My landlord inspected the property at the end of the tenancy, declared that it needed cleaning still and is now saying I have to keep paying rent until it has been cleaned by a professional.

This seems odd. Can a landlord extend a rental period after it's termination solely due to the fact that in their opinion the property is not in the same state it was when it was rented? In the UK one might loose part of a deposit in this situation but would not be expected to pay rent until such time as a suitable cleaner was found.

This all seems highly dubious to me and the landlord is, in my experience, far from honest.

Try contacting the renters' association (Asloca). They can advise tenants on such matters. It does sound a bit odd to keep charging rent for a vacant property based purely on the cleanliness issue. I though that was what the deposit was for.

First time I've ever heard of such a thing. You need to get in touch with ASLOCA and get them to talk sense to your landlord. Good luck.

Ooh. SG beat me by a whole minute!

He is absolutely NOT allowed to do that!!!
He can either ask you to put the property back in to the same state as it has been or use some of your deposit to get it done professionaly.
even then check the company he is hiring because it could get dodgy there too...

Thanks guys, I'll get on to ASLOCA. I didn't think it would be allowed but I didn't want to confront him armed only with my opinion - that seldom ends well.

I've been left to find cleaners as well but it's a week before christmas and they all seem to be busy preparing holiday homes.

Friends we are in a smilar dilemma (not excatly). Landlord first accepted to allow another person take over my flat, then changed his mind claiming that he is going to do renovations. How can we contact ASLOCA?

By the way, anyone knows how to find house cleaners in Lausanne area?

Happy Hollidays to all.

Best regards;

Try Google or go direct to this link

http://www.asloca.ch/

there are some shady landlords. I never heard of a landlord continue to charge after the tenant has moved out. He could be collecting 2 rents for all you know. I guess your deposit payment is history huh. You should get in touch with that agency for sure.

when I moved out of my temp apartment, I told the landlord about a month in advance I wouldn't be cleaning and that they should use whatever service they wanted. A couple of months after I moved out I got a bill for 350CHF.

Very easy, even if I hated paying Swiss prices for a cleaning service.