Reclaim Your Rental Deposit
Check every deduction against the service life, demand the release in writing, and after one year take the direct route via the bank. With two template letters.
Checked on 21.08.2026 by Jens Herbst, BoVitaWe keep every document current and check it regularly against the sources.
Who is this document for?
For anyone whose lease has ended and who is either waiting for the deposit or facing deductions nobody explains.
What you are entitled to, before you download anything
Only the current value may be deducted. Once the service life has expired, that value is zero and there is nothing left to deduct, whatever the condition.
| Item | Service life |
|---|---|
| Fitted carpet, medium quality | 10 years |
| Interior paint, emulsion or distemper | 8 years |
| Wallpaper, woodchipPaintable wallpaper has 24 years, glass fibre 20. Check which type is on the wall. | 10 years |
| Linoleum and rigid PVCApplies equally to rubber and vinyl. | 20 years |
| Parquet sealingThis is the item charged at handover. The parquet itself lasts longer: multi-layer 30 years, solid 40. | 10 years |
| Cooker and oven | 15 years |
| Dishwasher | 15 years |
| Fridge with integrated freezerShorter than the other kitchen appliances. A blanket figure for all of them is wrong. | 10 years |
How to calculate: A fitted carpet lasts 10 years. If it is 8 years old at move-out, you carry 20 per cent of its current value, not the price of a new one.
And on the deposit: if the landlord has not LEGALLY asserted a claim within one year of the tenancy ending, meaning debt enforcement, a conciliation request or a court action, you can demand the money back directly from the bank (Art. 257e para. 3 CO). A reminder letter is not enough.
Source: Paritaetische Lebensdauertabelle, HEV Schweiz und Mieterinnen- und Mieterverband Deutschschweiz. As of: 01/02/2024.
What is inside
- Check protocol with seven questions per deduction, from the handover protocol to the residual value
- The service life table, calculated from the same source as the page, with a worked example
- Template letter demanding release, with three ready-made objections to typical deductions
- Template letter to the bank for the route after one year (Art. 257e para. 3 CO)
- The path to the conciliation authority, free of charge and without a lawyer
How to fill it in
- 1Open the file in Word, Pages or Google Docs and replace every field in square brackets.
- 2Enter each deduction separately and hold it against the service life table.
- 3Send the release letter by registered mail.
- 4Once a year has passed since the lease ended, the second letter goes straight to the bank.
- 5No agreement: contact the conciliation authority of your former place of residence, the procedure is free.
Frequently asked questions
For tenants in Switzerland whose lease has ended: both when nothing happens at all and when deductions are claimed. It works for flats, rooms and shared-flat rooms.
There is no statutory deadline, and that is where most guides get it wrong. What does exist is Art. 257e para. 3 CO: one year after the lease ends you can ask the bank directly to return the money, provided no claim was pursued legally in that time. This rule takes nothing away from you, it opens an additional route.
Everything that arises from using the property as agreed, and your rent already pays for it (Art. 267 para. 1 CO). The service life draws the line: whatever has reached its service life is written off. A ten-year-old fitted carpet has no residual value, regardless of how it looks.
Usually not. At handover the landlord must raise defects immediately, otherwise the property counts as accepted (Art. 267a paras. 1 and 2 CO). The exception is hidden defects that were not detectable at handover.
In tenancy matters the conciliation procedure is free of charge. You need no lawyer, and the authority also gives advice.
If the template alone is not enough
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