What is Normal Wear and Tear in San Francisco Rental Property?

Appfolio Websites • October 3, 2024

Experienced San Francisco property managers are easily able to identify wear and tear on a rental property. However, new landlords or inexperienced investors can often find it challenging to separate normal wear and tear from tenant damage. This is an important distinction because it affects what you keep from a resident’s security deposit.

While you can use your tenant’s security deposit to pay for clear and obvious damage to the home, you cannot charge the tenant for any wear and tear that’s left behind. Normal wear and tear is expected in any property, and the longer your tenant was living in your home, the more wear and tear your unit will incur.

Landlords are responsible for all costs associated with general wear and tear, and today we’re discussing what that wear and tear looks like.

Outlining What Normal Wear and Tear Is for San Francisco Rental Property - Article Banner

San Francisco Property Management Services: Examples of Wear and Tear

Examples of normal wear and tear include interior paint that is fading, peeling, or cracked. Small chips in your walls or nail holes from where pictures were hung would also be considered wear and tear. If your floors need to be polished or the carpets are worn in high-traffic areas, those things are your responsibility as the property owner.

You’ll also need to replace rusty shower rods and bathroom tiles that are coming up from the floor or in need of fresh grout or caulking. Scuff marks on the wall from furniture is normal wear and tear. These things reflect what would happen with any normal use.

San Francisco Property Management: Life Expectancy in Rental Property

Everything inside your rental property will eventually break or need to be replaced. It’s impossible to avoid. If you have had the same refrigerator or dishwasher in a unit for 20 years and you keep repairing it instead of replacing it, the appliance will eventually die. That’s not the tenant’s responsibility or fault.

Air conditioning units and water heaters live for about 10 years in San Francisco before they need major repairs or replacements. Carpeting has a lifespan of between five and seven years. Interior paint is good for three to five years. So, if you have a resident moving out after five years of living in your property, you will almost certainly need to repaint it, and you may have to replace the carpeting. This is going to be done at your own expense.

San Francisco Property Managers and Move-In / Move-Out Inspections

Documentation is critical, and will help you note and track wear and tear. San Francisco property management services usually include move-in and move-out inspection reports. You’ll want to make sure you have an accurate and detailed representation of what the property looked like before a tenant moved in and after that tenant moved out. It will make it much easier for you to identify tenant damage versus wear and tear.

Take a lot of pictures of every detail; each room, each wall, each floor, every door, and the closets, appliances, etc. When you compare the condition reports, it will be easy to see if your property suffered any damage during the tenancy.

Our team would be happy to help you manage, reduce, and budget for regular wear and tear. Contact us at BanCal Property Management.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

AB 628: California’s New Stove + Refrigerator Rule (What Landlords Need to Know for 2026)

February 26, 2026

California landlords have a new compliance deadline on the horizon. Beginning January 1, 2026, AB 628 changes the state’s definition of “habitability” to include working stoves and refrigerators in rental units. That means landlords will soon be required to provide and maintain both appliances, not just for new tenants but also for many existing residents once a lease is renewed, extended, or amended. At first glance, this new requirement might seem straightforward, but it can quickly become a compliance trap if you are not prepared ahead of renewal season. As a property management partner that helps owners navigate California’s evolving rental laws, we have broken down what AB 628 requires and how landlords can prepare now to stay compliant in 2026.

SB 610: What California Landlords Need to Know After a Disaster

February 26, 2026

SB 610, effective in 2025, establishes new requirements for California landlords on how to handle rent obligations, habitability, and tenant protections when a rental unit is damaged or becomes uninhabitable after a declared natural disaster. Below, we break down what this legislation means in practical terms and how landlords can stay compliant while protecting their assets.