Can a landlord charge for professional carpet cleaning when I move out?

Only when it is reasonably necessary to return the unit to the cleanliness it had when your tenancy began, leaving out ordinary wear and tear. That limit is in California Civil Code section 1950.5.

How long does a California landlord have to return a deposit?

21 calendar days after you move out. The landlord returns what is left with an itemized statement of deductions and copies of the bills for cleaning or repairs; when those deductions total $125 or less, the copies come only if you ask for them within 14 days.

What should I photograph when I move in or out?

Every carpeted room from the same spots, plus close-ups of any stains or worn paths, with the date. Since April 1, 2025, California landlords must photograph the unit when they get it back, before any work they will charge for, and they must also photograph it at the start of tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025.

Move-out carpet cleaning and your security deposit

About 44 percent of Ventura’s homes are rented: the Census Bureau puts the owner-occupied share at 55.9 percent for 2020 to 2024. When a tenancy ends, California’s deposit law decides what the carpet can cost the tenant.

Published October 8, 2026, by Ventura Carpet Cleaners. About 4 minutes to read.

Short answer

A landlord may deduct the cleaning needed to bring the carpet back to the cleanliness it had at move-in, but nothing for ordinary wear and tear, and may charge for professional carpet cleaning only when it is reasonably necessary for that (Civil Code section 1950.5). Within 21 days of move-out, the landlord must return what is left of the deposit with an itemized statement of deductions.

What can a landlord deduct for the carpet?

California Civil Code section 1950.5 lists what a security deposit can pay for. Two items touch the carpet: repairing damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, and the cleaning needed, when the tenancy ends, to return the unit to the level of cleanliness it had when the tenancy began.

The same section sets limits. A landlord can’t claim for ordinary wear and tear or its effects, whether the wear came before the tenancy or during it, or for wear that has built up over several tenancies. Nor can a landlord make a tenant pay for professional carpet cleaning, or take it from the deposit, unless it is reasonably necessary to return the unit to its condition at the start of the tenancy, wear and tear excepted. The statute doesn’t list what counts as ordinary wear, which is why a record of the carpet at move-in matters.

General information about California law, not legal advice.

Illustration of the carpet just inside a front door: a heather-gray traffic path running from the doormat across the room, a little darker than the carpet on either side. — Illustration: the traffic path from the front door across the carpet.

The photo rules that began in 2025

Since April 1, 2025, a landlord must photograph the unit within a reasonable time after getting it back, before any repairs or cleaning it will charge to the deposit, and again within a reasonable time after that work is finished. For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must also photograph the unit immediately before, or at the start of, the tenancy. When a deduction is made for repairs or cleaning, the photographs go to the tenant with the itemized statement, unless those deductions total $125 or less.

Tenants can keep their own record: dated photos of each carpeted room on the day you move in and the day you hand back the keys, taken from the same spots, with close-ups of any stains that were already there.

Ask for the inspection before you move out

Once either side gives notice to end the tenancy, or before the lease term runs out, the landlord must tell the tenant in writing that the tenant may ask for an initial inspection, and may be there for it. The inspection happens no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours’ written notice. Afterward, the landlord gives the tenant an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning that could become deductions, and the tenant can put them right before moving out.

For the carpet, that statement is the useful part: it shows whether the landlord sees anything beyond wear, while there is still time to have it cleaned or treated.

When the deposit has to come back

Within 21 calendar days after the tenant moves out, the landlord must send an itemized statement of the deposit and any deductions, and return whatever is left. Copies of the bills, invoices or receipts for cleaning and repairs go with it; where the landlord or an employee did the work, the statement describes it, with the time spent and a reasonable hourly rate. When the cleaning and repair deductions together come to $125 or less, the landlord needn’t send the copies or the photographs with the statement; but if the tenant asks for them within 14 calendar days of receiving it, the landlord must provide them within 14 days of the request.

What a move-out carpet cleaning costs

At national rates, carpet cleaning runs $75–$125 per room or $0.20–$0.40 per square foot, and HomeAdvisor’s average job is $183; Maid VIP estimates about $30–$75 per room, with a $150 visit minimum; most homes about $150–$400. These examples assume the carpet areas shown.

Home (example)	At $75–$125 per room	At $0.20–$0.40 per sq ft	Maid VIP estimate
One-bedroom apartment: 2 carpeted rooms, about 350 sq ft	$150–$250	$70–$140	$150
Two-bedroom apartment: 3 carpeted rooms, about 550 sq ft	$225–$375	$110–$220	$150–$225
Three-bedroom house: 4 carpeted rooms, about 800 sq ft	$300–$500	$160–$320	$150–$300

National figures and estimates, not a price for your job. The price is confirmed before any work.

Have it done once the rooms are empty and at least a day before the final walk-through: carpet cleaned by hot water extraction stays damp for 8 to 24 hours, by Stanley Steemer’s estimate. How drying works.

Pet stains before you go

A regular cleaning rinses the carpet fibers, but urine that has reached the backing and the pad needs its own treatment, priced on top: Angi puts stain removal, pet stains included, at $40–$300, depending on severity and type. Engineered Floors, a carpet maker, warns never to put heat or hot water on a urine stain, so blot with cool water until it is treated. Book pet urine and odor treatment by name, before the move-out photos.

Sources

Civil Code section 1950.5 read October 2026, as amended through 2025; prices read October 2026.