Apartment hand-over in Zurich. You open the door, the property manager arrives with the inspection report, and the eyes go straight to the wall: 14 drill holes from the TV, 6 from the living-room shelf, 4 from the coat rack. The manager notes "tenant to repair". What to do now — and when it's worth calling someone.
What the Swiss tenancy contract says
Most Swiss tenancy contracts state that "small damage from normal use" must be fixed before move-out. That includes drill holes, anchor holes, small cracks in plaster, and minor wall discolouration. What's not included: normal wear of floor coverings, yellowed wall paint after 8+ years, or small scratches on window sills.
Important: just because the manager notes something as "tenant's responsibility" in the report doesn't make it automatic. For disputed points, stay calm and dispute them in writing — but drill holes in the wall almost always really are the tenant's responsibility.
Two paths: do it yourself or call a pro
There are two reasonable paths. The first: do it yourself. You'll need filler (Knauf Uniflott or equivalent), a small spatula, 240-grit sandpaper, a brush or roller, and ideally some leftover original wall paint. Effort for 10-15 small holes: about 45 minutes plus 4 hours drying. Material cost: CHF 25-40.
The second: call someone. Advantage: it's done in 1-2 hours and the result is invisible from 30 cm away. Cost: for a 3-room apartment with normal hole counts, CHF 280-420.
When does a pro pay off? Rule of thumb: if you have more than 20 holes, if the wall colour isn't standard white or beige (colour matching is the hardest part), or if you have little time before the inspection.
Filling step by step
1. Clean the hole
Use a screwdriver or scribe to remove any anchor or screw remnants. If anchors tear out, that's normal — small tears can be filled at the same time.
2. First coat
Press filler into the hole with a small spatula, slightly overfilling — it shrinks a bit when drying. Pull smooth.
3. Drying
Wait at least 2-3 hours until the filler is fully dry (edges turn light). Up to 6 hours in humid rooms.
4. Sanding
Lightly sand the spot with fine sandpaper (240) until it's flush with the wall. Run your finger over it — when you can no longer feel a bump, it's done.
5. Second coat (often needed)
Deep holes rarely take just one coat — a second, thinner coat makes the result perfect.
6. Colour matching
If you have the original paint: apply thinly with a brush, ideally with a small foam mini-roller. CHF 4 from any hardware store. Never with the brush alone — the brush texture is visible.
When the wall colour doesn't match
The most common sticking point. Even "white" has dozens of undertones. If the original colour is no longer available, two solutions: (a) chip a piece of the wall, take it to a paint shop, and have a matching colour mixed with the spectral mixer (CHF 25-40 per litre), or (b) repaint the entire wall — usually cheaper than producing 14 perfectly matched dots.
The pro version, briefly
When we come, we do all the holes in one pass: first coat everywhere, move to the next wall in parallel, on the way back coat 2, then sand, then colour-match. The filler we use dries faster (30 minutes vs 3 hours) and doesn't shrink. Result: 2 hours of work for 30 drill holes in a 3-room apartment, all invisible, without you lifting a finger.
One day before hand-over — what to do?
If hand-over is tomorrow and you still have 25 holes: stay calm. We often have slots free same-day or the day before. Send a photo of the walls via WhatsApp and we'll tell you whether it's still doable and what it costs. We typically come the evening before and repair in 2 hours what the manager won't find the next morning.