Can I use my haftpflichtversicherung if I fix the broken door handle of my flat?

[bobMorane 52]

I broke the balcony's door handle which is one of these Twist Handle models. I prefer to replace it myself instead of asking the landlord to send a technician to the apartment. The new one costs around 80 Euros. But I'm sure a technician would charge the landlord (or me) much more than that. My question is if I buy a new one and replace it myself, would my haftpflichtversicherung reimburse the cost of the handle?

What is a convenient way to handle these issues without causing any complications between insurance, the landlord, and the tenant?

[mtbiking 1,883]

This doesn’t answer your question directly, but my tenant broke the garden door last year while moving some furniture out and it was regulated though his Haftpflicht. It caused me some bureaucratic hassle but I was happy that he compensated for that by paying up on his own initiative the difference between the actual repair costs and what the insurance offered to pay up in first instance -> otherwise I’d have been forced to sue the money out of the insurance company (more hassle).

 

honestly, it’s €80. I’d just repair it.

[bobMorane 52]

1 minute ago, mtbiking said:

Yes. My tenant broke the garden door last year while moving some furniture out and it was regulated though his Haftpflicht. It caused me some bureaucratic hassle but I was happy that he compensated for that by paying up on his own initiative the difference between the actual repair costs and what the insurance offered to pay up in first instance -> otherwise I’d have been forced to sue the money out of the insurance company.

So, what do you suggest I do? 

[mtbiking 1,883]

2 minutes ago, bobMorane said:

So, what do you suggest I do? 

yeah, I misread your question the first time. I’d just replace it as €80 is not worth the hassle. I like my current tenants much more than the previous ones: they never call me *
 

* which means I’m not inclined to increase their rent. Live and let live and all that.

[bobMorane 52]

1 minute ago, mtbiking said:

yeah, I misread your question the first time. I’d just replace it as €80 is not worth the hassle. I like my current tenants much more than the previous ones: they never call me 

No hard feelings, but shouldn't I take that advice when I'm the landlord myself? 

What is the bureaucratic process if I want to fix it myself and get reimbursed as well? 

[mtbiking 1,883]

2 hours ago, bobMorane said:

No hard feelings, but shouldn't I take that advice when I'm the landlord myself? 

What is the bureaucratic process if I want to fix it myself and get reimbursed as well? 

I don’t know if they’re more easy going as it’s a small amount of money, but your landlord will have to accompany the process, not you. You basically just give your landlord your insurance number and at most get a claim number. I don’t know how the insurance will react if the landlord sends them the material bill - in the couple cases I had a claim I’ve always needed a Handwerker. On the other hand, the worst that can happen is that they say no.

[mtbiking 1,883]

One problem (which I had) is that insurance companies as a rule don’t pay new for old. They’ll inquire about age, artificially compute the state of degradation etc and in the end if all works out they’ll offer you half of what it actually costs to replace the broken stuff. Hence the hassle (for us, for them it’s worth it).

[klingklang77 490]

I think door handles are included in Schönheitsreparaturen. Not sure if it will be covered by your insurance. 

[mtbiking 1,883]

48 minutes ago, klingklang77 said:

I think door handles are included in Schönheitsreparaturen. Not sure if it will be covered by your insurance. 

no they’re not. Schönheitsreparaturen don’t include broken things. If the tenant breaks something by accident (not by wear and tear) or on purpose he is always liable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a window, a door or the kitchen sink.

[fraufruit 41,946]

This is interesting. The door handle to our front balcony is iffy. We just discussed it. Our landlord will replace it when needed. It is part of his property. We would do the same for our tenant in our rental.

 

Good grief. It's winter and the handle is broken. How do you close it or go in and out? You could at least ask.

[mtbiking 1,883]

38 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

This is interesting. The door handle to our front balcony is iffy. We just discussed it. Our landlord will replace it when needed. It is part of his property. We would do the same for our tenant in our rental.

That reads like normal wear and tear though. In that case the landlord should indeed replace it. In my case, for example, my tenants hit the sliding door with a piece of furniture and it bent the railings - their fault. I’m lucky they were honest and assumed it from start. In another occasion, one bathtub’s tap was so internally damaged by erosion that it wouldn’t stop dripping, and I replaced both of them.

 

[fraufruit 41,946]

1 minute ago, mtbiking said:

That reads like normal wear and tear though. In that case the landlord should indeed replace it. In my case, for example, my tenants hit the sliding door with a piece of furniture and it bent the railings - their fault. I’m lucky they’re honest and assumed it from start.

 

 

You are correct. The op admitted to breaking it. He should fix it. As for his insurance, all he has to do is ask. Not here on TT.

[mtbiking 1,883]

6 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

 

You are correct. The op admitted to breaking it. He should fix it. As for his insurance, all he has to do is ask. Not here on TT.

they won’t tell him. They’ll just register the event and wait to be contacted by the landlord.

[fraufruit 41,946]

That is not how our insurance works. We make the claim, not the landlord. At least that's how it was years ago when we used it for a broken window that slammed shut.

[sluzup 249]

With most insurance policies, there is an excess so you would be very unlikely to get 80 Euro back and might not get anything, but it could affect your premiums.  I would check your policy before contacting the insurance company. 

 

I am very wary of insurance companies...my husband once hit a young cyclist who went off the pavement into the road.  The cyclist admitted fault.  My husband contacted his insurance company and  they said they would only do the repair at a particular garage.  The garage said it would cost 600 pounds to repair and the insurance company said they would get the boy's parents to pay.  My husband took it to his usual garage and they did the essential repairs for 50 pounds.  (We didn't worry about the dent.) So my husband didn't claim but he still lost his no claims bonus for 3 years as the insurance company said the boy's parents had 3 years in which to claim off him.

[RedMidge 6,638]

21 hours ago, fraufruit said:

 

You are correct. The op admitted to breaking it. He should fix it. As for his insurance, all he has to do is ask. Not here on TT.

 

Often the tenant's contact  will state that small repairs are the responsibility of the tenant. We rented one place , where repairs under €100 were our responsibility,  As very few repairs seem to cost that little- never applied to us!

[Keleth 9,279]

On 22/12/2022, 17:13:35, bobMorane said:

So, what do you suggest I do? 

Try.

You may be lucky in that they think €80 is not worth the hassle of arguing about.

[klingklang77 490]

On 22/12/2022, 20:55:21, mtbiking said:

no they’re not. Schönheitsreparaturen don’t include broken things. If the tenant breaks something by accident (not by wear and tear) or on purpose he is always liable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a window, a door or the kitchen sink.

 

Sorry, I was not clear. Door handles are something the tenant has to pay for. Whereas if something in the frame breaks, then you are not responsible for that. I went through this recently with the Mieterverein and certain things mean that you are responsible. My sliding door flew off the frame and the landlord tried to not pay for it and said I was responsible because the price to repair it was under the Schönheitsreparaturen clause in my contract. I went to the Mieterverein and they said since it wasn’t the handle, then I wasn’t responsible for it.

 

They then also went on and said you are responsible if the woven handle for your Rollladen breaks, then that is on you, but motors and switches are not your responsibility. It doesn’t matter the cost of it. 

 

I don’t think insurance would cover this. 

 

Hopefully, that is clearer. 

[bobMorane 52]

To give an update about the result, my Schönheitsreparaturen doesn't cover anything under 120€, so I sent a claim to the insurance. After a couple of interrogation rounds by the insurance company, they categorized it under "wear and tear,". They said that, presumably, I've been applying too much pressure on the door handle recently. Otherwise, it'd be filed under intentional damages due to deliberate excessive force! Either way, the insurance doesn't see itself bound to pay me the repair cost.

 

This 80€ repair isn't a real pain nor a life-changing situation for me. But, it made me realize how much I can rely on such an insurance type (or that company) if I accidentally cause more serious property damage in the future.