diff --git a/src/interfaces/api/handlers/webdav_handler.rs b/src/interfaces/api/handlers/webdav_handler.rs
index 0357c39e..6f223477 100644
--- a/src/interfaces/api/handlers/webdav_handler.rs
+++ b/src/interfaces/api/handlers/webdav_handler.rs
@@ -1587,6 +1587,23 @@ async fn handle_delete(
         None => return Err(AppError::not_found(format!("Resource not found: {}", path))),
     }
 
+    // Reap dead properties so a future resource at the same path
+    // doesn't inherit tombstone metadata from the deleted one. Best-
+    // effort: a failure to clear leaves orphan rows but the user-
+    // facing DELETE has succeeded, so we don't propagate the error.
+    // Caught by tests/api/webdav_dead_properties.hurl Step 10.
+    if let Err(e) = state
+        .webdav_dead_props
+        .remove_resource(&path, user.id)
+        .await
+    {
+        tracing::warn!(
+            user_id = %user.id,
+            path = %path,
+            "dead-property cleanup on DELETE failed: {e}"
+        );
+    }
+
     Ok(Response::builder()
         .status(StatusCode::NO_CONTENT)
         .body(Body::empty())
diff --git a/tests/webdav/test_thumbnail_update.sh b/tests/webdav/test_thumbnail_update.sh
index 284f91bc..12333999 100755
--- a/tests/webdav/test_thumbnail_update.sh
+++ b/tests/webdav/test_thumbnail_update.sh
@@ -143,13 +143,18 @@ else
 fi
 
 # ── Step 1: PUT dedup-test.jpg ───────────────────────────────
-# /webdav always returns 204 (update_file_streaming handles create+update)
+# Post commit 43cf4a2b, /webdav distinguishes create (201) from
+# overwrite (204) per RFC 7231 §4.3.4. The cleanup loop above
+# (regular-listing + trash purge) guarantees this is a fresh
+# resource, so we expect 201. Step 2 below tests the overwrite
+# case (expects 204) — the 201/204 split itself is the regression
+# guard.
 
 echo "  step 1: PUT $REMOTE..."
 STATUS=$(webdav_put "$REMOTE" "$FIXTURE_V1" "image/jpeg")
 echo "  step 1: WebDAV PUT → $STATUS"
-[[ "$STATUS" == "204" ]] || fail "WebDAV PUT expected 204, got $STATUS"
-pass "WebDAV PUT dedup-test.jpg → 204"
+[[ "$STATUS" == "201" ]] || fail "WebDAV PUT expected 201, got $STATUS"
+pass "WebDAV PUT dedup-test.jpg → 201"
 
 # ── find file_id from REST listing ───────────────────────────