I will be looking to move out of my apartment which i have been in for the last 4.5 years. The flat itself is about 20plus years old and has not been renovated since purchase from what i understand.
There are a few defects that have occurred and i am wondering what is usually covered by the Owner vs me when it comes to paying for and whether it is something I need to try and resolve before moving out?
1) Double Sink Crack
Something fell out of one of the cupboards above the sink and landed on the sink. it has now created a spider web like crack in the main bowl which is about 10cm across! so quite substantial and would need to be replaced rather than repaired i guess.
2) Lightly cracked tile in Kitchen floor
Again it looks like something has fallen at some point and cracked a single tile in the kitchen floor. its more of a hairline crack than anything major like the sink.
3) Fridge Missing Shelves (Broke)
2 Shelves in the Fridge are missing.
4) Painting?
We haven't done anything to the walls ourselves since we have moved in but i am sure i read something some years ago online that tenants are responsible for repainting the walls. I could be totally wrong! (hoping so)
1-3: You broke them, you need to pay for them. None of those will come under the usual wear and tear.
4: You will be expected to clean and touch up the walls to a high standard. If the walls are bad enough a repaint will be required. Use the photos you took when you moved in to judge the expected standard and use them as evidence if it is argued that your touch ups are not good enough. This one may not apply after a certain amount of time but I haven't rented anywhere long enough to give you first hand information on that.
The first three should be covered under the tenant's insurance assuming that they have any.
The amount they would have to pay for replacing the sink etc would also Depend on the age of the sink and the expected lifetime of said sink I believe.
Yes, tenant is responsible for damages above normal wear. But only up to current value of the things. Not new value - the landlord bears loss of value due to normal wear, he gets paid rent for that.
Lavabo, for example, according to it should last 35 years. As yours is only 20 years old and should have served for another 15 years, you'll owe 15/35 of replacement costs if you broke it so that it has to replaced now.
Paint should last 10-15 years. If last repainting is already more than that many years ago, it'll be fully on the landlord. Don't even bother with cleaning the walls then.
As for painting the walls I would say be careful with the exact paint type on small surfaces because an error will make you paint the entire wall. In our case on the white walls we talked to the housing company and they advised not to try touch ups because the matcing paint requires some mixing of different paints which we cannot do. So we called the painter on the account of the house company . If the company sends the painter for major work , you can ask painter little bit paint mixture to do touch ups yourself.
Something relevant to this that might be useful for people to know: When I moved out from my previous flat in Zurich, one key was missing. The agency decided to replace the locks at a cost of more than 600 francs. Ouch! Be careful with little things cause costs can get astronomical.
To keep the paint from drying in the container, especially acrylic which has a much longer lifespan than emulsion, it helps to store the container upside down.
Are you blind? This is at the very top of your link:
"Personal liability insurance: Liability insurance is not mandatory"
I rest my case
And none of the ones I've ever signed had it, so what? It's not mandatory by law. If it's in the contract - then you better stick to the contract or walk away or negotiate.
No shit. Household insurance would only cover damage to your tenant's belongings, not your apartment. You need to insist that tenant gets a *liability* insurance.