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Kuvassa kaksi lasta piirtää kodin seinään. Kuva on tehty tekoälyn avulla (Adobe Firefly).

Who pays for the damage to your home?

What should I do if I lose my key? Or when my children draw on the walls and my dog chews up the skirting boards. Many things can happen when life gets busy. However, it is fair that everyone pays for the damage they have caused, which is not considered normal wear and tear.

Living a normal life and decorating the home leaves marks in every home. Normal wear and tear includes marks on the wall caused by hanging pictures and dents on the floor caused by the furniture, and of course these do not incur any costs for the resident.  

The resident is responsible for the damage they have caused 

An accident can happen to anyone. However, it is fair that everyone is responsible for the damage they have caused. In addition, the lessee is also responsible for any damage caused by their guests. We have about 17,000 apartments, and sorting out minor damage and invoicing the related costs are everyday tasks.  

One of the most commonly damaged item is the handbasin. The handbasin can crack if, for example, a bottle of perfume or a glass jar of face cream falls on it. Other typical damages include losing a key and breaking the fridge shelves or handle.  

You can find on our website the up-to-date resident invoicing price list, according to which we primarily charge compensation. We also have the option to invoice according to the incurred costs. When invoicing involves an old damaged household appliance, we apply the age-reduction principle. 

The price list can be found on the pages Division of responsibilities and Instructions for those moving out.  

Report the damage to the maintenance company as soon as possible. It is recommended to report issues via the resident’s online service EAsy. When you report issues while logged in to EAsy, you can follow the progress of your case in the online service.

Blocked drains are easy to avoid  

Blocked drains are unfortunately common. Often the blockage is caused by things that do not belong in the drain in the first place. Do not flush down the toilet anything extra and do not pour cooking fat into the kitchen sink – no matter how small a quantity.  

It is a good idea to have a rubbish bin in the toilet. This makes it easy to put rubbish in the right place.  

You can put a jar next to the kitchen sink so that you can pour any remaining cooking fat from the frying pan into it. Once cooled down, you can also wipe the cooking fat off with kitchen paper.  

Remember to sort cooking fat correctly. Let the cooking fat turn solid and sort it into biowaste. Small amounts of cooled fat can also be absorbed into kitchen paper and sorted into biowaste. If the cooking fat is liquid, pour it into a plastic container or a milk carton, for example, close the carton tightly with tape and sort it into mixed waste.

Water damage restoration costs a lot of money 

Water damage is particularly unpleasant, as the invoice sum can be significant. If the resident has caused the damage through negligence or intentionally, the invoice will be sent to the resident for payment.  

Dishwashers are the largest single cause of water damage. Their hoses can be old and worn out and have holes in them. If you buy your own dishwasher for the apartment, any resulting damage is your responsibility, even if the machine was installed by a professional. It is recommended to check the dishwasher hoses regularly. If you remove the dishwasher it is important to plug the water connections! 

We recommend taking out a home insurance policy, as it can be a great help in case of an accident. In the case of an accident, find out whether your home insurance covers it.

Final cleaning can slip your mind when fussing about moving out  

When the resident moves out, they must empty the apartment and carry out a thorough final cleaning. A list of the contents of the final cleaning can be found on our website under Instructions for those moving out

Typical causes of invoices are items left behind in the apartment and an untidy apartment. Emptying of the apartment is invoiced according to the incurred costs. Please remember that the resident must defrost the freezer before moving out. Not defrosting the freezer can cause major water damage.  

When defrosting the freezer, protect the floor around the freezer with towels so that the water that melts from the freezer does not drip on the floor and cause water damage.

Picture: Adobe Firefly