Process & handover
Apartment Handover (Wohnungsabgabe)
Also known as: Move-out inspection · Final inspection · Wohnungsübergabe · Return of the rented property
The apartment handover (Wohnungsabgabe) is the formal return of a rented property to the landlord, at which the condition and any defects are recorded jointly in a written report. It determines which costs can be charged to the tenant afterwards, which is why the appointment is worth preparing for.
How the appointment runs
At the handover, tenant and landlord walk through the property together and record its condition in a report (Übergabeprotokoll). Everything is covered: all rooms, kitchen appliances, the sanitary area, floors, walls, windows, external blinds, plus cellar, attic compartment and outdoor areas. At the end both sides sign the report.
Important: do not sign anything you disagree with. You can have reservations (Vorbehalte) entered in the report. A signature without reservation counts later as acknowledgement of the defects recorded — and once acknowledged, the amounts are hard to dispute.
Defect or normal wear and tear?
This is the central point of dispute at almost every handover. Normal wear and tear from contractual use is the landlord's responsibility — that is what your rent pays for. Excessive wear and actual damage are charged to you.
The decisive factor in the assessment is the service life of the component. A carpet has a service life of around ten years; if it is eight years old and damaged, you owe only the residual value of two years, not the price of a new one. The joint service-life tables (paritätische Lebensdauertabellen) published by the Swiss tenants' association (Mieterverband) and the homeowners' association (Hauseigentümerverband) set out the standard figures.
Preparation pays off
Take the move-in report (Antrittsprotokoll) with you to the handover. Anything already recorded there as a defect cannot be charged to you as new. Photograph the condition after the cleaning — that helps if the condition is disputed later.
Do not forget the secondary rooms. The cellar compartment, attic compartment, bicycle room and garden terrace are part of the rented property and are inspected too. They are the most common reason for objections at otherwise clean handovers.
A case from practice
At a handover in Zurich-Seebach the property manager objects to a damaged carpet in the living room and demands CHF 2,400 for its replacement. The tenant produces the move-in report: the carpet was already eleven years old when he moved in. Under the joint service-life tables it is therefore fully written off — the claim falls away entirely.
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Frequently asked questions about Apartment Handover (Wohnungsabgabe)
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