We are interested in moving into a place with two rooms which have quite horrible, old carpets. Other rooms already have parkett. Now, we are at the top of the list it seems, but having a wooden/parkett floor rather than carpet is really important to me.

How reasonable is it to ask them to replace the carpet with something wooden like? (They do not seem very willing so far). I have seen many apartments where every owner renovated this way without any hassle, but that was in another kanton.

Is it fair for us to ask, or am I dreaming? The owner does want to increase the rent by 100 CHF, which I think is because of the interest rate hike, and not because of increased fuel costs etc.

I calculated the cost based on someone here who said parket costs 50chf/m2 and 25chf/m2 to lay it, and the surface is 34m2 so it is about 2.5k before adding costs like carpet removal and glueing and fitting, which could add another 1-2k apparently. They did not seem to plan many other renovations after the previous family with kids move out, so maybe it is not unreasonable, if we agree to the rent increase?

do you know how old the carpets are?

edit: from the basement - http://www.englishforum.ch/apartment....html#post8758

Hi,

I was in a very similar situation just a few weeks ago.

I rented an apartment where the laminate floors (kinda like parquet but cheaper) were stained by the sun and the walls were dirty.

When I moved in I simply wrote them a letter (not in English) and attached pictures of the ugly floors and walls. Very politely, I asked them when they would come to fix it.

They hemmed and hawed, and finally sent people in.

"fixing" the walls meant passing a little brush on small sections, but not improving a thing.

The floors had not been replaced yet but upon seeing what "fixing" the walls meant to them I called the boss landlord dude on the phone (it is important you get to the top boss responsible person, not just some secretary or trainee or temp or someone without the power to make real decisions).

Very politely I invited him to my apt to see how unsatisfactory this "fixing" had been.

When he arrived, in a very comical combination of bad german and a lot of smiles, and good sense of humor, I conveyed to him the point that such walls were unacceptable.

He argued a bit, but after me continuing to be pleasant throughout, he popped out the cell phone and made two phone calls.

A week and a half later I have brand new floors and pristine clean, freshly painted walls.

Maybe the trick is just in how you ask. If the apartment has not been renovated for a while, and the carpets are really bad, you may be able to get something.

However, my hunch is that if the floor is carpet, the best you'll get is a new carpet instead of wooden floors.

Were I you I would ask. Say, "I'm really interested in this apartment, but only if the floors are replaced". Then go from there.

Remember to keep a sense of humor and a very, very pleasant demeanor when you do this. If you cave on that last one you can kiss your negotiations goodbye.

Good luck!

Good point about the lifespan, I will ask the present tenants. However, they have kids, who started out as babies in this house I think, and the whole carpet is quite juck. Isn't that a factor? I guess they could have it cleaned, but it is horrible in every sense.

The reason I thought I could ask is that the bedroom already has parket (or laminate). Ok, we will ask nicely of course, but I do not want to move in first and then ask like you had to, because for me I won't take the apartment with carpets, it is that important.

I thought of offering to pay half of the cost, but perhaps that is a stupid idea, because it increases the value of the property and they could ask for more rent anyway? By the way, is laminate popular in Switzerland? It seems much cheaper in other countries than parkett.

Don't offer to pay. That's absurd. There are surely other apartments that will have everything you want. (Or at least, that's what you want your landlord to believe).

Sure, ask before you buy. Tell the landlord: "I really like this apartment, but only if the carpets are replaced with parkett. Judging from the condition of the carpets, it looks like they are due for replacement anyway. Will the replacement be ready by (insert date here and make sure it is a date that is well in advance from the time you move in so you have the chance to inspect it)?" Then go from there.

However, as I said, were I a landlord I would not replace with parkett unless it were cheaper. I would replace a carpet with more carpet. But you never know, it doesn't hurt to ask, and if he says no there are other apts out there, surely.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone, I will dig out my best negotiating skills , you never know. Will post how it went.

Update: they agreed! Both rooms, that is really great. Thanks everyone for all the help and advice .