So I am finally moving out of my flat after 6.5 years and this will be my first move in Switzerland. I have been looking in the forum but couldn’t find a precise answer when it comes to my duties about repainting the walls of the flat when moving out. The walls were not freshly painted when I moved in, and I know that after all this time the agency will accept some normal wear and tear. However, I have 2 cats who’ve been having some fun with my walls so I am not sure this will be accepted as wear and tear. I attached a picture to show the damage.
Do you have any experience on this sort of damage? Would I be expected to repair it on my own? If so, do you have any advice on the type of materials/paint I could use? Or should I ask the agency to fix it?
You can probably save yourself some money by buying some Motofill and touching up the damage. The same goes for where you have drilled holes. Fill them up and this should pass, you do not have to repaint.
Thanks KiwiSteve for the quick reply, I think Moltofill will work for drilled holes but this damage goes for about a third of the surface of the wall in some areas, not sure Moltofill would do the trick
Are your walls actually covered in textured wallpaper that is painted (like ours is)? From what I see in your photo, it looks like that's the case, which means the walls would need re-papered and then painted. So from what I can see, it looks like what your cats scratched is actually the wallpaper.
With painting itself, I think many apartments have rules about apartments being re-painted every X amount of years. So if yours hadn't been painted when you moved in, it might be time for the landlord / leasing company to re-paint the walls anyways. They should have record of when the last time it was painted, so maybe you should first ask that and then ask what their rules are regarding re-painting for new tenants.
But I would first call your Hauswart if you have one, to come look at the walls, to tell you what can or should be done. And if you don't have a Hauswart then I guess you'd have to go to your landlord or leasing company directly.
And if you do any re-painting, be sure to get the same color of paint that was used in the rest of the apartment. (They don't usually use pure white).
Talk to the agency. After so many years the walls will probably need a new paint/wallpaper anyway, and the existing's value may well be written off entirely. In this case they have zero book value remaining and no damage for you to pay. But do not agree to assume any kind of cost if they try that.
Contact your private 3rd party liability insurance, or take one if you don't have one already provided they're Ok with helping you deal with this.
Normal time for a complete renovation due is 8-15 years, but your length of stay should mean you do not have to meet the full costs of the repair It is worth making some kind of repair yourself, just to make it look better.
Third party insurance is probably going to ask, “Did you have a scratching tower” It maybe better not to mention the cats at all.
It seems that, according to the official tables for life expectancy of apartment components, wallpaper that is painted over has a life expectancy of 24 years. Woodchip paper 10 years.
Wall paint has life expectancy of 8 or 15 years, depending on the material.
I am sorry but that damage is clearly not done by a human. Dogs scratch too, but this is generally on a door.
I wouldn't recommend a tenant attempt to fix this. I have wallpaper which has been painter over. You have to know how to repair this and you need the correct wallpaper and paint. I would ask the property manager for the name of the painter they use, get a quote and submit it to the insurance company.
The tenant is entitled to remove the strands of wallpaper and plaster over the main damage (and even find some replacement paper for the patch if it looks good). It is then for the landlord to decide whether to accept this -as a tenant it really does pay to belong to the Mieterverband.
The insurance company is going to pay up (maybe) if you have a specific policy for house-pets (Tierhalterhaftpflichtversicherung)