Can anyone help, or has experience with Lease termination. Im in Hunenberg (Canton of Zug)

Ive just been informed I need to move back to the UK with work latest in May 2013, and need to terminate my lease contract.
The contract says there are termination periods on March 31, June 30 and September 30, with a notice period of 6 months.

Yes I know Ive just missed the september period - does that mean I cannot leave before 6 month after the March 31st notice period - ie 30th September 2013?

Is there anyway to avoid this? or amend? Are you stuck literally to leaving on 3 days a year (6 months after the notice periods?)

I appreciate any advice here.

Welcome to the forum.

find a replacement tenant. or leave but pay for the extra 6 months rent.

Thanks for the advice, and the welcome!

The contract termination period means that these are the dates when the contract can be terminated/ended. And the "six month" clause means that you have to service a notice before 6 months of your intended termination period (date).

Now, assuming you want to live in the apartment until end of May, I suggest you serve a notice by 31/12/2012 so that you can leave on June 30th. This implies a lose of 30 day's rent!

Which bit of signing a contract you got problems with ? It was clearly indicated when you signed, now be a big boy and step up to the plate

Respect what you sign, otherwise your signature really is worthless

Kevin

Welcome to the Forum. If you search through some of the threads here, you will see this has happened to many people in the past. Sub-letting seems to be a common feature - see the threads.
How big is your place, is it in well sort of area. It may be you would rather lose the final month's rent.
You should also look through the forum for topics. like ensuring place is sparkling clean for hand-over at end of lease. No doubt you have furnished it etc as well - so then decide what to leave what to take. Here on the forum many people list their stuff to sell in the Market Place.

Good luck and enjoy your remaining time in Switzerland.

Thanks Partha and Moggy.

C'mon! The OP was asking a question for clarification, not asking how to avoid his obligations.

Also "clearly indicated" is not the case with many contracts, especially for those of us who had little knowledge of the language the contract was written in at the time of signing. Trust has played a huge part in that signing.

That's an ridiculous lease. These rules are completely out of date with the reality of Switzerland today i.e. full of transient foreigners.

Contact your Mieterverband - they will help you sort it out.

Now I see why landlords don't want to rent to foreigners, it's much easier to rent to a Swiss who will stay for 10 years rather than a transient foreigner who does not understand the language.

And you are out of touch with reality.

Not been here very long have you.

One day you will understand you have to respect what you sign otherwise the whole circus comes crashing down. Signing a contract for anytrhing is exactly same as signing on a credit card. I

If you don't accept, DON'T SIGN, they've really tried to keep it as simple as possible !

That's the point - the whole circus should come crashing down (because it is a circus). Landlords and rental agencies in this country make up their own rules. Total lack of regulation. Nobody knows what the rules are. It's completely open for abuse of renters, especially foreigners.

I've never seen anything like it in the 9 other countries I've lived and rented in. There's enough evidence on this forum to show that these rental contracts are a big issue with the expat community.


If Switzerland wants to attract skilled foreign workers it needs to adapt it's system to be more flexible. If you don't want to rent to foreigners that's fine. If you do, then you can expect that many will move on after a year or two, either if they decide to leave or find a better place to live once they've got to know the area.

My (Swiss) company has had big problems trying to attract people from outside Switzerland - they can't find the skills they need locally. One of the main reasons is that as soon as they find out about the set-up costs of starting up here they quickly shy away.

You mean a short term renter who probably pays way over the odds and leaves the place in excellent condition and whom the landlord can then attempt to fleece even more money from because the renter is a foreigner???

You are talking rubbish. Even with the lease that the OP has, he is still able to 'leave or move on' after a year or two without penalty. Most leases I've had have a period of 3 months which is much more common.

It is regulated and there are procedures for complaining. The system is flexible and also gives stability to both parties. The rules are clear, and you agree to them by signing the contract.

All the people I know who have come and then left the country quickly are the type of people who are challenged by change. The system here is different so you have to get used to it or you crawl back under your old rock. It is not for everybody but that's ok. But you have no right ebtering a country and then complaining about the system not being to your liking.

You missing the point, you have to respect what you sign and if you don't like it , don't sign.

If your (Swiss) company doesn't respect the contract they signed with you,, where does it leave you. If your (Swiss) companies suppliers don't respect their contracts, what happens ?

Sure you can go the legal route, but it's tireing and time consuming