- Autumn foliage and leaf blowers – what’s the best way of dealing with them?
- Night-time noise restrictions in Switzerland – what’s allowed and what’s not
- Utility Costs: “What do I really have to pay?”
- Renovating apartments
- Construction defects in new-builds: here are your rights
- As a tenant, am I entitled to demand renovation work?
- What to do when neighbours are causing trouble
- Energy-efficient refurbishment: Rent increase?
- New-build delay: what should you do?
- Smoking in Your Rented Apartment
- Duplicate key for the landlord – allowed or not?
- Trash disposal: Rights and obligations
- How much noise should children be able to make?
- Verbal rental agreement: what you need to know
- Snow Removal – who is Responsible?
- Challenging your rent: “What are my rights?”
- Share Wi-Fi: With your neighbor on the Web
- Drying laundry indoors – what is allowed?
- What is allowed in the stairwell?
- What happens after the death of a tenant?
- Painting walls in a rented property: allowed?
- What is included in a rental agreement?
- Monthly rent
- Notice of termination by the tenant
- Notice of termination by the landlord
- Wear and tear
- Minor repairs
- Utility bills: do I have to pay extra?
- Utility costs for apartments: five things you should know
- House rules: What do tenants need to bear in mind?
- Trouble with your landlord: what are your rights?
- Rising mortgage costs: what you need to know as a landlord
- A landlord’s key rights and responsibilities
- Renovation work: rights, obligations and practical tips
- Mould in your home: causes, risks and tips
- Acceptable questions in rental applications
- Barbecuing on the balcony
Wear and tear, tenant liability
Whether it's carpeting, wallpaper, toilets, etc., here's a fact: there's a specified service life for everything in the apartment. So that tenants know, too, how landlords deal with this issue, there are service life tables. These establish the basis when it comes time to estimate signs of wear and tear.
Normal wear
Normal wear consists of changes which arise during normal, careful use. These include, e.g., yellowing wallpaper, traces of wear on walls and floors, etc. As long as these effects fall within the scope of the service life tables, they are calculated into the rent.
Abnormal wear
The tenant is liable for damage which does not fall within the scope of normal wear as set down in the service life tables. This consists of damage as a result of abnormal use which the tenant caused himself during his term of tenancy or is attributable to other people living there, guests or pets.
Scope of liability
For damage due to abnormal wear, the tenant generally pays for the repairs or any possible reduction in value, not the purchase of an expensive replacement. For replacement purchases, you pay only within the scope of the remaining service life. For example, if 5-year old wall-to-wall carpet must be replaced by the tenant due to abnormal wear, the tenant pays only 50% the cost of the new carpet because a wall-to-wall carpet of average quality has a maximum service life of 10 years.
Settlement through security deposit
Defects which must be paid for by the tenant can be deducted from his security deposit if the tenant specifically accepts this method. If the tenant does not agree, the landlord must seek legal recourse.
Attention: If the landlord does not make any legal claim (either through debt-collection proceedings or through a legal process) within a year after the rental relationship has ended, the tenant can demand that the bank return the security deposit.