Family & Schools

What parents should check about storage at a Luxembourg viewing

Storage is the constraint that decides whether a family apartment works, and it is the one least visible in photographs. Eight checks, taken in the twenty minutes a viewing allows.

Why photographs conceal it

Listing photography is shot on a wide-angle lens and staged with the storage emptied. What it cannot show is wall run, and wall run rather than floor area is the binding constraint in almost every Luxembourg apartment.

Unfurnished lettings here frequently have no wardrobes at all, and built-in cupboards are the exception rather than the rule. So a room that photographs as generous may have nowhere to put anything, and the only way to know is to measure.

Bring a tape measure and a phone torch. The torch is for the cave, the boiler cupboard and the back of kitchen units, which are the three places where problems are visible and never photographed.

Check one: the longest uninterrupted wall in each bedroom

A standard wardrobe needs about two metres. A room with a door, a window and a radiator may have no such wall, which means bespoke joinery or a wardrobe standing where the bed should be.

Take the measurement in every bedroom, including the smallest, and write it down the same evening.

Check two: the wall within reach of the front door

Many Luxembourg apartments open directly from the front door into the living space. Two metres of clear wall near the entrance takes coats, shoes and school bags for a family of four; below a metre the pile moves into the living room whatever you buy.

Note the door swing as well, since a front door opening over the only usable wall removes it.

Check three: the cave, measured rather than described

Ask to be taken to it. Measure the floor area and the height separately, since a duct at head height removes most of the usable volume. Check the base of the walls for salt bloom or a tide mark, because a damp cellar stores nothing made of cardboard, fabric or paper.

Confirm which cave belongs to the apartment, that it is numbered, and that it is empty, since a cellar still holding the previous occupant's belongings becomes your problem to resolve. Have its condition recorded on the entry inventory.

Check four: what the building rules allow inside it

Most Luxembourg co-ownerships prohibit storing anything flammable and require cellar access routes to be kept clear, which is a fire-safety provision rather than a preference and is enforced.

Storing tyres, bicycles or boxes in an underground parking space is prohibited in many buildings for the same reason, so the cellar takes them rather than the garage. If your plan for winter tyres is the parking space, check the rules first.

Check five: the bicycle question

Ask whether the building has a local à vélos. Where one exists, bicycles are usually required to be kept there rather than in the cave or the corridor. Ask whether access is on the same key or badge, and whether there is a charging point, since electric bike battery storage is frequently covered by the rules on flammable items.

Where there is no bicycle store, the cave takes them, and a family with three bicycles and a small cellar has a problem no interior organisation solves.

Check six: the kitchen, which is storage as much as appliances

Open every cupboard and look at the back of the units with the torch. Count the drawers rather than the doors, since drawers hold considerably more usable volume.

Confirm what is included, because unfurnished in Luxembourg is frequently genuinely empty: whether there is an oven, hob, extractor, fridge and dishwasher, whether there is a washing machine connection and where, and whether any wardrobes or light fittings remain. Each is several hundred euros and a delivery slot.

Check seven: what the lift and stairwell will take

Measure the lift car's internal width, depth and height, the diagonal of its door, and the narrowest point of the stairwell including any turn. This is the constraint families discover on moving day.

In the converted townhouses that dominate Limpertsberg, Belair and the Gare district, a fourth floor without a lift is common, and a narrow winding staircase will not take a wardrobe or a large mattress. Where a hoist is required and the facade faces a narrow street, a permit from the commune may be needed, which is not a same-day arrangement.

Check eight: the common parts, which cannot be used

Landings, corridors and cellar passages are common parts of the copropriété. Storing anything there is prohibited in most buildings, and the enforcement chain runs from the syndic to the owner and then to the tenant.

Ask for the règlement de copropriété and any règlement d'ordre intérieur before signing, since most leases bind the tenant to respect them and they govern exactly these questions.

Three questions we are asked

Can I ask to see the cave if the agent has not offered? Yes, and a refusal is information. It is part of the property and its size varies enormously.

What if the storage is inadequate but everything else works? Price external storage as a recurring monthly cost and add it to the rent when comparing, rather than assuming you will manage.

Which check has the highest return? The wall near the entrance, followed by the cave. Between them they determine whether a family's daily and seasonal equipment has anywhere to live.

The questions to ask the agent, in writing

Five, and the answers are worth having before an offer rather than after.

Which cave belongs to this apartment, what is its number, and will it be empty at handover. Does the building have a bicycle store, and is access on the same key or badge. Is a parking space included, is it an assigned lot, and what do the building rules permit inside it. What exactly is included in the kitchen. And can you see the règlement de copropriété and any règlement d'ordre intérieur.

The speed and precision of the reply is itself information, particularly for a purchase, where you will be dealing with the same syndic for as long as you own the lot.

Recording it so it survives the search

Write the eight measurements down the same evening rather than afterwards. Longest wall per bedroom, wall near the entrance, cave area and height, bicycle store yes or no, kitchen contents, lift car dimensions, stairwell narrowest point, and what the building rules restrict.

After four viewings the apartment you remember as having good storage will be the one with the best light. The sheet is the only reliable record you will have.

Three questions we are asked

Is an unfurnished apartment really empty? Frequently yes, including light fittings and kitchen appliances. Confirm in writing what stays rather than assuming, since each item is several hundred euros and a delivery slot.

Can I add storage to the balcony? Check first. The facade is almost always a common part even where the balcony is for your exclusive use, so anything fixed to a railing or visible from outside frequently requires the general assembly's authorisation.