Moving out: the handover, the protocol and your deposit

Moving out of a Swiss flat ends with a handover: you walk through the flat with the landlord or agency, defects are noted in a protocol, and the deposit is released afterwards. The rules are short and protect both sides — if you know them, the handover is routine. Use the checklist below, then read on.

Move-out checklist

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Before the handover

• Find your move-in protocolDamage listed there was not caused by you — bring a copy.
• Clean the flat thoroughly, including kitchen appliances, windows and blinds
• Fix small defects that ordinary upkeep would fixSmall cleaning and repairs are the tenant’s job (Art. 259 CO); worn-out fittings from normal use are not.
• Remove everything you own, including from the cellar and attic
• Collect every key, including copies you had made
• Confirm the handover date and time with the landlord or agency in writing

At the handover

• Walk through every room together with the landlord or agency
• Insist on a written handover protocol and read it before signingIf you disagree with a point, write your disagreement on the protocol instead of signing it as it stands.
• Take dated photos of each room and of any defect noted
• Write down meter readings (electricity, and water or gas if separately metered)
• Hand over all keys and note their number in the protocol
• Keep a copy of the signed protocol

After the handover

• Check that defects were reported to you straight awayThe landlord must inspect at handover and notify defects you are responsible for immediately, or loses those claims — except hidden ones (Art. 267a CO).
• Give the landlord your new address and your bank account for the deposit
• Follow up the depositThe bank releases it with both parties’ consent or a court decision; a year after the lease ended you can claim it if no claim has been brought against you (Art. 257e CO).
• Deregister from your commune within its deadline — in Winterthur and St. Gallen, for example, 14 days

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What you are responsible for

• The agreed condition, not new. You must return the flat in the condition that results from using it as agreed (Art. 267 CO). Normal wear from ordinary living is the landlord’s cost.
• Small upkeep is yours. Defects that small cleaning or repairs needed for ordinary upkeep can fix are the tenant’s to remedy, according to local custom (Art. 259 CO).
• Damage beyond normal use is yours — holes, burns, breakage, anything that ordinary living would not cause.
• No flat-rate move-out fees. A clause committing you in advance to pay a set amount at the end of the lease, beyond covering actual damage, is void (Art. 267 para. 2 CO).

In Vaud, the RULV add the timing: on the due day at noon, the tenant hands back the flat and its outbuildings clean and in good order, emptied of the tenant’s belongings (Art. 36).

The handover and the protocol

Ask for a written protocol and go through every room together. Compare it with the protocol from when you moved in — damage recorded then was not caused by you. If you disagree with an entry, say so in writing on the protocol rather than signing it as it stands. Take dated photos and write down the meter readings.

The protocol matters for the next tenant too: a new tenant can ask to see the previous handover protocol when taking over the flat (Art. 256a CO). That is your best evidence of the flat’s condition when you moved in — ask for it on your next move-in day.

After the handover

The landlord must inspect the flat at handover and report straight away any defects you are responsible for. A landlord who fails to do so loses those claims, except for defects that a usual inspection could not reveal — and those must be reported as soon as they are discovered (Art. 267a CO). A list of complaints arriving weeks later about things visible at the handover is therefore not something you simply have to accept.

Getting your deposit back

A deposit held in a blocked account in your name is released by the bank with the consent of both parties, or on a final payment order or court decision. If the landlord has brought no claim against you within one year after the lease ended, you can ask the bank to release it to you directly (Art. 257e CO). Give the landlord your new address and bank details at the handover. More on the deposit itself is in the rental deposit guide.