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Fair Wear and Tear vs Deductions: Where the Line Sits and How to Claim

A tenant's implied duty is to use the property in a manner a reasonable tenant would, fair wear and tear excepted; a tenant is also under no obligation to ‘improve’ the unit beyond its condition at the start of the tenancy, and the landlord may need to reasonably accept this normal wear at handover. Simply having ‘lived in and used’ the unit is therefore not, on its own, grounds for a deduction.

How much is a reasonable deduction? There is no fixed legal standard for what counts as ‘reasonably to the landlord's satisfaction’ — landlord, tenant and the court alike must apply a degree of reasonableness and common sense. A landlord alleging damage should generally be able to produce a repair quotation or receipt to support it; the landlord's fixtures listed in the tenancy (air-conditioners, cooking appliances, bathroom fittings and the like) only need to be restored to a reasonable condition, or their depreciated-value equivalent — not billed at full replacement cost.

Steps to recover it: first set out in writing, item by item, the deductions and amounts you consider unjustified, and ask the landlord for supporting documents for each one. If you can't reach agreement, you can try the Rating and Valuation Department's free mediation first, or file a claim for the difference with the Small Claims Tribunal (cap HK$75,000, filing fee from HK$20). Before filing, it's also worth weighing whether the amount in dispute is proportionate to the time and effort involved.

The '30-Day Deposit Return' Myth: Ordinary Tenancies vs Subdivided Units

The Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance sets no deadline for returning a deposit under an ordinary tenancy — the timing depends mainly on what the tenancy agreement itself says. The ‘30 days’ a landlord or agent mentions is, at most, a convention or a term in a particular tenancy, not a requirement of law.

A subdivided unit is different: since 22 January 2022, a ‘regulated tenancy’ under Part IVA of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance requires the landlord to return the deposit interest-free no later than 7 days after the tenant hands back possession of the subdivided unit (or, if the tenant owes money, no later than 7 days after settling it, whichever is later). The landlord may deduct arrears, or costs, expenses, losses or damages arising from the tenant's breach of the tenancy, from the deposit.

How does this distinction help in practice? When a landlord cites ‘30 days’ to refuse a refund, start by asking where in the tenancy that term appears. An ordinary tenancy having no statutory deadline doesn't mean the landlord can delay indefinitely — once you've handed back vacant possession, returned the keys and cleared any arrears, you can pursue the claim in writing with a stated response deadline; in a subdivided-unit case, you can point directly to the statutory 7-day deadline having passed.