Both landlords and tenants are well advised if they jointly fill out a handover of the apartment both when they move and move out. Such handover protocols protect both sides from unpleasant surprises.
Housing protocol as proof
Tenants and landlords should create a housing protocol together both when moving in and excerpted in order to avoid later inconsistencies about the condition of the rental property. In case of doubt, both parties have a document in hand to underpin their argument if it comes to demands or objections at a later date. As part of the protocol, existing damage that is determined during the handover of the apartment or the takeover is recorded as well as the exact condition of the rental property.
This has to be considered
It is advisable to create the protocol that is made as part of the commission of the rental property in one day on which all furniture has already been removed and all the necessary renovation and cleaning measures have been carried out. During the inspection, any damage is then documented and noted whether it is use and locking traces or possibly damage that causes a necessary repair.
The following priorities should be checked
On the one hand, it should be checked whether the general condition of the apartment corresponds to that of the condition agreed in the rental agreement. It is important to identify any damage and document it in the handover protocol. The typical damage includes scratches in the parquet, damaged tiles as well as defective installations, electrical appliances or heating. Moist areas on the walls or mold stains are also recorded. Ideally, any defects such as damage to tiles, fittings and the fitted kitchen or moisture damage, deep scratches in the parquet and broken glass should also be photographed. As a rule, courts recognize such images as evidence, according to the Immowelt advisor.
If all rooms are in perfect condition and the apartment when handed over a broom, this should also be noted in the acceptance protocol. If the apartment has to be handed over freshly renovated, it should also be checked whether it was really freshly painted. Also in the handover protocol includes agreements that are made of necessary repairs or similar. As a result, all meter readings relating to the rental property are included in the protocol. If there is a separate heating oil tank for the apartment or the house, the accurate stand should also be noted here. In addition, the type and number of the keys passed are documented.
Always create the handover of the apartment in duplicate in duplicate
The housing handover protocol should always be created in double execution. “If both parties receive a copy of the protocol after the apartment is handed over, this can lead to problems,” Maximilian Klug, specialist lawyer for rental and housing property law, explains to Immowelt. In theory, both landlords and tenants could write something into the protocol afterwards. Accordingly, at the end of the tenancy, a handover protocol signed by both parties should be present in a double execution.
Representation by a third party
Normally, it is usually the outgoing tenant and landlord who together examine the rental property in order to create the handover of the apartment together. However, in order to properly return the rental property to the landlord, according to FRACHALTICHAT.de, both the tenant and the landlord can be represented by a authorized third party. In addition to the two contracting parties or their representatives, witnesses are also increasingly being consulted in order to hand over the transfer of the rental property. These must then also be listed by name in the handover of the apartment.
Editor finance.net