Wear and Tear vs. Damage: What Can a Landlord Deduct?

Last updated September 21, 2026

Short answer: You don't pay for ordinary wear and tear – unless it falls under your maintenance duty (section 187(1) of the Danish Rent Act). If you have the interior maintenance, you'll typically paint and treat floors when moving out, leaving the home as you received it – never better. Damage you've caused, you always pay for.

"That'll be 8,000 kroner for painting the living room." A sentence that makes most departing tenants' eyes widen. Whether the bill is lawful depends on two things: who has the maintenance duty, and whether it's wear and tear or damage.

Who Has the Interior Maintenance?

Interior maintenance (indvendig vedligeholdelse) means whitewashing, painting, wallpapering and treating floors (section 111(2) of the Rent Act). If the lease says nothing else, the landlord has all maintenance, and you only have to maintain locks and keys (section 112). The lease can transfer the interior maintenance to you – check section 8 of Typeformular A (the standard authorised lease form).

Who has the duty?	What can you be charged for at move-out?
The landlord	Only damage you've caused, plus locks and keys
You	Necessary painting, whitewashing, wallpapering and floor treatment up to the condition you took the home over in – plus damage

It can't be agreed that you must refurbish anything other than what falls under your maintenance duty when you move out (section 115(1)). If the landlord has the duty, they save up for painting and floor treatment in a maintenance account for the apartment (section 117) – ordinary wear is the landlord's cost and can't be deducted from your deposit. Read more in Maintenance in a Rental Home.

What About "Newly Refurbished" (Nyistandsat)?

In leases signed from 1 July 2015 onwards, it can't be agreed that you must hand the home back newly refurbished. But if you took it over newly refurbished and you have the interior maintenance yourself, you must hand it back in the same condition – which in practice often means painting and treating the floors. If your lease dates from before 1 July 2015, an agreement that you must hand it back newly refurbished may still be valid.

Examples in Kroner

The amounts are made up and for illustration only – they depend on the home and the tradesperson's price.

Situation	Typical assessment	Example
The living room has faded after 4 years, and the landlord has the interior maintenance	Wear and tear – not your bill	0 kr.
Same room, but you have the interior maintenance and took it over freshly painted	You pay for the necessary painting	6,500 kr.
Burn mark in the floor	Damage – you pay, with a deduction if the floor was old	3,000 kr.
You've lost a key	Locks and keys are your job, unless agreed otherwise	400 kr.
Large holes from a TV bracket	May be assessed as damage	1,200 kr.

New for Old

If the landlord replaces something old and worn with something new after damage, the explanatory notes to the law say you only pay for the loss in value – not for the improvement the landlord gets. If you ruin an old, worn carpet, you don't pay for a brand-new one. The principle doesn't apply, however, when the replacement is needed because you've neglected your own maintenance.

Report Damage While You Live There

You must report damage to the landlord – urgent damage immediately, other damage without undue delay (section 149(3) of the Rent Act). The explanatory notes give an example: if the landlord has the maintenance and you don't mention that the floor lacquer has worn through, you can become liable for the resulting damage.

The Deadlines – and What's Not in the Report

If the landlord rents out several homes, you can't be charged for costs that aren't in the move-out report, and the claim must be made within 2 weeks after the inspection. If the landlord rents out only one home, the claim must be made no later than 2 weeks after the moving-out day (section 187(2)). Hidden damage that couldn't be seen in an ordinary walkthrough is exempt.

How to Dispute a Claim

Ask for an itemised statement with invoices or quotes.
Compare it with the move-in report, your defects list and your photos. You're not liable for defects that were there when you moved in.
Ask whether it's wear or damage – and whether it falls under your maintenance duty at all.
The landlord may choose the tradesperson and doesn't have to pick the cheapest, but the costs must be documented. To avoid that, you can do the work properly yourself before you move out.
If you can't agree, you can take the case to huslejenævnet (the local rent tribunal) for 367 kr. (2026). See how in Complaining About a Withheld Deposit.