If you're answering
Your landlord says you caused the damage
A list has arrived: carpets, paint, the oven, a door. Some of it may be fair. Some of it was probably there when you moved in. Here is how to tell the difference, on paper.
Free to build. $59 once, for this case, if you want to download the finished file.
Last updated Oct 10, 2026
You almost certainly already have what you need
This is the good news, and most tenants do not realize it.
You photographed that place at least twice without thinking of it as evidence. When you moved in, because it was new and you were showing somebody. When you moved out, because you wanted your deposit back. Somewhere in between, there are photos of a birthday, a dog, a Christmas tree — and in the background of each one, a wall, a floor, a countertop, on a date.
Your phone dated every one of them. Nobody has to take your word for when they were taken. Find the date a photo or video was taken
The job in front of you is not gathering evidence. It is putting what you already have into an order somebody else can follow.
Answer the list, not the letter
Take their itemized deduction and split it into one line per item. Then, against each one, put what you have:
| Their item | What you have | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet replacement | Move-in photo, dated | The stain was there on day one |
| Oven cleaning | Move-out photo, dated | How it was left |
| Wall repainting | Nothing | Accept, or ask what the damage was |
That table is the whole response. Three columns, one row per item, no adjectives.
It works because it is answerable. A landlord, a property manager, a mediator or a judge can go down it line by line and agree or disagree with each one. A letter saying the charges are outrageous cannot be processed by anybody.
And accept what is fair. If you did break the door, say so and pay for the door. A response that disputes everything reads as a person who disputes everything. One that accepts two items and contests three is immediately more credible on the three.
The things people forget
- Your move-in condition report, if you filled one in. Even a scrappy one.
- The inventory or move-in list the property manager gave you.
- Messages where you reported something while you lived there, especially anything they did not fix. A thing you reported in year one is not damage you caused in year three.
- The listing photos from when the place was advertised. They are often still online, and they show its condition before you arrived.
- Anything about normal wear. Carpets, paint and seals wear out. Whether that falls on you is not something we can tell you, but how long you lived there is a fact worth stating plainly.
The date on the letter
There will be a date, either to respond by or by which they say they will deduct. Write it down first.
We are not going to tell you what the rules are where you live. Deposit rules differ from state to state, and a number from us could be wrong for you. Your own state's consumer or housing agency publishes this, and it is worth ten minutes finding it.
What we can say is that answering in writing, before their date, with an itemized response, puts you in a different position from answering angrily afterwards.
What to leave alone
- Don't just refuse to pay and go quiet. It usually ends up at a small claims court, and the person who showed up with a line-by-line response does better there than the person who showed up annoyed.
- Don't delete the photos off your phone to free up space. Back them up today.
- Don't accept a phone call as the end of it. Write up what was agreed and send it to them. How to write down a phone call
- Don't exaggerate. One overstated claim makes a reader doubt the nine good ones.
What your side looks like when it is in order
BuildMyEvidence is a place to put it. You record what happened and attach what you already have. Everything gets a date and a number.
For a deduction list like yours, that gives you:
- Their items, listed separately, each one with your photos and messages underneath it.
- Your photographs, two to a page, with the dates they carry — move in, during, move out.
- One chronology of your lease: what you reported, when, and what came back.
- Your own statement, in your words, numbered, with a page at the end to sign by hand.
You can read every page in full before you pay. The screen copy carries preview marks across it. The file you download is clean, and it is $59 once, for this case. What the $59 covers
It is a record, not a lawyer. It does not tell you whether you will win. It makes the difference between a folder of photographs and a document somebody can read in ten minutes.
Read one that is already written
Two of our four worked examples are written from this side — somebody answering something they did not start. You can open them and read every page, free.
Related: A complaint was filed against your license · HR scheduled a meeting and won’t say why · Accused of using AI on your work · Your insurer is investigating your claim · A code violation notice was left at your property
Questions people ask
- I didn't take any photos when I moved in.
- More people have them than think they do — look for photos from your first week in the place, of anything. Beyond that, the listing photos, your move-in report and anything you reported while you lived there all speak to condition. And where you have nothing, say so plainly rather than guessing.
- They are charging me for normal wear and tear.
- That may be right and it may not, and it is not something we can decide for you. What helps is stating how long you lived there, what the item was like when you arrived, and what it was like when you left — with dates on all three.
- They haven't given me an itemized list at all.
- Ask for one, in writing, and keep a copy of the asking. A deduction nobody has itemized is hard for you to answer and hard for them to justify.
- Is what I write here private?
- Yes. It is your account, in your account, and nothing leaves it unless you send it. Privacy
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