I will be vacating my apartment before January 1, 2011. I was wondering what to expect as part of the moving out process. I have contacted my landlord, found a number of potential future tenants, and await more information, but maybe there are some things I should keep in mind that I haven't thought of.

I presume my landlord (the rental company, Sidenzia) will provide me with applications forms to provide to the future potential tenants, and they will then screen the tenants and select one. Or do I need to deliver the signed contract?

In terms of the move out, I plan to move all of my stuff to my new apartment and then clean up the apartment a bit--though probably less thoroughly than a professional cleaning crew.

At some point, a hand-over will be arranged with the apartment company and the new tenant, but I'm unclear about exactly how this will be arranged.

Presumably my landlord will provide this information when I am able to speak with them on Monday, but maybe those who have moved out before can provide insights I might not have thought of yet. Thanks!

Wohnungsabnahme Protokoll / Abnahmeprotokoll in DE

http://www.homegate.ch/moving

Leaving present apartment and moving to new one Checklist

Tips on Giving Back Your House or Flat

expectations of moving out...

In terms of the move out, I plan to move all of my stuff to my new apartment and then clean up the apartment a bit--though probably less thoroughly than a professional cleaning crew.



This approach will most likely not be considered adequate, chances are you will need to employ a professional cleaning company or take the risk that the owner will employ one at your cost and deduct it from your original deposit. Generally the expectation is that you vacate the apartment such that it is SPOTLESS!!

As someone who cleaned their appartment with their OH when they moved out I wanted to add that it is possible to get all your deposit back. However the cleaning to the required standard is extremely time consuming and standards are very high. If you want to lose some of your deposit by not doing much cleaning of course that is your decision. A cleaning company would probably be a quicker and far more cost effective option. Im a house wife and I keep a clean house but the standards expected by your landlord with be far in excess to what you would expect!

How much is your deposit? Prepare to say good bye to it, sorry.
It's so easy to be Switzerlanded - but it seems some Switzerland themselves Heather is right.

We moved out of an apartment 8 months ago, left it spotless, found new tenants, got the landlord to sign off the inventory returned keys etc everything OK and OK'ed in writing...

A month later we got a letter from the landlord's lawyer demanding CHF 6000+ in damages, CHF 1000 for cleaning alone, and a whole list of other problems that didn't exist at the time.

In Switzerland a landlord has a year after you vacate to seek compensation from the result of damages you caused during your tenancy, as a tenant it is very difficult to prove that you didn't cause those damages, especially if someone else has moved in after you.

Having been pre-warned about this particular landlord and how he loved to take on foreign tenants to screw them at the end we were prepared for him, every communication was in writing, when he telephoned we asked him to email or write because we needed to translate, when we left we made him sign every page of the inventory and openly recorded the last conversation, it is very important that if you make a recording then let all those who will be recorded know or it cannot be used.

Anyway to cut a long story short, we fought him all the way, he dropped from CHF6k to 5k then to 4k, it was only after a long battle with him and also his friends (small village) that he finally gave up, we got a letter yesterday from his lawyer saying he would release the deposit.

Be careful, renting is deeply ingrained into the Swiss way of life, the tenants are protected to a certain degree, but if the landlord can get his hands on your deposit he will try his hardest.

Being blaisé about vacating is a sure way to lose 1000's, get a cleaning company in if you can't be bothered it will pay off in the end !!

Thanks, all. It sounds like the professional cleaning is a must. Any idea how much to expect to clean a 40 m^2 apartment with kitchen/bath?

Hi gonzojive,

I was on the Sidenzia website a few weeks ago and found they had a document which listed their expectations of tenants when vacating apartments (http://www.sidenzia.ch/docs/wohnungsuebergabe.pdf)

My apartment is managed by Sidenzia too, so once you've moved out I'd be interested in hearing from you how they handle the handover process, and whether they pick up on every scratch and speck of dirt left in the flat, or whether they are ok about it.

Thanks

All the advice posted this far is correct. Having said that I remember when we vacated that we had some holes in the walls which i filled with Elmex toothpaste. Yes correct toothpaste - elmex is the perfect white colour of wally in swiss apartments.

We used a professional cleaner in an apartment of around 120m on the second level. I think we paid about 1600CHF 2.5years ago. The original quote was a bit lower bit they had to get a hoist to clean the out side automated shutters where some kids had thrown rotten eggs. At 40m I would not do a simple division however if you get someone for 500-1000CHF then it probably is a reasonable quote. Obviously depends on how dirty and whether you are ground floor etc

The end result was 100% return of deposit within about 2-3 weeks. It is important to get a cleaner that guarantees the deposit and they do exist.

We were not with the organisation you have noted as a managing agent.

Those cleaning prices are extortionate. I wouldn't use a Company ever myself- but I'd make sure I'd clean to the required standards and get them to sign to that effect.

We have looked around and have been surprised at the price difference in quotes - have managed to get someone, complete with checkout / handover guarantee, who was recommended by someone who had used him - guy is English and was 600 CHF less than next lowest quote. I would say shop around, and as long as there is a handover guarantee, go with the cheapest. Easier when there are so many other things needing attention when moving.

Last Oktober we also moved. I cleaned the 75m2 apartment on 1 Sunday together with my girlfriend. We spend most of our time on the kitchen and bathroom.
Make sure you get your hands on some proper cleaning stuff. I used industrial grade All Purpose Cleaner for almost everything and that works wonderfull.
Investing 1 day was worth it for us, and it gave us quite a sattisfaction actually.

The handover went smooth and we got our full deposit back!

I vacate my appartment two weeks ago.
Was lucky to get a 50% offer from a cleaning company. I bought 9 hours, even if they said 9 more would be needed to clean the appartment completely and give the warranty.

I didn't go for it, with their 9 hours and some more from our part it was done. We didn't clean the blindings, completely forgot! and was a bit scared the landlord would see, but nothing happened!

I was told from a friend that the landlord in his case was wearing white clothes, checking for dust in every single corner in the appartment.

amazing!

I have only lived in the apartment for two months, so it hasn't had much time to accrue filth. It came with a bit of grime here and there, so perhaps they are not as strict with the cleaning standards as the stories suggest.

I'm tempted to clean it myself to avoid the hassle of finding a cleaning company. 40 m^2 is not much to clean. If I use enough cleaning solution, the place will at least smell sanitized.

If you do it yourself then here is what I would recommend.

Firstly go to Müller to get cleaning products they are the most affordable

• Windows: Use a proper window cleaner and get the correct tools.
• Oven: Make sure this is cleaned thoroughly with an oven cleaner
• Floors: Depends on if wooden or tiled, tiled is easy wooden you should polish by hiring a polishing machine
• Fridge: Clean
• Benches: Get the correct cleaning fluids and make sure you can see yourself in the reflections
• Toilets and showers: Similar story mop and clean anything that looks like mildue
• Before the inspection: Spray some nice spelling air freshener around the entire apartment
• Any holes in walls: Fill these with toothpaste

Beautiful. Hmm, the floor polishing machine sounds hard to come by. Where do you recommend hiring one?

Filling in with toothpaste is AWESOME.... I love ideas like this. I did that with a hole left after a picture that fell in a wind gust. The woman at my school who helped us secure the apartment, told us to look closely at how the apartment looked when we viewed it and moved in. This can often signal how strict they will be on move out. If you can eat caviar off any surface, be prepared to have it the same way. Ours was clean, but not "operating room" clean, so I know that if I decide to leave, I will not have to clean it as if preparing it for open heart surgery.

Thank you for the tooth paste tip. I tried it yesterday, works great!

I twice took over an apartment that had been 'cleaned' by professional cleaners... and maybe I just didn't want to appear too difficult (?), so I accepted their work (because I didn't expect that more chlorine would improve much). But surely it could have been done better - also by a non-professional who would like to save that cost and who knows what parts of the apartment need most cleaning!

We had our apartment professionally cleaned when we left a couple of months ago, a 160 sq m place over two floors. I asked the landlord, a very decent guy with whom we had a great relationship, if there was a company he recommended - he gave me a name of a local company he'd used several times before (and who'd cleaned it prior to our moving in when it was indeed operating room clean), so I just used them. They almost certainly weren't the cheapest, but since it was an overseas move I didn't want to be quibbling across time zones to try and get our deposit back - it's problematic enough moving with small children, temporary accommodation, etc, without making life more complicated.

It certainly set up a good atmosphere for the check-out, and seemed to put his mind at rest that we weren't the 'skipping off abroad, leaving a trail of destruction' foreign types. Nevertheless, his wife still looked in every appliance, and ran her fingers around the top of the kitchen cupboards.

The company did an AMAZING job. The oven looked brand spanking new, despite my heavy use for 3.5 years; all shutters were taken down and the slats cleaned by hand; all windows were sparkling with no water marks at all. I certainly couldn't (be bothered to) clean to that level in the middle of moving. He gave me the signed deposit release form for the full amount on the spot (he'd prepared this paperwork in advance, which I guess was a big advantage of using his pet cleaners), which meant we could drop it off at the bank on our way to the airport.

It's not impossible, though. Cleaning empty apartments is not that hard, and can be strangely satisfying. If you're staying in the same area, have got a spare day or two, a couple of adults, no kids to manage around and the right products, why not do it yourself? But don't bother doing half a job, as you'll just end up paying for a company to come in anyway; do it properly or just leave it uncleaned and accept the deposit knock.