Guide
The final walk-through
The exit inventory is the appointment outgoing tenants dread most, and the easiest to prepare for. Here is what happens in the room, and what is expected of you.
What the exit inventory is
At the end of a Swiss tenancy the flat is handed back at a scheduled appointment in the property. Someone walks through it room by room, notes its condition in a written report, and the keys change hands. In Geneva it is called the inventory of fixtures; in English, the exit inventory or the walk-through.
It is not a formality. This is where the condition of the flat is established for the record, and what is written that day is what everything afterwards rests on: the release of your lease, the settlement of your deposit, any claim for repairs. It normally takes place once the flat is empty and cleaned.
Who is in the room
On one side, the landlord or, far more often in Geneva, a representative of the managing agent. On the other, you. Where the lease was in two names, both tenants are concerned, and it is sensible for both to attend. On a lease takeover the incoming tenant is often present, since the same visit closes one tenancy and opens the next. You may also be accompanied: attending inventories, at the start of a tenancy as at the end, is one of the things we do.
The entry report is the reference document
Nothing at the walk-through is judged against a new flat. It is judged against your own flat as described on the day you moved in, in the entry report you signed then. Read it a week before the appointment, not the evening before.
A defect recorded on arrival is one you do not answer for; one that was there but never written down is very difficult to prove three years later. Bring photographs from your first days in the flat, emails to the managing agent about problems, and receipts for repairs.
Normal wear against damage
The legal test is short: the tenant returns the property in the condition resulting from its use in accordance with the contract. Living in a flat marks it, and those marks are not your liability; treating it badly is another matter. Wear from ordinary use is not charged to you: faded paint, a parquet dulled between the door and the kitchen, marks where furniture stood. Damage is: a burn, a crack, a forced door, a hole where a fitting was pulled out.
Between the two sits the age of the installations. Agencies generally work from depreciation tables giving each fitting an expected life, so an item near the end of that life is charged, if at all, only in proportion to what remained. An old kitchen is not replaced at your expense simply because it is old, and it is fair to ask how an item's age was taken into account. How that reaches your deposit is set out ingetting your rental deposit back.
Why it has to be written down and signed on the day
On return of the property the landlord inspects it and must notify the tenant immediately of any defects for which the tenant is liable. Where that does not happen the tenant is released, apart from defects a normal inspection could not reveal; those must be notified as soon as they are found.
This cuts both ways. It protects you: a complaint surfacing weeks after a clean walk-through stands on weaker ground. And it binds you: a list you signed is not easily reopened. So read the report before signing, and have any disagreement written into the document rather than arguing by email later. Ask for a copy, and photograph every room that day.
How to prepare
None of this is imposed by statute. It is what managing agents in Geneva generally expect to find, and getting it right turns a tense appointment into a short one.
- A thorough clean of the whole flat. Oven and hob, extractor filters, fridge and freezer defrosted, cupboards, windows and bathroom, with limescale removed from taps, screens and tiles.
- Small damage put right. Holes filled and touched up, silicone seals replaced where they have gone black, a cracked tile or broken blind slat dealt with beforehand.
- Every light working, with bulbs in every fitting, including the ones you never used.
- Everything mechanical working. Windows, blinds and their straps, radiator valves, ventilation, taps that do not drip.
- All the keys. Every key handed over at the start, any copy you had cut, plus mailbox and cellar keys, badges and remote controls. Missing keys are among the commonest deductions.
- Meter readings noted on the day: electricity, and water or heating where read separately.
- Supply contracts settled. Electricity, internet and telephone terminated or transferred from the handover date, plus any household liability insurance your lease required.
- A forwarding address left with the managing agent and the post office, so the final statement of running costs and the deposit paperwork reach you.
Where the appointment sits in the wider process
If you are reaching the end of your lease, the walk-through is the last step. If you are handing the lease to a successor, it closes a longer sequence: the file, the listing, the viewings, the presentation of candidates, the signature, and then this appointment. That order is on how it works, and the successor's file onwhat goes in a tenant file.
Our lease takeover service runs that sequence through to the inventory and the release of your lease, and we attend entry and exit inventories. No fee for the outgoing tenant when we find the successor, in exchange for two weeks of exclusivity.
This page describes the practice we see week to week in Geneva. It is general information and does not replace legal advice on your case.
Frequently asked questions
What is compared at the exit inventory?
The flat as it stands on the day against the entry report signed when you moved in. That document is the reference for every room: a defect noted on arrival protects you, an unnoted one does not.
Can defects be raised after the appointment?
Only in limited circumstances. On return of the property the landlord must notify the tenant immediately of any defects for which the tenant is liable; where that is not done the tenant is released, apart from defects a normal inspection could not reveal.
What if I disagree with something in the report?
Say so before signing, and have your objection written into the report itself. A signature under a list you dispute is hard to undo, whereas a recorded disagreement keeps the point open.
Hand over your lease with a team that does it every week
Tell us about your flat and your move-out date. We handle your file within 24 hours. When we find your incoming tenant, the service costs you nothing.