The piece that I see ALWAYS neglected is maintenance. I rent and pay nothing additional to maintain the place. Washing machine breaks - landlord fixes it. Carpets wearing out (minus things that are obviously my fault) - landlord replaces it.
Everyone I talk to who owns is constantly upgrading or replacing or fixing something in their house. It seems, on average, home maintenance is about 66-75% of my rent check; and that isn't money they get back. It just prevents their home price from falling.
Just write the deposit off and if you get any back, consider it a blessing. It's odd that you give it so much weight when it's usually less than a single month's rent.
In Britain these days, the deposit is held by an independent agency, not the landlord or letting agent. They have to give a good reason to have money deducted - and you can then dispute this if it is spurious.
I recently moved, and the landlord (who was broke) was trying to keep money for all sorts of non-existent faults, most of which were due to his shoddy DIY work before I moved in. I raised a dispute and eventually got the vast majority of the money back. Just make sure you keep pictures of the state of the house before you move your stuff in.
It varies a lot; in California the legal maximum is two months' rent, and it's fairly common for landlords to demand the maximum. That can be a significant hit unless you stay in the same place for years.
Everyone I talk to who owns is constantly upgrading or replacing or fixing something in their house. It seems, on average, home maintenance is about 66-75% of my rent check; and that isn't money they get back. It just prevents their home price from falling.