How to Get Your Full Damage Deposit Back in Manitoba

In Manitoba, your security deposit is your money — the landlord just holds it. To keep all of it, you need to return the unit in the condition you got it, minus normal wear. Here’s how to make that case airtight.

Wear and tear vs. damage

This is the line every dispute turns on. Normal wear is the gradual aging a careful tenant can’t avoid. Damage is harm beyond that, including a unit left dirty.

• Wear and tear: faded paint, minor carpet wear, small nail holes
• Damage / chargeable: stains, grime, holes, broken fixtures, a unit that needs cleaning

A dirty unit is the most common — and most avoidable — deduction. Cleaning is fully within your control.

The move-out steps that protect you

1. Find your move-in condition report. It’s your baseline. No report? Your move-in photos are the next best thing.
2. Empty the unit completely before cleaning.
3. Clean room by room — follow our move-out cleaning checklist so nothing gets missed.
4. Photograph everything once it’s clean and empty, with a timestamp.
5. Do the walkthrough with your landlord if offered, and get any concerns in writing.
6. Give your forwarding address in writing so the deposit can be returned.

What landlords can deduct

A landlord can claim against your deposit for unpaid rent, damage beyond wear, and cleaning needed to restore the unit. They can’t charge for ordinary aging or for problems that existed before you moved in — which is why your baseline report and photos matter.

When cleaning is worth outsourcing

If a landlord is known to nitpick, or you’re moving on a tight timeline, a professional move-out clean is cheap insurance. Our move-out clean starts at $155 with a deposit-back guarantee — if your landlord flags something we covered, we return and finish it free. That guarantee often costs less than a single cleaning deduction.

Moving into a new place too? We clean it the same way for move-in day before the boxes arrive.

This is general information, not legal advice. For disputes, contact Manitoba’s Residential Tenancies Branch.