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Reply contesting repair costs claimed after the move-out, in French (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in French · for tenants
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For tenants in Switzerland whose landlord or régie bills repairs or replacements after the move-out inspection: the registered reply that contests the claim in full or point by point. It states that normal wear and tear is not owed (Art. 267 of the Code of Obligations, CO), at most the remaining value of a fitting, that the tenant is released from defects not reported at once (Art. 267a CO) and that the rent deposit may not be used without consent, and it asks for evidence. Print, have every tenant sign, and send by registered post. In French.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- After the move-out inspection in Switzerland, the régie sends you a repair bill you think is unfair.
- You are charged for paint or carpet as if they were new, although they were years old.
- The agency reports damage long after you left, though nothing was noted on handover day.
- You want to answer the régie in writing and refuse the use of your rent deposit.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- City
- Date
- Address of the property
- Date of the contract
- Handover date
- Date of the landlord's letter claiming damages
- Amount claimed by the landlord (CHF)
- Dispute the whole claim, or only some points
- Each disputed item and why (e.g. normal wear, already there at move-in, too old, amount too high)
- Date the landlord first reported the defects (only if not at once)
- Date of the move-in record (if defects were already listed in it)
- Defects already there at move-in
- Date of the move-out record you signed (if any)
- Rent deposit: refuse its use for the claim, or there is none
- Deadline for a response
- Contact phone
- Closing formula (in French): “mes” if one person signs, “nos” if several sign
Common questions
- When is a Swiss landlord's damage notice after the move-out too late?
- The landlord checks the flat at the actual return or immediately afterwards and tells the tenant at once, and specifically, of the defects the tenant answers for (Art. 267a para. 1 CO): the move-out état des lieux can be that notice if it names them; a general remark is not enough. The Federal Supreme Court cites legal writers for whom notice should as a rule come within two or three working days, and held a notice given just over two months after the keys were returned to be late (judgment 4A_388/2013). Without timely notice the tenant is released from all liability, except for defects an ordinary inspection could not reveal, which are to be reported once found (paras. 2 and 3).
- Does a Swiss tenant owe the price of a new fitting for a worn one?
- No. Only damage beyond use in line with the lease is owed; the marks of ordinary living are paid for by the rent (Art. 267 para. 1 CO). For a replacement, the remaining value counts: the joint life-span table gives each fitting a life span, and you bear only the part still left. In the canton of Vaud, art. 9 para. 7 RULV puts a replacement on the tenant only up to its depreciated value. A flat fee agreed in advance that covers more than the loss is void (Art. 267 para. 2 CO).
- Can a Swiss régie hold on to the rent deposit while the damage is disputed?
- The deposit stays blocked at the bank, but the régie cannot help itself to it: the bank releases it only with both parties' consent, on a payment order to which no objection was made or on an enforceable judgment (Art. 257e para. 3 CO). A landlord who maintains the claim must pursue it by debt enforcement or before the tenancy conciliation authority. If not within a year of the end of the lease, the bank releases the deposit at the tenant's request alone; a separate letter asks for it.
- By signing the Swiss move-out état des lieux, did I agree to pay the costs?
- Not necessarily: it depends on what it says. If it only records the condition, your signature confirms that condition, not a debt; in the canton of Vaud, art. 36 para. 5 RULV states that the move-out record is no acknowledgement of debt. If it says you will bear certain costs, the signature can count as acknowledging them, and a signed acknowledgement of debt can let the landlord obtain provisional removal of an objection (Art. 82 of the Debt Enforcement Act, LP). That is why the letter acknowledges no part of the claim.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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