Bradford Publishing Blog | Colorado Law Articles & Topics

Useful Life as a Framework for Understanding Deductible Repairs

By Victor M. Grimm, Esq. and Rachel Brand

“Normal wear and tear” is one of those fuzzy legal terms that begs for clarification.

When it comes to security deposits, Colorado landlords can keep money for repairs, cleaning, unpaid utility charges at the end of a tenancy, and even back rent and other expenses if a tenant moves out unexpectedly. But landlords are NOT allowed to deduct money for normal wear and tear of the property.

The problem is what one landlord calls rock star level damage, a tenant considers as normal wear and tear.

Colorado law defines normal wear and tear as “that deterioration which occurs, based upon the use for which the rental unit is intended, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises or equipment or chattels by the tenant or members of his household, or their invitees or guests.”

Useful life

Since the legal definition doesn’t offer much guidance, here’s another way to think of normal wear and tear: Consider it the reasonable amount of wear that a given appliance, household item, or piece of furnishing should incur for every year of its useful life. (A useful life is how long you can expect something to live or work.)

So, if a carpet’s useful life is 10 years, then every year, it should deteriorate about 1/10^th. One place you can find such information is an advisory guide to useful life, found on the city of Longmont’s web site and republished below:

Item Lifespan Item Lifespan

Carpeting	10 years		Door and window hardware	15 years
Bathroom flooring	12 years		Stove, cooking range	12 years
Kitchen flooring	12 years		Hot water heater	10 years
Curtains	5 years		Bathroom sink	17 years
Drapes	10 years		Kitchen cabinets	15 years
Curtain rods	8 years		Kitchen sink	17 years
Interior doors	20 years		Garbage disposal	5 years

You can also find useful life information from product manufacturers. (Such projections likely assume the appliances and household furnishing are regularly maintained and/or cleaned.)

Still confused? The city of Longmont provides this framework for weighing normal wear and tear vs. abnormal use.

Normal Wear and Tear                  Abnormal Wear and Tear

Worn and dirty carpet                  Torn, stained, or burned carpet

Faded curtains                            Torn or missing curtains

Worn out keys                             Lost keys

Dirty window screens                   Torn or missing screens

Faded, chipped paint                   Hole in the wall

 

For more information, see the Landlord & Tenant Guide to Colorado Leases and Evictions, 5^th Edition, by Victor M. Grimm, Esq. and Denise E. Grimm.

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