We live in a new apartment in a genossenschaft. It has a wooden (parquet?) floor that looks great but seems like a bit of a liability, particularly with kids. Chairs etc mark it easily, even with cork feet on the legs, and looking at it funny is enough to dent it. I’m trying hard to keep it in good condition but it’s certainly more work than anything I’ve lived with before.

Anyway, the other day some water was spilled on it and not noticed/cleaned up immediately Now there’s a small patch where the wooden segments have raised edges (“cupping”, I believe it’s called). Firstly, is the damage likely to resolve itself to some degree as the wood dries out? Secondly, should I tell the landlord/genossenschaft about this now or when we move out? What about liability insurance — does one claim at the time any damage was done or is it used when moving out of an apartment, when any damage is assessed for the purposes of returning a deposit?

I think that you report damage during the tenancy only when you want the damage immediately repaired. Conversely your floor is going to suffer a lot more damage till you move out so why would you report anything now. Wait till the end and pay the damages once. There is something called life-expectancy of things so maybe you'll rent that apartment for ten or more years so damages would be expected and cost you nothing at the time of moving out.

How much water and how long?

Parquet can be a pain but it shouldn't be that bad, it sounds like they didn't seal it properly after installation.

I'd guess maybe 200ml and something like 15 minutes. It was from my kid's water cup — it's pretty good at not leaking water, except when the lid is a bit loose and it's laying on its side.


I guess I'll see if it improves with time.

Had some scratches on the floor from sofa. When moving out, informed my landlord, took some pics and sent the claim to my liability insurance. They paid the bill for repairs without asking any questions. Solved.

OP, you should inform your insurance right away when you become aware, this applies in general. Your contract will mention how long you have for this, I'd expect 2 or 3 days (though in practice nobody will come to check if you're late in a small case like this).

A phone call will do, requesting a written confirmation is recommended so you can prove your reporting (and know to call again in a couple days if it didn't arrive). You want to make sure your claim doesn't lapse if the actual repair is delayed, AFAIK it lapses after two years.

IMHO you should also inform the Genossenschaft, they may decide that it's better to repair right away, e.g. to avoid additional damage.

For anyone following along at home: after a few days the swelling had reduced a lot and a week later it’s barely noticeable. I’d be amazed if anyone could even tell something had leaked by the time we leave. Glad I didn’t tell anyone now!