What Kind of Wall Damage Will Your Landlord Charge For?

Doors That Stick or Do Not Latch Are a Common Inspection Flag

During a move-out inspection, landlords open and close every door in the unit. A door that sticks, does not close flush, fails to latch, or drags on the floor will be noted. In most cases these issues have simple mechanical causes and can be fixed without any specialized tools or carpentry experience. Addressing door problems before your inspection removes them from the deduction list entirely.

Diagnosing the Problem

Before fixing anything, identify exactly what the door is doing. Open and close it slowly and watch where it sticks or binds. Check whether it is the door itself dragging on the frame or floor, or whether it is the latch not engaging the strike plate correctly. Feel the hinges while moving the door to see if any are loose or not fully seated. Most door problems fall into one of three categories: loose hinges, a misaligned latch, or a door that has swollen from humidity.

Loose Hinges

Loose hinges are the most common cause of doors that do not close properly. Open the door and tighten all hinge screws with a screwdriver. If a screw spins without tightening, the screw hole has stripped. Remove the screw, push a wooden toothpick or two into the hole with a small amount of wood glue, let it dry for an hour, then reinstall the screw. The toothpicks give the threads something to bite into and the repair holds well.

Misaligned Latch and Strike Plate

If the door closes but does not latch, hold the door in the closed position and look at where the latch bolt meets the strike plate. If it is catching on the edge of the plate rather than going through the hole cleanly, the strike plate needs to be repositioned slightly or the hole needs to be enlarged. Use a metal file to slightly enlarge the strike plate hole in the direction the latch is hitting. This usually requires only a few strokes and resolves the issue permanently.

Swollen Doors

Humidity causes wood doors to swell and stick seasonally. If the door sticks in a specific spot along the edge, you can feel the binding by running your hand along the edge while applying gentle pressure. A few passes with a hand plane or a belt sander on the sticking edge will remove enough material to allow the door to close freely. This requires a bit more skill but is straightforward if the binding area is accessible with the door on its hinges.

Checking All Doors Before Move-Out

Test every interior and exterior door in the unit: bedroom doors, bathroom doors, closet doors, pantry doors, and the front door. Open and close each one fully and confirm the latch engages. A single pass through all doors takes five minutes and catches issues you might not have noticed during normal use.

Get the tools for door repairs and hardware fixes: door repair tools on Amazon.

More help: Walls and Patching guides

Making Minor Repairs Before Move-Out

Minor repairs before move-out are almost always worthwhile from a pure financial calculation. A landlord who charges for repairs will typically bill at market rate or above for contractor labor — often $50 to $150 per hour — for tasks that a renter can address with $5 to $20 in materials and an hour of effort. Nail holes in drywall, scuff marks on painted walls, loose cabinet hinges, and caulk gaps around tubs and sinks are all common repair items that fall in this category. Addressing them yourself before move-out prevents inflated repair deductions that far exceed the actual cost of the fix.

Drywall repair for small nail holes is one of the most common and straightforward move-out repairs. Spackling compound or lightweight joint compound, applied with a putty knife, allowed to dry, sanded smooth, and painted to match the wall eliminates most nail holes completely. For holes up to about 4 inches in diameter, a drywall patch kit with a self-adhesive mesh backing simplifies the process. Matching paint is the most challenging part of wall repair — if you have leftover paint from the unit, use it. Otherwise, bringing a paint chip to a hardware store for color matching is usually accurate enough for small patches when the wall paint has faded somewhat from its original color.

Cleaning and repairing flooring before move-out requires honesty about what qualifies as damage versus normal wear. Carpet that shows foot traffic paths and general fading is normal wear; carpet with pet stains, large rips, or burns is damage. For hardwood floors, superficial scratches visible only in raking light are typically normal wear; deep gouges that catch your fingernail are damage. Wood floor scratch repair kits with color-matched markers or wax sticks are effective for minor surface scratches on hardwood and laminate. Steam cleaning carpet yourself and renting a professional-grade machine are both options that can address moderate staining — but severe staining or damage may require professional assessment rather than DIY remediation.

Knowing when not to repair is equally important. Attempting major repairs — replacing large sections of drywall, fixing plumbing, or addressing electrical issues — without the skills and tools to do it correctly can make the situation worse and create additional deductions. For significant damage, getting your own contractor estimate before move-out gives you an independent cost assessment that you can use to contest an inflated landlord charge. Some damage is genuinely beyond DIY remedy, and in those cases, negotiating directly with your landlord about an agreed deduction before move-out — rather than receiving a surprise bill — is often the most efficient resolution.