Apartment handover (Wohnungsabnahme).
Joint walk-through by tenant and landlord at move-in and move-out, with a written record.
The Wohnungsabnahme is the joint walk-through by tenant and landlord (or their property management) at move-in and move-out. It documents the state of the apartment in writing: walls, floors, appliances, doors, windows.
At move-in: record every defect in the protocol and photograph everything. The landlord has to prove that damage arose during your tenancy (art. 8 ZGB), but an entry protocol makes it much easier to show that a defect was already there.
At move-out: you return the flat in the condition that results from normal use under the lease; normal wear and tear is not yours to pay (art. 267 OR). The landlord must check the flat and report the defects you are liable for at once, or lose those claims, except for defects a usual inspection could not reveal (art. 267a OR). Damage you caused (a hole in the wall, burn marks) can be charged to you, for example from the deposit.
Important: if the landlord refuses to record a defect, describe it straight away in a registered letter and keep the photos. That is evidence; it does not replace the protocol.
General information, not legal advice.
General information, not legal advice.