Finding and renting a flat

Near the end of the list sits o desgaste normal, and the difficulty is not the meaning but the shape. Portuguese is content with a noun and an adjective: wear, and the ordinary kind. English refuses to say it that way. In a tenancy the phrase is « fair wear and tear », and all four words are obligatory. Drop the last two and « fair wear » sounds like a fairground; drop the first and « wear and tear » is only damage described kindly. The pairing is much older than any lease. « Wear » is what rubbing takes away slowly. « Tear » is what one pull does at once, the noun behind the verb in « to tear a page ». Between them they cover how a flat is used, which is why a deposit clause reaches for both. A British agreement says « fair », not « normal », and the difference is money: « fair » invites a judgement about how many people lived there and for how long, while normal sounds like a measurement you could look up. Learn the four words as one word.