Someone broke the door of my mailbox, old age may have contributed, and apparently, according to the verwaltung, I have to pay for the replacement (through my public liability insurance - which I don't have). Now, I'm just curious if this is true? I wouldn't know where to start looking for info to verify this. Nothing in the sales contract says I own the mailbox either...

(Btw, we're talking in the region of 400Fr to replace! I'm thinking of buying a couple of door hinges and DIYing the job...)

For a letter box!

I am not sure who is liable, but I would have thought the owner would have to stump up the cash. Its their responsibility to look after it, no??

I may be completely wrong (but its safe to say someone more knowledgeable will come along and correct me). I know I would contest paying for it if I were in your shoes.

I think it boils down to that. Who is the owner? The mailbox unit is outside and seperate to the apartment block at street level. When I bought the apartment, there was nothing in the contract about owning the share of the letterbox unit.

We also contribute to upkeep and repair of the building financially, so I would have thought that this was the kind of thing such payments were for. I dunno...

Does your apartment block have an owner's association? If yes, do they have some by-laws or something which may determine who is responsible for the upkeep of what?

Did you buy the mailbox?
Was there when you arrived?
Will you take it with you?

If you answer 'no, 'yes' and 'no' then clearly the mailbox is not yours.

So who does it belong to? The house owner. So just like the washing machine, dishwasher, which also belong to the house owner - you are not responsible for repairs. Unless of course you deliberately broke it...

When I bought the apartment....

As you say AbFab....the house owner. The OP is the owner...not a tenant.

Didn't spot that in the OP's second post. Then it's a stupid question. As the owner he pays - who else will other than an insurance company??