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Swiss rental crisis: Zurich apartment owner demands 27,000-franc deposit

It's a dog-eat-dog world for people trying to rent an apartment in Zurich with a supply shortage meaning landlords wield an extraordinary amount of power.

Published: 3 April 2018 13:08 CEST
Swiss rental crisis: Zurich apartment owner demands 27,000-franc deposit
File photo: AFP

One family in the city found that out the hard way recently when they decide to move out from their 70-square metre apartment because it was no longer big enough.

They eventually found a three-bedroom basement apartment on the outskirts of Zurich. “At just under 3,000 francs a month it is right at the top of our price limit. But my three kids – the youngest in kindergarten and the oldest in the first year of high school – have to share a room at the moment. Slowly they are getting to the age where that just doesn’t work,” the mother of the family told Swiss tabloid Blick.

Read also: Here's why Swiss rents are so painfully high right now

The family went ahead and lodged an expression of interest in the apartment, providing the usual mountain of paperwork required by Swiss property owners. The mother of the three children does not work, but her husband, originally from Cuba, works full time and provided details of his income to the landlord along with employment references, as is standard.

Also provided were details of a rental income coming in from a holiday property owned in Ticino.

But these details were not sufficient: the owner then asked if the family were willing to hand over their income tax forms so that their wealth could be assessed.

All of the paperwork was green-lighted but there was a final turn of the screw: the apartment owner asked if the family were prepared to stump up a deposit of nine months’ rent almost 27,000 francs, despite the fact that asking for a deposit totalling more than three months’ rent in Switzerland is illegal.

The illegal deposit would also need to transferred to a private account, rather than the legally stipulated rental deposit account (Mietkautionskonto/Compte de garantie de loyer/ conto deposito di garanzia). Otherwise, the family’s application “could not go ahead,” the landlord said.

The family then withdrew their application, saying they were not prepared to go ahead.

Contacted by Blick, the owner justified the huge deposit by saying he was also a father and had wanted to the family a chance to get their hands on the apartment. “I could have just sent them a neutral rejection letter,” he said.

He also readily admitted that he had asked for the deposit to be paid directly to him rather than setting up a legal deposit account because he knew that asking for nine months’ rent was illegal.

Read also: Zurich rents are the most expensive in Switzerland

Ruedi Spöndlin, a legal expert with the Swiss tenants' association MV, told Blick that while he had heard of other examples of landlords asking for deposits to be transferred to a private account, this was the first time he had heard of a nine-month deposit.

The tenancy expert added that, in theory, if the family had paid the hefty deposit, they could then have signed the contract and demanded the money be repaid to them. The sum could even have been considered “rent in advance”, he explained.

It is not known whether anyone else has subsequently coughed up the deposit in question.

The great rental squeeze

With demand for rental apartments far outstripping supply in cities like Geneva and Zurich, finding a place to live can be a painful experience.

Add to that the increasingly volume of paperwork required (this can include, for example, an extract from the debt collection register) and the fact that property owners often use the departure of former tenants to boost rental prices, and the property search can become traumatic.

Another sensitive issue is related to a lack of transparency over how property owners charge for supplementary costs related to items such as heating, hot water or cable television. When these are paid in advance (akonto/par acompte/ acconto), tenants are invoiced once a year and are either repaid if they have paid too much or must make up the shortfall if they have not paid enough.

The Swiss government advises tenants to examine these invoices very carefully.

For members

LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Checklist: What you need to do if you move house in Switzerland

Moving from one house or apartment in Switzerland to another is not as simple as just packing up your furniture. Instead, the process involves quite a few administrative tasks.

Published: 25 January 2024 12:10 CET
Checklist: What you need to do if you move house in Switzerland

Anyone who has ever moved, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere, knows it is not just a matter of simple logistics.

In fact, whether you are relocating to another town or canton, or just to another neighbourhood, moving is a big, expensive, time-consuming, and stressful experience.

These are various tasks you will have to cross off your list, one by one.

Getting your old apartment in order

It goes without saying that before you move out, you must make sure to leave the place clean and in order. Most people hire a cleaning company to do so, though you can, of course, do this yourself.

If, for instance, you broke or damaged anything while living in the apartment, you must repair it before you leave.

The condition of the apartment will be assessed during the final inspection process, when the landlord or the management company will write down all damages which you are responsible for either repairing yourself or paying someone else to do it for you.

You are not officially off the hook with your previous landlord until this process is completed.

De-register your old address and register the new one

Whether you are moving across the country or just across the street, this is an obligatory step.

You must let your ‘old’ commune’s population office (Einwohnerkontrolle / Contrôle des habitants/ Controllo abitanti) know you are leaving, and from which date.

You can do so either in person or (if available) online.

Then, when you settle in a new home, you have 14 days to announce your arrival in your new municipality, though in some places the deadline may be longer.

You will need the following documents:

  • A passport or ID card for each member of the family, in addition to a passport-sized photo for everyone
  • Documents relating to your family status — whether you are single, married, and with children
  • Your work or residency permit 
  • Your lease contract or proof of home ownership
  • Your health insurance card or proof of your current health insurance policy.

The rules are the same regardless of where you arrive from, that is, if you are Swiss, an EU citizen or from a third country, however the supporting documentation may vary. 

Some cantons may require other or additional documents, which you can find out ahead of time on your commune or canton’s website.

READ ALSO: Why you need to tell Swiss authorities where you live 

Inform the post office about your change of address

To ensure that your mail arrives at your new home, fill out the ‘change of address’ form online at least four days before your move. 

Four days is a minimum required time for the post office to process the address change and register it in the electronic database.

If you wait longer, your mail will continue to be delivered to  the old address.

You also should notify these companies of your move and new address:

  • Your mobile telephone / internet provider (if you still have a fixed phone, you should have it switched off at the old address and re-activated at the new one)
  • Your bank
  • Your insurance companies (health, car, and any other ones you have, both mandatory and optional)
  • Your doctor / dentist

If you forget to inform anyone of your new address, no worries — the post office will automatically forward the letters to you, provided your notified them of the change (see above).

What about the tax office?

You don’t have to do a thing.

Your local commune will automatically inform tax authorities of your move, so there is no chance whatsoever that they won’t find you.

Rental versus owned property

If you move into a rental property, you don’t need to, in most cases, notify utility providers like the electric company of your move.

But if you are going to live in your own house, then you must let the local power company know to switch on your electricity supply.
 

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