and re-caulk. A tube of silicone is about $6 and the job takes 30 minutes. Pop the bathroom fan cover off and wash it in the sink while you are at it, and run the fan during and after showers at the new place so you never do this again.

6. Broken Fixtures or Hardware

Typical deduction: $25 to $200 per item

Cabinet knobs ripped off, towel bars pulled out of the drywall, a cracked toilet seat, closet doors off the track. Each one is a 10-minute fix and each one can cost $50 to $100 on the deduction sheet.

How to avoid it: Walk the unit with a screwdriver and a notepad and check:

• Cabinet hardware in the kitchen and bathrooms. Tighten every loose handle.
• Toilet seat. Replacements are $15 to $25 at any hardware store.
• Towel bars and toilet paper holders. They pull out of drywall easily; reattach with wall anchors.
• Sliding closet doors. The rollers pop out of the track; slide them back in.
• Door stops. The spring-loaded ones on the baseboard break constantly and cost almost nothing.

7. Left-Behind Furniture or Junk (The Most Expensive One)

Typical deduction: $300 to $1,000 or more, sometimes much more

This is where Sacramento tenants lose the most money, and it is the one charge that is 100 percent avoidable. The old couch, the broken bed frame, the boxes you did not feel like packing and the pile in the storage closet all have to be hauled away by someone. The landlord hires a junk company, adds a markup, and the whole thing comes out of your deposit. Property managers tell us left-behind items are both the most common and the most expensive deduction they make.

What tenants leave most often: mattresses and bed frames (mattress disposal is especially costly), worn-out couches and recliners, broken microwaves and mini fridges, boxes of odds and ends in closets and garages, and the treadmill nobody used.

How to avoid it: Book a pickup with Take Care Junk a few days before your move-out date. Text a photo of the pile to (916) 770-7619 and you get a price before we come. Furniture, appliances, a few old electronics and the rest of the household junk go in one trip, usually for less than the landlord would deduct for the same pile.

Why not the curb? In Sacramento County you cannot drag a mattress or a couch to the curb and leave it. The city’s bulky item pickup gives households a limited number of free pickups a year (currently 2), but you have to schedule ahead and there are size and quantity limits. If your move-out date is this week, same-day junk removal is the realistic option.

8. Dirty Windows (Inside and Out)

Typical deduction: $50 to $200

Yes, a landlord can deduct for dirty windows, especially grimy glass, hard-water spots and tracks packed with dust and dead bugs. Sacramento’s dry, dusty summers fill window tracks fast.

How to avoid it: A spray bottle of vinegar and water and a microfiber cloth handle the glass. The tracks are what inspectors notice: vacuum them with the crevice tool, then wipe with a damp cloth. Rinse the screens with a hose in the yard or the bathtub, do the sliding door track the same way, and wipe the sills.

If the garage or spare room is full of things that need to be gone before the walkthrough, we offer same-day apartment move out junk removal across Sacramento, Elk Grove and Roseville. One call clears it.

9. Yard Not Maintained (For Houses and Duplexes)

Typical deduction: $100 to $500 or more

If your rental has a yard, which is most of Pocket, South Land Park, Arden-Arcade and Elk Grove, the lease almost certainly makes you maintain it. A brown lawn in August is normal here, especially in drought years with water restrictions. A yard full of dead plants, waist-high weeds and debris is not, and the landlord will bill for it.

How to avoid it, in the final week:

• Mow and edge the lawn.
• Pull the visible weeds from beds and along the fence line.
• Trim back bushes blocking windows or walkways.
• Remove every bit of yard waste, debris and personal stuff from the yard.
• Rake or blow the leaves. Sacramento’s valley oaks drop a lot of them.

Clippings and small branches go in the county green waste bin. Fallen limbs, old patio furniture or a collapsed shed are a job for yard waste removal.

10. Garage Left Full of Stuff

Typical deduction: $200 to $800 or more

The garage is where every Sacramento rental hides its leftovers: unopened boxes, holiday decorations, broken tools, paint cans, and the pile you always meant to sort. At move-out it has to be completely empty and swept, and tenants always underestimate how long that takes.

How to avoid it: Start at least a week out and sort into three piles.

• Take: pack it and load it on the moving truck.
• Donate: Goodwill, the WEAVE Thrift Store and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in North Sacramento all take usable items.
• Junk: schedule a pickup for everything else. We load it, haul it, donate what’s usable and recycle what we can before the rest goes to the landfill.

One catch: old paint, motor oil, pesticides and batteries cannot go in the trash in California, and we cannot take them either. Sacramento County’s Household Hazardous Waste facility on 28th Street accepts them for free. Check the hours before you drive over.

11. Pet Damage (Stains, Scratches, Odor)

Typical deduction: $100 to $1,000 or more

If you had a pet, this is your biggest exposure. The pet deposit and monthly pet rent you already paid do not cover actual damage; the landlord can charge for that on top. The costly ones: urine in the carpet (sometimes carpet, pad and subfloor sealing), scratches on doors, trim and hardwood near the exits, blinds bent by a cat in the window, chewed baseboards, and a yard with dead patches, holes and damaged fencing.

How to avoid it: Use an enzymatic cleaner, not a regular carpet shampoo, on every spot where the pet had an accident. Enzymes break down the proteins that hold the smell. Rent a UV blacklight to find the stains you cannot see. Then:

• Sand and repaint scratched door frames and trim.
• Replace damaged blinds. It is far cheaper than the deduction.
• Fill holes in the yard, reseed bare patches and water daily for the last week.

12. Missing Light Bulbs and Smoke Detector Batteries

Typical deduction: $10 to $25 per item

The most ridiculous charge on the list, and the easiest to avoid. Landlords bill for burnt-out bulbs and dead smoke detector batteries all the time, and a three-bedroom house with 15 to 20 fixtures turns a $10-per-bulb deduction into $150 or more.

How to avoid it, on the last day:

• Replace every burnt-out bulb. A multipack of LED bulbs from Dollar Tree or Walmart covers the whole rental for under $10.
• Press the test button on every smoke and carbon monoxide detector. No beep means a new battery, usually a 9-volt.
• Replace missing or cracked switch plates and outlet covers. They are about 50 cents each.

California requires working smoke detectors in every bedroom and on every floor. If one is dead at move-out, the landlord replaces the whole unit and charges you for it. A $2 battery beats a $50-plus detector install.

Your Complete Sacramento Tenant Move Out Checklist

Before you hand over the keys:

Task	Est. cost to DIY	Potential deduction if skipped
Patch and paint wall holes	$5 to $15	$25 to $150+
Deep clean carpet / hire cleaner	$30 to $250	$200 to $800+
Replace broken blinds	$8 to $20 each	$30 to $100 each
Deep clean oven and stovetop	$5 to $15	$50 to $175
Treat bathroom mold/mildew	$6 to $15	$75 to $300+
Fix loose fixtures/hardware	$0 to $25	$25 to $200 each
Remove all left-behind items	$150 to $400 (junk removal)	$300 to $1,000+
Clean windows and tracks	$5 to $10	$50 to $200
Maintain and clean yard	$10 to $30	$100 to $500+
Clean out garage completely	$150 to $400 (junk removal)	$200 to $800+
Address pet damage	$20 to $100	$100 to $1,000+
Replace bulbs and batteries	$5 to $15	$10 to $25 each

The math: $200 to $500 of cleaning and repairs protects $1,000 to $3,000 or more of deposit.

Know Your Rights: California Security Deposit Law in 2026

• Civil Code §1950.5 caps the deposit at one month’s rent for an unfurnished unit (two months furnished). The landlord has 21 days after you move out to return it or send an itemized statement of deductions.
• AB 2801 (2024) requires actual receipts or invoices behind each deduction, not estimates. No paperwork, stronger dispute.
• Normal wear and tear is not deductible. Faded paint, light floor scuffs, worn carpet in walkways and small nail holes are all normal.
• Pre-move-out inspection. You have the right to request a walkthrough before you leave. The landlord has to point out likely deductions and give you a chance to fix them. Always ask for it. It is the single best tool you have.

If the deductions still look unfair, you can file a complaint with the Sacramento County Department of Consumer Protection or take it to small claims court, which hears claims up to $10,000.

Ready to Get Your Full Deposit Back?

Most of the 12 charges above die with a weekend of work and a short shopping list. The one that does not go away on its own is the stuff left behind. A couch in the living room and a half-full garage are the most common deductions in Sacramento, the most expensive, and the easiest to prevent with a single phone call.

We pick up same-day across Sacramento, Elk Grove, Roseville, Folsom, Rancho Cordova and Citrus Heights, with a free estimate before we lift anything. The furniture, the appliances and the garage pile go in one trip and you walk out with your full deposit.

Get a free estimate | Call (916) 770-7619

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as “normal wear and tear” in California?

Minor scuffs on walls, small nail holes, slightly faded paint, carpet wear in high-traffic areas and light marks on floors. It is the deterioration that comes from ordinary daily use over time, and your landlord cannot deduct for it. Civil Code §1950.5 is the governing law, and the pre-move-out inspection is your best chance to settle what is and is not normal before you leave.

How long does my Sacramento landlord have to return my deposit?

21 calendar days from the day you move out and return the keys. In that window the landlord has to return the full deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions with receipts or invoices (per AB 2801). Miss the deadline and they may forfeit the right to deduct anything.

Can my landlord charge me for professional cleaning?

Only if the unit comes back less clean than when you moved in, beyond normal wear and tear. A thorough move out cleaning in Sacramento (oven, bathrooms, floors, windows) leaves no grounds for a cleaning deduction. Move-in and move-out photos are what prove it.

What’s the best way to remove furniture and junk before move-out?

Three options. Sacramento’s bulky item pickup program gives you a limited number of free pickups, scheduled in advance. Goodwill and Habitat ReStore take items in good condition. For everything else (broken furniture, mixed junk, a full garage) an apartment move out junk removal service like Take Care Junk saves the truck rental, the dump runs and the lifting, and finishes in one visit.

Should I hire a professional cleaner or do it myself?

For a standard one- or two-bedroom apartment, a careful DIY clean over a weekend is usually enough. For a larger house, heavy pet damage or a tight schedule, an end of lease cleaning in Sacramento typically runs $150 to $400, still far less than most deductions. Spend the budget on the big three: carpets, oven, bathrooms.

Can I be charged for painting?

Generally no. After two or three years in a unit, minor wall marks and faded paint are normal wear and tear. If you painted walls a different color without permission, or left large holes, heavy staining or crayon, the landlord can charge to repaint, prorated against the expected life of interior paint (usually 3 to 5 years in California).

Moving soon? Do not let left-behind junk cost you your deposit. Contact us or call Take Care Junk for a fast, free estimate on pre-move junk removal anywhere in the Sacramento area.