The check-out inspection: what you can be charged for

An hour, a pen, a form. And yet this is the appointment that decides whether your deposit comes back whole or half of it is gone. The good news: the law frames what a landlord can claim, and they lose their claims if they do not raise them in time.

What the inspection is for

It compares the state of the apartment when you leave with its state when you moved in. That is the whole point: a claim rests on the difference between the two documents, not on the leaving state taken alone. If you no longer have your check-in report, ask for a copy before the appointment.

Article 267 of the Code of Obligations sets the principle: you return the apartment in the state that results from use in accordance with the contract. Living in a flat wears it a little, and that is not chargeable.

Fair wear and tear is not damage

This distinction settles most disagreements. Fair wear and tear is what time and ordinary use produce. Damage is what carelessness, an accident or abnormal use produce.

• Paint that has dulled after several years of occupation is wear.
• A wall repainted black without agreement is reinstatement.
• Furniture marks on a parquet floor are wear.
• A cigarette burn on that same floor is damage.
• Blackened silicone sealant is routine upkeep, which is yours during the lease.

Even for genuine damage, the bill cannot be the price of new. An installation has a service life, and the landlord can only claim the part not yet written off. Repainting a fifteen-year-old kitchen in full because of one scratch does not stand up.

The report, and what goes in it

The document signed on the day is the one that will count. What is not in it will be hard to claim afterwards, and what you sign without reservation will be hard to contest.

1. 1Read every line before signing, even if the appointment is dragging on.
2. 2Have your disagreement written on the document itself, item by item, rather than saying it out loud.
3. 3If you do not want to sign, write that down and sign only to confirm you were there.
4. 4Leave with a copy, or photograph the document before you go.

Photograph the empty apartment too, room by room, with the date. Five minutes on your phone beats one memory against another three months later.

The landlord has to give notice of defects

Article 267a of the Code of Obligations requires the landlord to inspect the apartment when it is returned and to notify you without delay of the defects you are liable for. If they fail to do so, they lose their claims, except for defects that a normal inspection would not have revealed.

That is a real protection and an often overlooked one. A bill arriving long after the keys were handed back, for a defect that was plain to see on the day, is not a given.

Getting ready for the handover

• Empty it completely, cellar, attic and bike store included.
• Clean, including the parts people forget: extractor hood, sealant, blinds, radiators, windows.
• Deal with the small repairs that are yours before the appointment.
• Gather every key, including the duplicates you had cut.
• Read the meters and have the figures written into the report.