As of tomorrow the new Referenzzinsatz is 2.75 (down from 3%), so you might be eligible for a reduction in your rent (http://www.bwo.admin.ch/themen/mietr...x.html?lang=de). Check on your contracts or earlier reduction allowances what the % was. The Mieterverband suggests that if it is 3.25% or higher you probably are eligible for a reduction (www.mieterverband.ch).
I have no further information, but thought I d share this in case it comes in useful for some of you. You will need to officially apply for the reduction by the next notice date of your contract.

Would the Referenzzinssatz sink any further in December ?

Referenzzinssatz - Mietzinsreduktion / Mietzinsherabsetzungsbegehren ( quite a lengthy word - EN Rent Reduction Request ).

There are decent sample letters in the following link that one can customise:

http://www.law-news.ch/2010/12/mietz...tzinsreduktion

Word sample from Beobachter is here



Source: ( Federal Office of Housing )Officialdom

Hi all,

I've been informed by a friend that we might be in title for a reduction on our rent due to the drop of the mortgage interest rate.
By Swiss law (apparently) means that if your rent is linked to the reference rate you could be due a discount. Some landlords do this automatically but it seems with the majority you have to make the request in writing.

Has someone already done it?
Does someone have any further informations?

By the way, this hold be the letter to make the request:

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
Den Medien konnten wir entnehmen, dass der Referenzzinssatz für Hypotheken gesunken ist. Wir ersuchen Sie höflich, unsere Nettomiete auf den nächsten Kündigungstermin entspre-
chend zu reduzieren und dabei auch allfällig noch nicht weitergegebene frühere Hypothe- karzinssenkungen zu berücksichtigen. Gleichzeitig bitten wir Sie um eine entsprechende schriftliche Bestätigung innert 30 Tagen.
Sollten Sie unserem Herabsetzungsbegehren nicht oder nur teilweise entsprechen können, bitten wir Sie, uns Ihre Gründe innert der gleichen Frist mitzuteilen.
Freundliche Grüsse

I wrote in Dec to our rental company more of less what you wrote in German and we got the reduction (starts as of April 1st). Good luck!

Good on you! It seems like it takes a while for reduced interest rates to reduce the reference interest rate and subsequently reduce rents.

I doubt many landlords would have locked in for 5+ years at 3.5%+ and i'm sure many don't even have mortgages. Does anyone know if landlords that don't have a mortgage are allowed to state a reference interest rate on their contracts? That would be so unfair!

I don't see why. Why should a landlord be penalised by the way he or she finances their investment? On that logic, the less careful a landlord who borrowed badly, would be able to charge a higher rent.

It is though a wicked system that allows rents to legally rise when the Interest rates go up, but when they go down, reductions have to be demanded. You will also find the reduction for say 1/2% drop will never be as large as the rise for the same move upwards in rates...

I agree. It takes all the interest rate risk out of being a landlord with a mortgage. ..and they can still increase rents because the reference rate increases - even when they don't have a mortgage.

i don't like this system at all. tenants should agree and pay a certain rent and the landlord should bear the risk of IR fluctuations. it seems crazy to me that tenants are responsible for repairs, ir risks and depreciation. they might as well buy!

Situation for a friend:

The apartment has been rented for around 5 years and during this time the rent was increased once due to an increase in the reference rate.

Since the rate has been decreased several times, with no corresponding adjustment to the rent, my friend wrote to the LL and requested a rent reduction in Q1 2012.

The LL has refused so far and said it was too late to reduce rent and they must wait until Oct 2012 and then see what the rates are and if they are increased or decreased.

Anyone know what the legal position is?

I wrote in mid Jan 2012 and will get a reduced rent from Apr 2012.

A useful tool:

http://www.mietrecht.ch/51.0.html

Worth reading: http://www.referenz-zinssatz.ch/

After reading this thread I applied for the rent reduction, and I will be getting a 10% reduction after 3 months, which is the next contract period date.

Thank you very much!

.5% reduction in Zins is leading to a 10% reduction in Rent...are you sure??

I received a 3% reduction, which I thought was the anticipated average.

Not sure about the waiting part on rates, but it's probably legal/correct that if your friend only wrote in 2012, it won't be until October that a reduction kicks into effect if one is granted. This corresponds to the two dates per year one can give notice. I made the same mistake although I received a reduction from October onwards.

Just a note of warning - this is far from as simple as it might at first look. Despite there having been 4 reductions in the reference rate since our move here, we have only received one rental reduction (2 years ago)

We requested a further reduction after the last reference rate reduction but this was declined due to a 'reserve' of 10% built into our contract. The negative response was accompanied by a breakdown from an official website where all the data was input including figures referencing all sorts of seemingly esoteric stuff which proved that whilst we were technically entitled to a reduction that the landlord was not required to pass it on as it did not amount to a difference of more than 10% of what we were paying or somesuch - and whats more words to the effect that we are lucky that the landlord doesn't increase the rent to the upper end of that 10% reserve!

I.e. this whole system is a bit of bean-counters delight and a bloody frustration for the rest of us. Its right up there with being expected to pay for a faulty kitchen installation in a rented apartment!

Thanks guys for this post, cause I received a letter in jan 2012 from the rental agency with a reduction on my rent starting on May 2012, didn't know anything about this rates, I thought it was a prize or a discount for newcomers.....
And I also received a letter from the energy& electricity department here in Basel that I can apply for a money bonus ( in my case around some hundred chf)....I thought it was a joke at first too, but I read that you can apply for it til the deadline which I think is May the 15th here in Basel)
For further Infos here's the website for the city of Basel ( in german)
www.bonusbasel.ch

Yes I am sure, I have lived here for 3 years, and maybe benefitting from a good landlord, and several reductions (2.85 to 0.8% ??)

Rent was originally 1'720 and new rent is 1'590 and reduction is only 7.55%

About the Referenzzinssatz rate. It sank a little bit.

Source: http://www.bwo.admin.ch/themen/mietr...x.html?lang=de