Over Half of Renters Have Disputes With Landlords About Cleaning

Over a third of homes in America are rental units, with 15 million occupied by households that moved in since 2023, and the latest data show that more than 103 million people live in rented properties across the U.S. However, if social media and Google search trends are to be believed, many renters may experience disputes over their security deposits.

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To understand the prevalence of disputes around security deposits - and how often cleaning is an issue that arises - we surveyed 1,000 renters who have moved out of a property in the past two years, asking them a series of questions about common landlord disputes and the financial cost that can arise.

Key Findings:

• Over the past two years, more than one in five renters have had disputes with their landlords when moving out, with cleaning (52%) being a leading cause.
• Disputes with landlords have increased by 44% when comparing the percentage of people who have experienced a dispute in the past 12 months and 24 months.
• Cleaning is the biggest reason for disputes with landlords, with more than half of those who had disputes listing it as the reason for their conflict.
• The average renter paid a $1,352 security deposit and an average monthly rent of $1,466.
• Disputes with landlords averaged $1,011 in total cost, with cleaning disputes averaging $462.
• Almost two-thirds of renters say landlords are at least somewhat too strict about the condition of their property when people move out.

Nearly One In Four Have Experienced A Dispute With Their Landlord When Moving Out

Over the past two years, almost a quarter (23%) have experienced a dispute with their landlord when it came time to move out. However, for those who have moved out of a property in the past 12 months (26%), disputes have increased by 44% compared with those who moved in the past 24 months (18%).

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Results also showed that who you lived with also had an impact on the likelihood of disputes when moving out. Responses indicated that nearly half (49%) of tenants who lived with their landlord and moved out in the past 24 months encountered a dispute, while those living with a lodger were the second most likely to do so. It’s worth noting, however, that these living situations were the least likely in responses.

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Aside from living with a landlord or a lodger, living with friends or roommates is the third most common situation for encountering a landlord dispute when moving out (29%), followed by those living with children or dependents (29%). Cleaning was the most common cause of disputes, with 61% of those with children or dependents having a dispute with their landlord about the property's cleanliness when they moved out.

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61% of renters with children face cleaning disputes with their landlords

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On average, more than half of renters (52%) have encountered an issue when moving out of a property over the past two years, with just under half (48%) reporting that their dispute with their landlord was related to property damage.

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Reasons for dispute with landlords when moving out:

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The Average Cleaning Dispute Costs Renters $462, More Than A Third Of The Average Security Deposit

To cover such issues, the vast majority of renters will pay a security deposit. Figures showed that the typical renter pays $1,352 as a security deposit to their landlord, with one in five (20%) paying more than $2,000 before they even move into the property and start to pay rent (at an average monthly cost of $1,466).

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Among the five most common living arrangements, those living with children or dependents incur the highest costs in disputes. On average, renters with children or dependents face a dispute bill of $1,195 - almost a third (32%) higher than the average bill those living alone typically face, and 18% above the average total dispute cost.

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Renters with children face dispute bills 18% higher than the average

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Average cost of landlord dispute by living arrangements:

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When it comes to the most common dispute, cleaning, landlords typically requested a payment of $462. However, those living with a friend(s) or roommate(s) typically face a cleaning bill 53% higher than that of those living with a parent(s) or guardian(s).

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Compared with the average cost of cleaning disputes, those with children or dependent(s) face a bill 10% above the average, and 44% higher than those who live with a parent(s) or guardian(s).

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Average cost of landlord cleaning dispute by living arrangements:

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Professional Cleaning Saves $153 When Cleaning Disputes Arise

With an average cleaning dispute value equal to 34% of the average security deposit, it’s worth people knowing where landlords are most likely to spot issues, or where they might need to pay close attention.

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The most common room landlords would bring up in cleaning disputes was the bathroom(s), where over three in five people (61%) cited it as a reason for the dispute. The second most common room to feature in disputes related to cleanliness was the kitchen (60%), with the living room (56%) the third most commonly cited. 

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The core rooms to clean and look at keeping tidy are the bathroom(s), kitchen, and living room

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When it comes to how people clean their rental before moving out, over four-fifths (80%) clean their homes themselves, while 15% hire a professional cleaner. The value of using a professional cleaning service is evident in the average value of cleaning disputes.

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On average, renters who used a cleaning service before moving out of their home paid a cleaning fee of $308. However, those who cleaned their homes themselves faced a cleaning fee dispute charge of $461, almost 50% higher than that of those who hired a professional cleaner. What a fantastic reason to hire one of our professional cleaners!

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A core reason people might hire a professional cleaning service before they move out is that they find the whole cleaning process stressful, with more than two-thirds (66%) reporting that cleaning before moving out was at least “somewhat stressful”.

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However, another core reason to hire a professional cleaning service is the time it can take to clean a property. On average, renters spent just over 5 hours cleaning their homes before moving out, with those who cleaned the property themselves spending nearly 15 minutes longer than those who hired a cleaning service.

Taking Pictures Can Reduce Dispute Costs By 23%

Overall, in the past two years, disputes between landlords and renters would have cost renters an estimated $3.6 billion, of which more than $853 million is attributable to cleaning disputes. However, in more than three-quarters (76%) of instances where cleaning was highlighted in the list of disputes or charges, renters contested the fees…so this figure could be far, far higher.

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One of the best ways renters can avoid being charged by a landlord or having to contest a fee is to take pictures and/or videos of their home when they move in, documenting the property's condition. But our results showed that nearly a third (33%) of renters don’t do this, putting themselves at risk of paying for damage, cleanliness issues, and general conditions left by previous renters.

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Similarly, it’s advisable that renters take pictures and/or videos of the property they are moving out of. However, three in ten (30%) renters don’t take evidence of the property they’re leaving, leaving them at risk of being charged for damage or conditions that occurred outside of their contract.

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Renters who took pictures of their property when moving in faced dispute costs 24% lower than their counterparts

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Analysis showed that renters who took evidence of the condition of their property when moving in incurred total dispute costs that were 24% lower than those who didn’t. When disputes arose between renters who had taken evidence of their property when moving in, the average fee was $974, while those who had not taken evidence faced a fee of $1,206.

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And when it comes to moving-out evidence, we found a similar pattern. On average, renters who had evidence of their home when moving out incurred a dispute cost of $951, while those who had not collected any evidence incurred a dispute cost of $1,172 (23% higher).

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Another way people help reduce the chance of their landlord taking their security deposit is to use a professional cleaning service before moving out, which two-thirds of renters at least somewhat consider when moving out of their current property. And, as our survey has shown, doing so could reduce dispute costs by 50%.

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Overall, our analysis showed that 64% of renters feel that their landlord is too strict about the state a property should be left in, which, given the potential cost that could occur if a dispute arises, makes preventative measures an important way to avoid losing some or all of your security deposit when moving home.

Methodology:

Our survey was conducted via Pollfish among a sample of 1,000 US adults who had moved out of a rental property in the past 24 months. The data used in our analysis were post-stratified to match US Census Bureau demographic proportions by age, gender, and region, ensuring a representative sample.

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Survey date: July 29th, 2026

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Gender

• Male: 46.80%
• Female: 53.20%

Age

• 18 - 24: 11.40%
• 25 - 34: 24.90%
• 35 - 44: 31.40%
• 45 - 54: 20.30%
• 55 - 64: 12.00%
• 65+: 0.00%

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