How Much Can a Landlord Deduct for Cabinet Damage?
How security-deposit deductions for kitchen or bathroom cabinet damage are calculated — the 20-year useful-life rule, depreciation, and damage versus normal wear.
Short answer
A landlord can deduct only the depreciated value of the damaged cabinet component, not a full kitchen of new cabinetry. Cabinet boxes and doors run on a roughly 20-year useful life, so a $250 cabinet repair on cabinets already 8 years old has about 60% of its life left — around $150 chargeable. Loose hinges, minor scuffs, and worn finish are normal wear and not deductible.
Worksheet preset: Cabinet damage deduction
Source: InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart. Use the damaged cabinet component cost, not the cost of replacing undamaged matching cabinetry.
Formula: chargeable = max(0, replacement_cost x remaining_life / useful_life) - wear_allowance, then multiplied by documented damage share.
How cabinet depreciation works
Deposit rules charge a tenant for the remaining value of what they damaged, not for an upgrade. A 20-year useful life (InterNACHI's estimated life chart) removes about 5% of chargeable value per year. Take the cost to repair or replace the damaged door or box, multiply by the share of useful life left, and that is the fair ceiling. The calculator above runs this for your exact age and cost.
Damaged component, not the whole kitchen
The most common over-charge is billing the tenant to replace every cabinet so they match. Deposit rules look at the damaged component only — a single broken door, a water-swollen sink-base panel, a torn-off drawer front. Get a quote for that piece, apply depreciation, and stop there. Replacing undamaged matching cabinetry is the landlord's choice, not the tenant's bill.
What counts as damage versus normal wear
Deductible: a cracked or broken door, a snapped hinge mount, gouges, water damage from a left-running tap, or a drawer torn off its slides. Not deductible: loose hinges that just need tightening, light surface scuffs, faded finish, and ordinary handle wear. If tightening a screw fixes it, it is not damage.
Worked example
A tenant cracks a lower cabinet door. The repair quote for that door is $250, and the cabinets are 8 years into a 20-year life. Remaining life is 12 of 20 years (60%), so the depreciated value is $150. With no separate wear allowance, the defensible deduction is about $150 — not the $250 full repair, and certainly not a whole new cabinet run.
FAQ
Can a landlord charge to replace all cabinets if one is damaged?
No. The deduction is limited to the damaged component, depreciated for age. Replacing undamaged cabinets to match is not chargeable to the tenant.
Are loose hinges or worn finish deductible?
No — those are normal wear from ordinary use. Only actual damage (cracks, breaks, water damage, gouges) can be deducted, and then only at depreciated value.
Worksheet preset: Cabinet damage deduction
Source: InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart. Use the damaged cabinet component cost, not the cost of replacing undamaged matching cabinetry.
Formula: chargeable = max(0, replacement_cost x remaining_life / useful_life) - wear_allowance, then multiplied by documented damage share.