Okuzeka
Real Estate vocabulary · Property Management

Wear and tear

Meaning in real estate, with examples

phraseCommon term

In real estate, wear and tear means: The normal damage that happens to a property and its contents over time through everyday use, such as worn carpets or faded paint.

In Turkish: olağan yıpranma, normal aşınma

How it is used

Usually 'fair wear and tear' in the UK and 'normal wear and tear' in the US. It matters at the end of a lease: landlords generally cannot take money from the deposit for normal wear and tear, only for real damage.

Example sentences

  1. Small marks on the walls count as normal wear and tear.

  2. The landlord kept part of the deposit, but the tenant argued the marks were just wear and tear.

Common collocations

  • fair wear and tear
  • normal wear and tear
  • beyond normal wear and tear
  • security depositMoney a tenant pays at the start of a lease, held to cover unpaid rent or damage and returned at the end if everything is in order.
  • inventoryA detailed list, often with photos, of a rented property's contents and their condition, checked when the tenant moves in and again when they leave.
  • maintenanceThe regular work needed to keep a building and its systems in good condition, such as fixing leaks, servicing the boiler and repainting.
  • tenantA person or business that pays rent to live in or use a property owned by someone else, usually under a lease.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Property Management

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