Do Curtains Stay With the House When You Sell? Fixtures vs. Personal Property

The usual advice is that curtains leave with the seller, yet the standard purchase contracts in California, Texas, Florida and Louisiana hand them to the buyer unless someone writes an exclusion.

In this guide

• Are curtains considered fixtures?
• What usually stays and what usually goes
• What standard purchase contracts say
• Motorized shades, remotes and hubs
• Selling: keep your curtains without a fight
• Buying: what to check and plan for
• Renting: who owns the rods you installed
• Selling in the UK: the TA10 form
• The honest part
• Glossary
• FAQ

Are curtains considered fixtures?

Usually not on their own, but the hardware they hang from usually is. A fixture is something once movable that became part of the real estate by being attached, and it transfers with the house. Cornell's Legal Information Institute summarizes what courts weigh in close cases:

• how firmly the item is attached
• how closely it relates to the property's purpose
• whether anyone intended it to be permanent

Curtains split in two under that test. Rods, brackets, tracks, holdbacks and blinds are screwed in, so they read as fixtures. California's real estate regulator describes fixtures as items attached with bolts, screws or nails, and it names window coverings as an example.

Curtains on rings or hooks lift off without a tool. That's why Zillow's guide calls slide-off drapes personal property while counting attached blinds, shades and rods as fixtures.

Custom drapes are the classic gray area. They were cut for those windows, which speaks to the second factor, but attachment still weighs heavily. In 1981 a Georgia appeals court held that motel draperies hung by the "normal curtain rod and hook method" weren't improvements to the real estate that a supplier could put a lien on. It was a lien case, not a home sale, but the reasoning is the same.

Intent is judged by outward evidence, and the clearest evidence is the contract.

What usually stays with the house and what usually goes?

Hardware and anything mounted to the frame usually stays. Fabric that lifts off is where contracts and local custom differ. Treat this table as a starting point, not a ruling.

What do standard purchase contracts say about curtains?

Four of the five standard forms we read include curtains or draperies in the sale unless the seller excludes them. North Carolina's form includes the rods, blinds and shades but not the curtains.

Two clauses matter as much as the lists. California's RPA says items shown as included or excluded in the MLS, flyers or marketing don't count unless the contract says so. North Carolina's form tells both sides not to rely on statements outside the contract. So a listing remark that the drapes go with the seller doesn't exclude them on its own. California's form also says items an agent or stager placed in the house should be listed as excluded.

Forms change, too. C.A.R. has revised the RPA since the July 2024 edition we read (most recently in June 2026), and Texas switched to TREC 20-19 on July 1, 2026. Ask your agent which form and edition you're signing.

Do motorized shades, remotes and hubs stay with the house?

The shades stay like any other shade. Remotes, hubs and app accounts are where it gets messy, because a shade nobody can control isn't much of an inclusion.

• Texas: TREC 20-19 counts "controls" as accessories. That includes hardware used only to control the home's items and the seller's transferable app rights. At possession, the seller must hand over codes, usernames, passwords and apps, and cut off access from their own devices.
• North Carolina: every listed item includes "smart" versions and dedicated remotes. Before closing, the seller must unpair devices, delete personal data and restore factory settings unless the parties agree otherwise.
• California: smart devices attached to the house are included. Separate smart-home control devices are included if that box is checked in paragraph 3P(1). The seller must remove devices from personal accounts.

Manufacturers have their own hand-off steps:

• Hunter Douglas PowerView Gen 3: the seller transfers the "Home" in the app. If that never happened, the new owner can hold a shade's control button for about 5 seconds and take ownership.
• Lutron Caséta (the system Serena shades pair with): the seller unlinks integrations, removes the system from their account and resets the hub's network settings by holding its button for 20 seconds. They should leave the power supply and Ethernet cable behind.

Buyers: count the remotes, keypads, hub and chargers at the walkthrough, and finish the account transfer before closing.

Selling? How to keep your curtains without a fight

Decide before you list. Then take the curtains down before the photos, or exclude them in writing. Doing both is safest.

1. Swap before you list. If the silk drapes or the antique rod are going with you, replace them before the listing goes live and leave working hardware. Our rods and tracks include custom-sized options such as the Collins single decorative rod.
2. Exclude in writing. Use your form's exclusion line: 3P(2) or a counter offer in California, 2D in Texas, 1(e) in Florida, 2(e) in North Carolina. Name items by room, not by category.
3. Exclude what you don't own. Staged or rented drapes belong on the list.
4. Plan the patching. North Carolina's form makes the seller repair damage from removing excluded items. California's RPA says the seller isn't responsible for holes left by removed brackets or fasteners unless otherwise agreed. Our rod installation guide explains the anchors involved.
5. Or trade them. Drapes made for these windows often won't fit your next home, as Zillow notes. Window treatments are usually negotiated case by case anyway.

Buying? What to check before closing and after you move in

Name every window treatment you expect in the offer, check them at the final walkthrough, and budget for anything that isn't included.

• Write it down by room. Custom drapes, motorized shades, remotes and the hub all belong in the offer if you want them. Listing photos don't count.
• Check at the walkthrough. NAR's final walk-through checklist includes confirming that included items, draperies among them, are still there and that remotes are available. Florida's form says the walk-through is there to confirm, among other things, that included personal property is on site.
• Raise problems before you sign. HomeLight quotes an Alabama agent describing a seller who agreed to leave every window treatment, then took the primary-bedroom curtains. Her buyers noticed after closing and never got them back.

Then plan for the new place:

• Blinds usually stay, so layering curtains over them is the quickest upgrade. See curtains over blinds.
• Measure the windows yourself with our measuring guide. Note whether the house has ceiling tracks or rods, since that changes the heading you need (rods vs. tracks).
• If the curtains left with the seller:
  • Our cost guide explains how size, fabric, lining and heading drive the price.
  • Custom vs. ready-made covers when custom is worth it.
  • What to ask before you order helps you time an order around move-in.

Renting? Who owns the curtain rods you installed?

Start with your lease. Under the general rule, a tenant can't take the property's fixtures when a lease ends, so rods you screwed into the wall may be expected to stay. (The exception, trade fixtures, covers equipment a business tenant installs.) Ask the landlord in writing whether to leave them or remove them and patch.

Holes and deposits depend on state law. In California, the Attorney General's guide says a deposit can't be used for ordinary wear and tear. Tenants can request an inspection before move-out so they can fix problems before being charged, and the itemized statement is due within 21 days. To avoid the question entirely, our no-drill guide for renters compares methods that leave no holes.

Selling in the UK? Curtains on the TA10 form

In England and Wales, curtains are usually treated as fittings rather than fixtures. Sellers list them on the Law Society's TA10 Fittings and Contents Form, and the 3rd edition (2013) is still the current one.

Section 5 asks, room by room, whether curtain rails, poles and pelmets, and curtains and blinds, are included, excluded or absent. A seller can also put a price on excluded items. The completed form may become part of the contract, so treat it as seriously as a US exclusion list.

The honest part: your contract decides, and disputes still happen

• There's no national rule. The five forms we read don't agree on curtains, editions change every year or two, and local custom fills the gaps.
• The experts disagree. Mainstream guides call slide-off curtains the seller's, while several big-state forms include them. Both can be true, because the contract overrides the general rule.
• The fixture test is fact-specific. That's why custom drapes and tension rods stay gray.
• Writing it down cuts down on fights, but doesn't end them. Exclusions still have to be honored, and getting items back after closing is hard.
• Our bias: we make custom curtains, so a buyer whose curtains left with the seller is a potential customer. That's why this guide sticks to what the forms say.
• This is general information, not legal advice. Read your purchase agreement and ask your agent. If you're in a dispute, see a real estate attorney.

Glossary

Fixture: a once-movable item that became part of the real estate by being attached. It conveys with the house unless excluded.

Personal property: movable belongings, also called chattels. They leave with the seller unless the contract includes them.

Accessories: the Texas contract's term for listed items that convey unless excluded. Curtains and rods are on the list.

Final walkthrough: the buyer's last visit before closing, to confirm the home's condition and that included items are still there.

Fittings (UK): items not fixed in place, such as curtains, which sellers list on the TA10 form.

FAQ

Do curtains stay with the house when you sell?

It depends on your contract. Under the general fixture rule, curtains that lift off their rings are the seller's personal property. But the standard forms in California, Texas, Florida and Louisiana include curtains or draperies unless the seller excludes them in writing. North Carolina's form includes the rods but not the curtains. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can I take my curtain rods when I sell my house?

Usually not, unless you exclude them. Rods and brackets are screwed to the house, which makes them fixtures, and all five standard forms we read include them by default. To keep one, exclude it in writing or swap in a replacement before listing.

Do blinds and shades stay with the house?

Almost always. They're mounted in or on the window frame, and the standard forms in California, Texas, Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina all include them. A seller who wants to keep them has to exclude them in writing.

Are custom-made curtains considered fixtures?

Not automatically. Being made for specific windows is an argument for treating them as part of the house. But courts also weigh how an item is attached, and drapes on ordinary rods and hooks lift right off. Guides disagree, so write the answer into the contract.

Do motorized shades and their remotes stay with the house?

The shades stay, but the controls vary. Texas's TREC 20-19 includes dedicated control hardware and transferable app rights. North Carolina's form includes dedicated remotes. California's RPA covers separate control devices if that box is checked. Ask for the remotes, hub and app transfer in writing.

What can I do if the seller took curtains that were supposed to stay?

If you notice at the final walkthrough, tell your agent before you sign closing documents, and get any return or fix agreed in writing. After closing it becomes a contract dispute and recovery is harder, so talk to your agent or a real estate attorney.

Are curtains fixtures or fittings in the UK?

In England and Wales they're generally treated as fittings, not fixtures. Sellers list them on the Law Society's TA10 form, which asks room by room whether curtains, blinds, rails, poles and pelmets are included, excluded or absent. The completed form can become part of the contract.

Moving into a home where the curtains left with the seller? Browse our made-to-measure curtains. Order free swatches first, so you can judge fabrics in your new home's light before you commit.