Why do you say they "cannot" raise rents? They don`t have to raise the existing ones, just put them high in the very beginning of the process. As demand by far outweighs the existing offer, price turns higher.

Look Martin nothing against you but you obviously don't know what you're talking about, as it's exactly the same in all neighbouring countries. There is no free market for appartments, the landlords cannot set the rent by themselves at will.

Now I see... you mean "may not" instead of "cannot"

Again. The landlords can raise it, however they may not because they must abide by the law that prohibits it for a social reason.

Very subtle, polite, and polished manner to expose a very well founded argument that surely settles any dispute and can convince (and "may" convince) even the most skeptical subject.

With all due respect, in Italy it is not like that. I am italian and I lived there and I know it. Generally speaking, the offer and demand relation dictates the price of the rent as it happens in the free world.

I heard this second hand so don't quote me on it, but are rent for older properties capped (ie the landlord can't raise above a certain level)?
If that's the case than the landlord has limits on the rent he wants to charge...

Yes and no, it depends on the Kanton and contract under what circumstances rent can be raised or droped. In the Kanton Zürich you can not kick out tenants telling it is because renovateing the house, just put a new layer of paint on and double the rent for the new tenants. But it is defacto made today, if the new tenant contacts the former tenants asking about the prior conditions of the contract, it will be a backfire for the owner.

http://www.justlanded.com/english/It...s/Rental-Costs

Exactly the same as in Switzerland, the same as in France, Germany and Austria. Now can we go back to an informed discussion please ?

That's correct, and there are strict regulation on what kind of appartment in which price area etc. a landlord is allowed to construct in a particular area. There are also rules when and under what circumstances he's allowed to raise the rent after a renovation/upgrade of the appartment, etc etc. In short, it's everything but a free market.

So how is it then, how much rent does a 100m2 apartment cost 3o minutes away from the Torino busines centre? How much in Rome?

Don't quite get the question. The point is that all the neighbouring countries have regulated rental markets, not market prices.

Oh my, another groan? Is that all you are made of sweetheart?

My point to you is really simple - things work around here differently and whilst we dont like it, rather than carrying a chip on the shoulder and going around insinuating intolerance blah blah to fan the flames even further, why not share tips to work around it?

But no, you chose to come on here arguing for the sake of arguing, groaning unnecessarily, banging on about prejudice and creating such a negative vibe. Dont be surprised to find yourself miserable living here.

Now wheres my groan?

it'll come soon enough...

sweetheart? no thanks don't swing that way. If there are things that are wrong, I won't rollover and just accept it

No one said to roll over and accept it. There are always ways to work around it.

I didn't think you'd understand

Puhutes probably meant "bank employees", not "bankers"....

If you own a house or an apartment here, it will almost certainly be worth quite a lot of money so naturaly you need to look after it. If as the owner you feel this is best served by having tenents who don't smoke or don't have dogs, or no kids, then so be it.

The landlord has the right to chose a tennent with these qualities. With the exception of large pets, ie big dogs, if you decide to start smoking or making babies after you have an agreement, there is not too much he can do.

One ruse they will use is by stating they need it for a family member and give you your notice.

As a landlord you are not so disadvantaged as in the UK and it is not so difficult in Switzerland to have somebody removed. You can give your notice, the landlord can give his notice, it's quite fair for both parties.

As a foreigner, in certain areas you will be disadvantaged, places like central Switzerland or UDP strong holds, lets not be naive, As a coloured or Asiatic person you will also be at a certain disadvantage, the Swiss are rather nationalistic, thus they lean towards racism. (If you ask a Swiss person where they come from, they usualy will say "I'm from Zurich or whatever canton in Switerland)

Face it, this is life, the landlord is going to take the easiest option which best protects his investment and there's not much you can do about it.

As for Simons' coments about maximum rents, no such thing, i can rent my house for whatever i can get somebody to pay for it; if you sign the agreement, then it's legal and valid. However I cannot throw you out in order to re-rent to soembody else at a far higher rent. Anything over 10% is considered far higher unless you can prove significant improvements have been made between tenants. Think new kitchen, new bathroom, complete renovation (with appropriate bills as justification)

now, that's interesting, 3 different contrasting answers... I'm curious about it because I'm after a property that fits this profile... does anyone have any source to back up the comments?

If i want to rent you my house for Sfr 10 per month, i can, if i want to rent it for Sfr 10'000.-- i can. We both need to sign a contract which is legaly binding.

Rent is according to market conditions, it's a deal between private people.

However, as i said, i can't throw you out in order to increase the rent to the next tenant abusively.

My sympathies. I think the issue is not that you were not worthy of the apartment, but rather that the agency wants to deal with someone with less paperwork--and I bet they had at least 20 other applicants who fit that bill. I don't know anything about housing in Zurich, but in Lausanne, all of my non-Swiss work colleagues (at the University where I am a postdoc) have had significantly more trouble finding apartments than the native Swiss. The most reasonable explanation for this that I have heard is that being non-Swiss and not a native speaker of German (or French, depending on your canton), just makes it that much more paperwork for the landlord, and they can afford to be picky.

If I were you, I wouldn't take it personally, and don't generalize to the country as a whole. There are a bunch of things that annoy me about Lausanne, but I think that *individual people* are not at all as discriminatory as that housing interview might suggest.

For example, my roommate is Swiss German, and she was not at all concerned with me being not EU, she just wanted to make sure I had all the right paperwork for the agency (which did include income), and that we would get along personally.

So, if the jobs are worth it (and good professorships are hard to find!) then I would not let this discourage you. Best of luck.