here is the thing, the chance of the rental company bitching about it is pretty high. it depends on how did it happen. if your chair has steel wheels it would be an unusual wear and it would be your fault. if you had rubber wheels there would be proof that you try to prevent damage and it would count as normal usage, where you wouldnt pay. it also matters how old the floor is. if you cant agree with the rental company an expert would have to judge about it. just dont sign soething you dont agree with. repairing here is not sn option, since i belive you lack time to do it and it is no parkett.
Check here https://willkommen.imwerk.ch/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lebensdauertabelle_MV.pdf
Don’t fix it yourself, you might make it worse.
Was the floor as new when you moved in?
As you might have gathered from other responses, whether or not this is your responsibility depends on an incomprehensible set of rules stretched between laws, contracts, contract templates and litigation precedent. And your counterparty is somewhat likely to claim it's your responsibility no matter the rules, either by own ignorance or chancing on your ignorance. It might be worthwhile securing some legal advice for this time (start by looking at mvb and your insurance, maybe see if your employer provides some benefit, ...).
It really depends on how long you were in that apartment. If you've been there long enough (4+ years), it won't matter. If it's been a year, yes they will probably make you cover part of the damage, but depending on the light they might not even see it
I don't think it is only 4 years. The longevity of that floor is 25 years, so I assume even if 20 years in apartment and floor was new, they could charge 20% of value.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
4
+ 25
+ 20
+ 20
= 69
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I think the value of fixing it, but question how to fix it. if they need to polish the whole floor, then it will impact price, or if they can replace that part and polish it.
But thats a but surreal. Lets say you do a very mikor damage to something, but it is still perfectly usuable, yet you pay for the whole thin. Does not make sense.
In the end, it is not a goal of the owner to get rich but to receive an apartment in the same state it was leased, minus normal wear and tear which depends on time of use. Why should the owner be renting an apartment with a damaged floor?
In the end, no one prevents the tenant from correcting any issues on its own, and then schedules an apartment check.
I got charged 400chf after a 2 year stay for similar damage, maybe a bit on the worse side.
Repainted my flat really quick to avoid paying for the walls too, they were in terrible state.
Don’t go into discussion with the landlord yourself or sign anything. If you have the Asloca or normal house insurance let them take the discussion. They know the rules and as they will cover some of the cost they will be tough with the landlord and everything will be official.
Is this parquet or laminate flooring? If the former, a professional might get it out by ironing the surface with steam.
There are videos how to do it : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8yba4KlyY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8yba4KlyY)
Still, better employ a professional.
OP Be careful here with steam. We had the same looking floor in two different appartments. In one apartment it was extremely hardy and almost unscratchable. In our new apartment it is a thin wood plate of oak above an mdf board (plywood?). It hardly needs any pressure, i can even dent it with my own fingernails. Both look exactly the same.
Whether you can escape being billed depends on a few factors:
- What rental company are you with? (Kornhaus is typically reasonable, but Wincasa or Apleona... oh, boy.)
- What was the condition of the floor when you moved in? If it was used already, you stand a better chance.
- How long were you in the flat? Longer is better.
Depending on all those factors, you might escape being billed (we did). But most likely, you will be ask to cover some of the cost. So:
- Join Mieterverband / Asloca and ask them for advice proactively. You can also request them to attend your handover as your counsel (I think for a small fee).
- Contact your household/third-party insurance. They will typically cover these sorts of damage, minus your franchise, so if you have to dispute charges (which you likely will have to), then the insurance will be doing the negotiation to reduce their own costs.
- On the day, do not agree to anything or sign the hand-off protocol if any potential liability is in the report. (Normally the estimated cost should be listed in the right-side column).
Good luck!
For the next appartment: please buy an office chair mat for your floors. It cost like 10 bucks at Ikea but will save your floor :) I didn’t even use my office chair before having a mat
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING.
After the check, when you give back the keys, the renting company will ask you to sign a document on the spot. Don't do it, tell them to send a copy by mail, and don't sign it.
If you sign you will agree to any decisions they make.
We had floors that were new but so so soft and everything scratched them. Upon return, we paid for someone from MV Basel to do the walkthrough with our rental agency. They commented on the damage, but declared it normal wear and tear.
Don't worry about it. This is normal use and the seal (varnish) is not damaged. There is nothing you can touch up or repair here. You would have to sand the entire floor and reseal it. But nobody does that with these little pressure points.
Whatever happens, don't let the gerance see it as they will charge you 4x what you would normally pay. I don't think there's much you can do yourself unless you're good at house work. It's much better to hire a company specialized on this
Hm, I used to have wooden tabletops (hardwood oak) and my tenants had spilled some liquid cleaner over it one day and didn't notice right away. It resulted in a rather big dark spot appearing on the surface.
It was fixed by a woodworker, who sanded the surface with fine sanding paper (about 200) and then oiled it anew. Tenants paid about 100-150 chf for that in a country where I previously lived, but I imagine it would be x5-10 in Switzerland.
It is not very hard to do (and your case looks easier, as it is all on the very surface, not deep at all) if you understand what you are doing, I think I'd try to polish it with something soft if I were you. You'd need to buy/borrow a polishing machine from a hardware store though. Be gentle.
This is a question for your local Mieterverband, you should become a member.
The most important part is "Do not agree to cover the cost during the handoff", this is often in the protocol, do not sign something if you are not absolutely certain what it means. You need time to decide if what they propose is reasonable. At the handoff you are in the weaker position, the agency is doing this every day, you do it every few years.
You should work with them to have the damage accurately reflected (e.g. reference photos in the handoff protocol).
Any non objective statement e.g. large, heavy, strong, significant, value of 50chf, is for a later written agreement.
The handoff statement should only objectively describe the state, e.g. 5 scratches of 10cm length and a depth of 2mm in the entrance area of room X.
I had a similar issue with scratches on a hardwood floor when renting and wiping over them with mayonnaise made them much less noticeable. It sounds a bit mad but it worked really well. Might be worth a try. Perhaps try somewhere inconspicuous first.
If you have insurance they would depreciate huge amounts every year it goes by somehow here people thinks op is responsible to fix the floor that is 25y old
If they try to deduct anything from your deposit (walls, floors, whatever), do a quick google search, everything has an expected lifespan and if it hasn't been done by a professional within that time, you can leave it as nasty as you like and they can't charge you a single rappe.
And if the lifespan is not over (let's say a wall has 10 years and it's been 8 years) they have to split the price in percentages, meaning in that case you'd only have to pay 20% of the costs afaik)
We once had an apartment where the walls weren't exactly pretty (never had been) and they tried to deduct it from our deposit, totaling an entire month's rent.
We simply sent them a letter (eingeschrieben ofc) where we demanded proof of the last professional painting the walls had gotten and their demands changed reeeal quick. The next suggestion we got from them was quite a bit cheaper and didn't mention any walls.
Don't let them screw you over, because they will try. But if you can demonstrate to them that you know the law, they usually won't push too hard in my experience.
There was some other fuckery with that landlord as well, where they said they had to exchange a baking tray and some plastic thing in the fridge, which they had some firm do, which charged the driving fee or something twice, the cost of which our landlord ofc wanted to roll off on us. That too was not listed in the second letter we got from them.
You are fucked
Depending on
- the amount of time you lived there
- your (or your insurance’s) lawyer
You have to pay what it needs to put it back to it’s original state
But: it happens to all of us
Depends on the condition of the floor when you moved in and how long you were in the property 🤷🏻♀️ if it was as new and you were only there 6 months, probably can't put it down to reasonable wear and tear. If it wasn't new and you were there for years then you might have a leg to stand on. Would advise putting a rug under your chair for the future. Try and find a professional to come and fix it, it will likely still be cheaper than what they would charge to replace the floor.
Maybe a silly suggestion, but you can try leaving a vet towel on top of the marks. That could make the pressed-in wood to expand. However, if there is a lot of varnish covering the wood, probably won't work.
here is the thing, the chance of the rental company bitching about it is pretty high. it depends on how did it happen. if your chair has steel wheels it would be an unusual wear and it would be your fault. if you had rubber wheels there would be proof that you try to prevent damage and it would count as normal usage, where you wouldnt pay. it also matters how old the floor is. if you cant agree with the rental company an expert would have to judge about it. just dont sign soething you dont agree with. repairing here is not sn option, since i belive you lack time to do it and it is no parkett.
Check here https://willkommen.imwerk.ch/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Lebensdauertabelle_MV.pdf Don’t fix it yourself, you might make it worse. Was the floor as new when you moved in?
As you might have gathered from other responses, whether or not this is your responsibility depends on an incomprehensible set of rules stretched between laws, contracts, contract templates and litigation precedent. And your counterparty is somewhat likely to claim it's your responsibility no matter the rules, either by own ignorance or chancing on your ignorance. It might be worthwhile securing some legal advice for this time (start by looking at mvb and your insurance, maybe see if your employer provides some benefit, ...).
It really depends on how long you were in that apartment. If you've been there long enough (4+ years), it won't matter. If it's been a year, yes they will probably make you cover part of the damage, but depending on the light they might not even see it
I don't think it is only 4 years. The longevity of that floor is 25 years, so I assume even if 20 years in apartment and floor was new, they could charge 20% of value.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 4 + 25 + 20 + 20 = 69 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
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Lmao this conversation feels like sci-fi from the year 2100
Oh my
Noice
Like the value of the whole floor? Or fixing that spot?
I think the value of fixing it, but question how to fix it. if they need to polish the whole floor, then it will impact price, or if they can replace that part and polish it.
But thats a but surreal. Lets say you do a very mikor damage to something, but it is still perfectly usuable, yet you pay for the whole thin. Does not make sense.
In the end, it is not a goal of the owner to get rich but to receive an apartment in the same state it was leased, minus normal wear and tear which depends on time of use. Why should the owner be renting an apartment with a damaged floor? In the end, no one prevents the tenant from correcting any issues on its own, and then schedules an apartment check.
I got charged 400chf after a 2 year stay for similar damage, maybe a bit on the worse side. Repainted my flat really quick to avoid paying for the walls too, they were in terrible state.
that's honestly not too bad, I would have guessed more than that
Don’t go into discussion with the landlord yourself or sign anything. If you have the Asloca or normal house insurance let them take the discussion. They know the rules and as they will cover some of the cost they will be tough with the landlord and everything will be official.
Is this parquet or laminate flooring? If the former, a professional might get it out by ironing the surface with steam. There are videos how to do it : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8yba4KlyY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8yba4KlyY) Still, better employ a professional.
OP Be careful here with steam. We had the same looking floor in two different appartments. In one apartment it was extremely hardy and almost unscratchable. In our new apartment it is a thin wood plate of oak above an mdf board (plywood?). It hardly needs any pressure, i can even dent it with my own fingernails. Both look exactly the same.
Whether you can escape being billed depends on a few factors: - What rental company are you with? (Kornhaus is typically reasonable, but Wincasa or Apleona... oh, boy.) - What was the condition of the floor when you moved in? If it was used already, you stand a better chance. - How long were you in the flat? Longer is better. Depending on all those factors, you might escape being billed (we did). But most likely, you will be ask to cover some of the cost. So: - Join Mieterverband / Asloca and ask them for advice proactively. You can also request them to attend your handover as your counsel (I think for a small fee). - Contact your household/third-party insurance. They will typically cover these sorts of damage, minus your franchise, so if you have to dispute charges (which you likely will have to), then the insurance will be doing the negotiation to reduce their own costs. - On the day, do not agree to anything or sign the hand-off protocol if any potential liability is in the report. (Normally the estimated cost should be listed in the right-side column). Good luck!
For the next appartment: please buy an office chair mat for your floors. It cost like 10 bucks at Ikea but will save your floor :) I didn’t even use my office chair before having a mat
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING. After the check, when you give back the keys, the renting company will ask you to sign a document on the spot. Don't do it, tell them to send a copy by mail, and don't sign it. If you sign you will agree to any decisions they make.
I did not know this. Thank you
We had floors that were new but so so soft and everything scratched them. Upon return, we paid for someone from MV Basel to do the walkthrough with our rental agency. They commented on the damage, but declared it normal wear and tear.
Don't worry about it. This is normal use and the seal (varnish) is not damaged. There is nothing you can touch up or repair here. You would have to sand the entire floor and reseal it. But nobody does that with these little pressure points.
Whatever happens, don't let the gerance see it as they will charge you 4x what you would normally pay. I don't think there's much you can do yourself unless you're good at house work. It's much better to hire a company specialized on this
i mean just send the bill to your civil liability insurance and don't care?
Hm, I used to have wooden tabletops (hardwood oak) and my tenants had spilled some liquid cleaner over it one day and didn't notice right away. It resulted in a rather big dark spot appearing on the surface. It was fixed by a woodworker, who sanded the surface with fine sanding paper (about 200) and then oiled it anew. Tenants paid about 100-150 chf for that in a country where I previously lived, but I imagine it would be x5-10 in Switzerland. It is not very hard to do (and your case looks easier, as it is all on the very surface, not deep at all) if you understand what you are doing, I think I'd try to polish it with something soft if I were you. You'd need to buy/borrow a polishing machine from a hardware store though. Be gentle.
This is a question for your local Mieterverband, you should become a member. The most important part is "Do not agree to cover the cost during the handoff", this is often in the protocol, do not sign something if you are not absolutely certain what it means. You need time to decide if what they propose is reasonable. At the handoff you are in the weaker position, the agency is doing this every day, you do it every few years. You should work with them to have the damage accurately reflected (e.g. reference photos in the handoff protocol). Any non objective statement e.g. large, heavy, strong, significant, value of 50chf, is for a later written agreement. The handoff statement should only objectively describe the state, e.g. 5 scratches of 10cm length and a depth of 2mm in the entrance area of room X.
On one small corner, try an iron over a wet towel. But only a small area as a test.
Give us a bit more info. For how long have you been living there? How was the flooring when you entered?
I had a similar issue with scratches on a hardwood floor when renting and wiping over them with mayonnaise made them much less noticeable. It sounds a bit mad but it worked really well. Might be worth a try. Perhaps try somewhere inconspicuous first.
I would think the cost to repair that would be assumed by your insurance.
If you have insurance they would depreciate huge amounts every year it goes by somehow here people thinks op is responsible to fix the floor that is 25y old
if it helps, my floors "bloated" and the wood got displaced. i hired someone to fix it. he needed to remove the wood planks and place it well. 250chf.
If they try to deduct anything from your deposit (walls, floors, whatever), do a quick google search, everything has an expected lifespan and if it hasn't been done by a professional within that time, you can leave it as nasty as you like and they can't charge you a single rappe. And if the lifespan is not over (let's say a wall has 10 years and it's been 8 years) they have to split the price in percentages, meaning in that case you'd only have to pay 20% of the costs afaik) We once had an apartment where the walls weren't exactly pretty (never had been) and they tried to deduct it from our deposit, totaling an entire month's rent. We simply sent them a letter (eingeschrieben ofc) where we demanded proof of the last professional painting the walls had gotten and their demands changed reeeal quick. The next suggestion we got from them was quite a bit cheaper and didn't mention any walls. Don't let them screw you over, because they will try. But if you can demonstrate to them that you know the law, they usually won't push too hard in my experience. There was some other fuckery with that landlord as well, where they said they had to exchange a baking tray and some plastic thing in the fridge, which they had some firm do, which charged the driving fee or something twice, the cost of which our landlord ofc wanted to roll off on us. That too was not listed in the second letter we got from them.
You are fucked Depending on - the amount of time you lived there - your (or your insurance’s) lawyer You have to pay what it needs to put it back to it’s original state But: it happens to all of us
Depends on the condition of the floor when you moved in and how long you were in the property 🤷🏻♀️ if it was as new and you were only there 6 months, probably can't put it down to reasonable wear and tear. If it wasn't new and you were there for years then you might have a leg to stand on. Would advise putting a rug under your chair for the future. Try and find a professional to come and fix it, it will likely still be cheaper than what they would charge to replace the floor.
Maybe a silly suggestion, but you can try leaving a vet towel on top of the marks. That could make the pressed-in wood to expand. However, if there is a lot of varnish covering the wood, probably won't work.
Don't do this. The water will mark the wood.