What damages can my landlord make me pay for when I move out of a rental home in Switzerland?

We will be moving out of our apartment in a few months and I’ve begun to get hit by worries about all the damages we might have to pay for. Our liability insurance has covered major damages so far, but there is a lot of wear and tear like scratches on the parquet floor, water damage to the bathroom door frames, chips off the bathtub enamel etc.

At the same time, we have lived in the apartment for over five years so some wear and tear should be part of the parcel. What damages can our landlord make us pay for when we move out?

A good first step would be to study your home rental contract and see what repairs you agreed to make upon leaving the property.

Many home owners follow the recommendations of the Swiss homeowners’ association (HEV), which provides guidelines on the “lifespans” of various household furnishings. You can find these recommended lifespans here (German only):

http://www.hev-schweiz.ch/vermieten/verwalten/lebensdauertabelle/

As a rule, the longer a particular furnishing has been installed, the less it is worth. Every year that passes reduces the “life” of furnishings. Your landlord should figure the cost of replacing items which have reached the end of their lifespan into your rent.

For example, the enamel covering a bathtub has a life expectancy of 20 years. If the bathtub was installed 15 years prior to your moving out of your apartment, you can only be expected to pay one quarter of the cost of replacing the damaged tub, because three quarters of its life have already expired. If that tub was installed 20 or more years ago, your landlord should not charge you for its replacement because its expected lifespan has expired.

The lifespan of parquet floors ranges between 10 years for low-quality parquets (veneer-covered parquets, for example) and 40 years for high quality parquets (solid wood). 40 years is the maximum lifespan of any household furnishing or appliance included in HEV guidelines.

If your apartment was brand new or newly renovated in full when you moved in, then you can only deduct the 5 years which you spent in the apartment from the life expectancy of furnishings.

Verdict:

The older the furnishings in your apartment, the less you can be expected to pay for damages. The newer the furnishings, the more you can be expected to pay for furnishings.

More on this topic:
Interactive liability insurance comparison
Insurance for shared homes
Subletting your rental home: the rules