Can my landlord cause problems for scratched induction hob ?

Hey guys I need some opinions

Yesterday stupid me I cleaned my V Zug induction hob with a rough sponge and cause tiny superficial scratches all over it, if you don't look at it with a light they are almost not even visible.

It's my first year in a new apartament (built in 2018). I am going to stay in this apartament for at least 2 more years.

So my question is, when I leave for example in 2 years can the landlord cause problems and force me to buy a new induction hob because of a few scratches ? Or can this be considered like a "wear and tear" appliance ? I mean sooner or later if the surface doesn't have an anti scratch layer, scratches are going to happen from pots and pans anyway.

I would love to hear your opinion on this.

Thanks

You can easily polish superficial scratches. But if it's deeper, then yes, you'll need to pay. Your insurance should cover it.

When we left our house after 5 years, the landlord complained the roasting tray wasn't prestine. He tried to claim it but my insurer told him not to be silly.

Just google how to polish away such scratches, must have been a hell of a rough sponge.

I think just one scratch may be a little deeper but a very tiny one. Polishing may be a good idea, thanks.

I have no problems paying because it was my stupid mistake. But can they force me to buy a new one just for a few scratches or just "pay for repairs" ?

You mean my personal insurance can cover stuff like this ?

Sorry for all the question, I am fairly new here in Switzerland and I am slowly getting a hang of things.

I have been scrubing like a maniac, yeah haha I was 100% it had the anti scratch coating but still I learned a lesson for the future.

Sounds like reasonable wear and tear, worst case you could buy a new glass .

I regularly clean my hob with a stainless steel pan scourer to remove burnt stuff without scratching it.

Yes, your Civil Responsibility/Liability insurance will cover this. Not other types of insurance (health or life insurance). So make sure you have (or get) that type of insurance.

A good one will also handle the negotiations with the landlord (the “don’t be silly” replies when they try to get a new one when a bit of polishing would work), and make the landlord pay their share of the depreciation (your share of repairing a 5 year old stovetop is less than a 2 year old one due to depreciation).

This is exactly why you should have RC insurance, and it makes moving out much less stressful.

Do you know approximately how much does this insurance cost ?

Maybe I'll get it one month before moving out haha just kidding of course

Thank you for your reply, I didn't know about this.

Pour vinegar on it first and leave it for 1 hour- makes it much easier.

Induction stoves don't get hot so food doesn't get burnt on unlike non-induction electric, or gas stoves.

They only really need cleaning with a clean, damp cloth and perhaps some detergent.

I made oatmeal this morning and the pan boiled over and I had a huge mess on our ceramic glass-top stove afterward. I let it cool and then used one of those special sponge scrubbers made for cleaning glass-top stoves and that sponge worked amazingly well. It removed all the burnt, crusted stuff very quickly and easily without leaving any scratches. I’m not sure if they’re okay for induction stoves, though. But this is the one I used and just thought I’d mention it:

https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s7/product…B&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you had split oatmeal over your induction stove, it would not have burnt on and so wouldn't have needed cleaning in the same way!

Then I need to corect myself, maybe it is a ceramic glass-top stove. Because food definitely burns on it.

Thanks mate, I'll definitely try it out.

We used Zurich for more than 10 years and I was happy with them. More detail of what it looks like here:
https://www.zurich.ch/en/private-cus…onal-liability
It costs one or two hundred francs per year depending on your age and household size I think. And it is more if your canton does not have a separate insurance policy for your household contents (Vaud does).
Take it out now, not when leaving (I know you were joking, but…), since it also covers unexpected accidents: if you knock over an expensive vase at a business associate’s house or if your dog chews up your neighbor’s sprinkler system.
There is a deductible, meaning you pay the first ~Fr. 200.- of each claim.

I had a 2500 franc deposit. The landlord was claiming about 4200. We settled on 1600, with the help of the insurance company. What also helped is I wasn't in a hurry to get the deposit back - but the landlord was in a hurry to get his bill paid!

Nice to hear you settled nicely

When is the best way to engage with the liability insurance in such cases? Let's say the handover of the apartment is planned end of March. During the handover inspection, the rental agency would usually find out/complain about several items that need to be fixed/replaced and included then in the handover protocol. A final bill would be sent a couple of days later.

I assume I would not sign the handover protocol if I do not agree with the proposed charges but how do I inform the insurance about it? I expect to be in this situation end of April

You’re welcome. If yours is actually a glass-ceramic stove, they also sell scrapers that you can use to first scrape the crusted stuff off (and then can use that sponge to remove the rest). The scrapers are like this:

https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s7/product…ip=hob+scraper

Keep in mind that you would only have to pay proportionate to the lifespan of the product. For a stove that’s 15 years:

https://www.mieterverband.ch/mv/miet…ertabelle.html

So assuming you moved out this year, with a stove built in 2018, you’re only liable for two-thirds of the cost.

That said, tiny scratches on a stove don’t count imo as " übermässiger Abnutzung" so I wouldn’t worry about it until you move out. Probably you won’t have to pay anything.