As far as I read in the OP, the friend recovered the lost deposit money from the insurance company.

So if their worst fear does come true and the landlord eats up all the deposit with real or made up repairs then as long as the insurance company has contact details then the money will eventually be returned.

One thing I will say about last year (actually summer of 2008) is that the price of oil was at it's highest and there will almost certainly be additional nebenkost.

One last thing. Maybe the OP might want to have the option of returning to CH and rent another apartment![/QUOTE]

Insurance does not pay for the higher nebenkosten (only damages) so the owner could easily eat up the entire deposit.

Made up of 3300 extra nebenkost and 300 other costs. 150 of which was a cracked knob on the shower. So be careful what you take responsibility for. What you think is a CHF20 repair will almost certainly be not. My agent was being nice as he put it by only charging me 150. The repair is not being done and the 150 was by way of compensation for the damage.

I took over a lease that was 2 years old and the nebenkost was a poultry 125 a month on a 160sqM flat. So the nebenkost akonto was already not enough. Add to that buying oil when it was double the price now and I have a big bill to pay.

Having seen the nebenkost breakdown and the oil purchases I had no argument on the cost of oil and I was arguing about the small things. And for the sake of a couple of hundred francs I put it down to experience and moved on.

This is indeed scary as we are waiting for our final bill on nebenkosten. I assume the cost was divided among all the tenants as I definitely will ask them if they received the same as well. Every tenant must get the same annual bills. I guess the size of the flat plays a role too and there I hope we get a smaller bill. But I hope you checked with a couple of other tenants if they got the same bill. It is worth making that visit for CHF 3300.

Thanks for your answer.

The OP is leaving the country, he has all the advantages over the landlord. Just don't pay and go!

landlords here are ripoff artists. I tried to clean my old place, but it was never good enough. So he hired a cleaned and the cleaners charge 60 francs an hour for like 10 or more hours.

And that was a one bedroom.

What you could suggest is to pre-empt the landlord, know your contract, and say that, "just do you know, I am NOT paying for ANY normal wear and tear".

They are ripoff artists. Maybe you can do you exit thing ahead of time, but it's a sick joke these landlords here.

If the landlord is pushy, stand your ground. They will not respect you. Sort of like how Reagan dealed with the Russians.

I completely agree these landlords here are such ripoff artists that I have never seen something like this. Even so called 'professional' companies are real frauds. I am really surprised that these kind of things are going on and people are desperate to move here. 8 out of 10 are fraudmasters. You have to be very lucky to get the two good ones. Like 1 year to return deposit and this kind of nonsense.

As far as non payment of the last 2 or 3 months deposit (depending on whether it is 2 or 3), it is a tough one. I don't think the landlord can do much really but Mieterverband advised me not to do it so I just paid up in my case. If the person is leaving the country then it is really a tough call on what to do: not pay the last 2 or 3 months rent or just pay up ?

At this rate, a lot of people will not move here at all. There's other options.

OP,

My advice for you would be:

1. Grab hold of your original list of defects that you got from the agency when you first moved in. Try to patch up any extreme wear and tear caused by you. If DIY isnt your thing, there are loads of people on this forum who provide services of helping you patch up holes in the wall or other odd jobs. PapaGoose is one that I will recommend.

2. Similar to what oldhand suggested, join the mieterverband and have them with you on the day of the handover

3. Get a cleaning company with a handover guarantee. Dont stinge on this. Seriously, loads of people do it themselves to save the cost but I highly recommend one for a peace of mind. Have them there at the handover as well should the landlord decide to nitpick on the apartment not being cleaned properly, they will be there on hand to ratify anything that they have missed.

4. Do not withold the last month's rent. You dont really want to give the landlord extra ammunition or angst against you. Your security deposit is in a join account that will require both the tenant and landlord to remove the money anyway.

Those suggestions above should cover your arse quite well against a landlord who is out to get you. Esp the mieterverband folks.

With regards to the NBK, he cant pull a fast one on that (i hope!!) as everything will be clearly indicated on the bills. Someone correct me if I am wrong. And as for the other possible defects that the new tenant will report, he cant pull a fast one on that if again, you seek the help of the mieterverband

Good luck on your move back to the US!

NBK or HK is a grey area and there has been a lot of fraud on the part of landlords in the last 2 years. With the heating oil price increases etc., the laws are not clear so they can pull a fast one on that.

I have been here 6 years - and am on my 3rd apartment.

Each time I have moved I have cleaned the place and signed over the place myself.

Not once have I been screwed over - although I was charged a little for removal limescale (one of their favourites).

To fill walls: a bit of filler - then tippex on top

Marks on walls: buy the white sponges in migros - a quick wipe over and it is gone.

Then just put aside a day to clean. If you get cleaners (which I have never done) make sure you get ones that guarantee the place will pass the "CLEAN" part.

Damage is down to you to correct.

Right now I'm dealing with a similar situation. I do not trust the person I rent from and, since I am leaving the country I see no reason to believe that he will give me my deposit back. I obviously am unable to take him to court from the US. I will take pictures of everything when I leave.

Is there anything else anyone can suggest I do to help get my money back?

Another question: I sublet a single room. The person I sublet from is trying to make me do all work regarding maintenance of the place: cleaning, repairing, making arrangments for repair-people etc.

Am I correct in believing that this is not my responsibility? It doesn't say so in my lease.