Hi,

Does anyone know if it is legal to rent a furnished room to a 3rd party when we are renting the apartment off someone else (like a sub lease I suppose)?

Regards
A

yes it is. I believe in the last few years that [full] subletting is permitted.

Although it is not a problem you will need to read the letter of your rental contract to see if it is explicitly excluded and you will further need to make certain the person is registered at the Gemeinde. Your other problem will be receiving mail for that person as I am sure you do not want to have a new name plate made

Thanks Lob Rockster and Richard. I was considering renting a room only for a number of weeks or a couple of months maximum, prior to my leaving the country. So I didn't want to get into an official sub-lease as such (if this is necessary). I think reading the rental agreement will be difficult as it's in French but I can someone look at it for me.

Cheers
A

I would also call your landlord and ask, even if it says it is allowed in your contract. Just explain it is only for x months. I know lots of people do this and it should be legal (I asked). Really get a contract though as you don't want people to cause damage and have no way of repercusion, especially since the Swiss charge so much for things we might say are wear and tear!

And to be honest I would not. If he has not forbidden it in your contract then there is nothing he can do about it anyway, so why cause the poor guy stress that will only get repaid at some point in the future...

If you want to sub lease an appartment, you MUST contact your landlord and notify him of the contract's conditions. It is your right to sub lease your appartment, the landlord can only refuse if you charge much more money from your lodger than you pay to the landlord or if there are heavy disadvantages to your landlord resulting out of the subtenant. The subtenant isn't allowed to use the flat differently than you are allowed to use it, that means if it's a e.g. a subsidized appartement, a special appartement for large families or something like that you aren't allowed to rent it to anyone who doesn't correspond to the conditions in your contract. (Art. 262 OR)

Don't forget to declare it on your tax return....