Context: I am the main tenant of a flat I am renting in Zug, for the last 5 years. One of my flatmates is moving out and I helped him move some heavy stuff. Unfortunately, it seems we scratched my floor (which in this apartment it seems its like butter). I also found that under the sofa there is a scratch (the really deep one in the photos), apparently due to its own weight as we never moved this. I really do not understand how this floor is so soft.
I really need your advice to understand how bad this can be, as we hear horror stories in Switzerland about anything, hence I attached some photos for your opinion (if you could take a look I would be super greatful).
I really need your advice in what is my best option?
Report this to landlord (which is not a person but a large bank) now, make them send a repair guy and evaluate it, and then submit the costs to my personal household insurance?
Only report this when moving out and do same process as above?
Any other options that I do not see (like hire someone to do a light repair)?
Does any of you know how much this could cost? Could those scratches fall under the normal usage degratation, since i dont plan to move out soon, so probably only after staying 10 years here, I would move out?
Any other advice?
I am indeed worried, to be honest, as I have no idea how much this can cost.
Your help is super valuable. Thank you in advance.
Itâs a little hard to see from the pictures but it looks like thin layer of plastic or paint covering something else? Is the something else concrete or something else?
Donât think they would do anything before you move out. Had a story where a flatmate left some damages in his room and when I asked them what that would cost, they told me âit depends when you move outâ. In the end when I moved out a few years later, I didnt had to pay anything. (But they also renovated the building afterwards.)
yes, that seems like the better option to me.
If you actually stay for 10 years and then they decide to repaint the floor (it looks painted in my eyes) then you either donât pay anything or only a fraction of the price.
I am not an insurance guy, so donât take my word as proof. But if it would have happened to me I would have spelled some swear words and then put a carpet on top of it if it would annoy me visually.
If you now immediately start fixing these scratches and live there for another 10 years, then Iâm pretty sure you will find new scratches to fix every few years.
Thank you for the great advice and reports. And I do not care about the scratches, I really only care about the peace of mind of not having a pending huge sum to pay like 20k when moving out
If it gives you peace of mind, ask your liability insurance (if you have one) what you should do. Likely they will also tell you to come back once you move out. But at least then they cant say you should have told them earlier.
No way you will ever be paying anything close to 20k for this
Edit:
Itâs hard to assess anything with only pictures. Thereâs a wide margin for variations in materials and prices so take anything in this post with a big grain of salt. If the flooring is made of pannels, it could still be something like vinyl or linoleum (or something else, really).
/Edit.
Looks like some kind of resin. Could be epoxy, could be something more expensive.
Youâre only liable for the value of the flooring on its remaining lifespan. I canât assess it precisely but Iâd consider something like 20 years for a full amortization for most resins.
You guys are awesome. Thanks Wolverine for the thorough analysis. You simply rock. I was also searching the interwebs and also ended up in the linoleum, before you mentioning it, but I am not sure if it really is
I think the point is that itâs not something you can repair yourself, it would probably cost too much to have it redone by a professional at your expenses, itâll probably be significantly amortized if you move out in 10 years and your insurance should cover it.
Iâd announce it but state that you donât want to have it repaired before moving out, unless the scratches are detrimental to your enjoyment of the appartment and youâre confident you wonât make new ones.
Edit: while Iâm at it, Iâd ask for what material it is and probably for a rough estimate of the cost to repair at the same time I announce it.
For most materials and common colors, youâll find some tube, pen or wax stick in a hardware store for a quick do-it-yourself repair. Does look a little nicer and prevents dirt from entering.
Regarding your concern on the cost, you would distinguish damages and wear. For damages e.g. splinter to the hob I would notify the landlord and if you get charged your insurance, but not for some scratches on the floor.
When moving out, the landlord has to expect wear and tear on the floor or the wall and they need to cover for it. Depends how old the floor is and the status before. Typically, you would document the state of such things when moving in your protocol.
They may (justified or unjustified) claim excessive wear and then charge you part of the cost for renovation. I wouldnât worry too much about that now, you can still get advise on your right and obligations if you get in this situation.
Swiss tenantsâ and landlordsâ associations have jointly defined the life expectancy of materials. If you move out after the life expectancy of the floor, the landlord has to pay the full cost. If you move out before the end of the life expectancy, you will have to pay a proportion of the remaining value.
Anything only will have to be paid IF you damaged materials more than to be expected with normal usage over the timeframe of your stay.
If the floor is bad quality (not saying it is but there seems to be some weird flaking on those pictures) and damaged by normal usage, it is totally not the tenantâs problem and no need to involve an insurance to pay for something that should not be billed in the first place (though they might get the owners to step back from unreasonable claims).
To summarise: Iâd ask around if your neighbours have similar problems with that floor. Take pictures if possible.
If the floor is newish and really breaking very unreasonably, you might choose to alert the owners that there seems to be a quality issue, âin case there is a warranty on the flooringâ.
(Some homeowners might try to overstep laws when people are leaving apartments, but itâs still totally not legal.)
A little personal story, I spend almost a week repairing wooden floors of the my last apartment in ZH, cleaning, bleaching and filling huge scratches with a special coloured wax as I though it was not stated in my GF documents (I moved in after her). I filled up any little holes scratch in the wall and doors with the special white wax/plaster you find easily in the shops.
The agent didnât even look at the floor (or just had a glance and said âbeautifulâ), and charged us fully for a crack in the bathroom sink that was probably covered up by the previous owner with a bit of toothpaste.
In my experience, the shortest the stay, and the newest the apartment, the more roughtless they will be about the whole process.
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as it is not mentioned in the apartment documents.
