Hello,

I am a relative newcomer to Switzerland, and rent a flat in Basel.
I noticed that the landlord enters the apartment in my absence - this happened already several time during 6 months I lived there.

Is this legal in Switzerland? Is there anything I can do to prevent this nosy fellow from entering the apartment without appointment?

Thanks!

Not legal. You could call the police, change the locks or, easiest, just tell him to stop doing it and that if he does it again you'll have to conclude it's actually stilll his apartment and demand all the rent back

It all depends.

If it is to supervise/perform essential maintenance work, NO.
If it is to masturbate into your sock drawer, YES.

How are your socks?

Only if it is necessary for urgent repair work which could not be planned and its required to avoid major damage (e.g. tree falls on your roof, water leak dripping through ceiling of neighbor etc.).

Otherwise he has to give you something like minimum 48h advance notice, mostly it's a week. He can't just walk in to read the meter.

Crusty

It is definitely illegal! They can request that you be at home or urgent repair work or meter readings or that you deposit your keys with a neighbour for this, but under no circumstances are they allowed to just enter your apartment on a whim.

I would write a polite but firm request (registered) informing him that you do not wish him to enter your apartment in your absence and that, in any event, it is against the law to do so.

I would also consider changing the locks, if feasible.

It's illegal, full stop. He can request to be let in, but only at some time you've agreed upon. And it's always your choice if you want to be present (or somebody you trust).

Only exception are emergencies, e.g. house on fire.

However, contrary to the other posters, I'd get proof first. Not suggesting anything, but you might in fact be wrong, couldn't you? So get an electronic camera that's motion-activated and have it focus the apartment door. Do make sure faces are recognizable so don't place it high up, but rather at, say, hip-height. It's probably a good idea to try and have other people identify you or whoever else has been test-filmed.

And I wouldn't try to have the locks changed as that either requires the landlords Ok.

I would join the Mietverein and ask them for support and help in writing an official letter to that effect. It is way out of order for him to come in without proper notice and emergency reasons, Punkt Schluss (end off).

this is a very bad situation cos i hard to proove it if you record him walking in you can sue him and i'll suggest to report police that 10000 chf disappeared as well so he will learn to respect law and privacy.
P.S: why i'm not luky like that if it happened to me i would have made alot of monay...LOL!!!

Firstly, what do you mean by "noticed?"

If the landlord has a key, this can only be done with your consent. So if he has one and you never agreed to this, request it back.

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies. In my case I don't have to prove anything - they guy is not hiding the fact. Once he came into the flat and later emailed me that this and that was not to his liking in the apt.
Another time he tried to enter using his key while I was actually at home.
Are you really sure that this is illegal? Does anyone know where (what part of Swiss law) it is stated?

Check your rental contract? I have a clause that I signed (separately to the contract by the way), which allows the landlord to access my appartment to read the meter and in case of "urgency" (broken pipes, whatever). Maybe you have signed a similar clause?

Of course, it's illegal! This is your home, rented or not, and no one has the right to just walk in when they feel like it, landlord included. He should have given you all the keys to the property from what I've read recently on another thread dealing with a similar problem. Keep that e-mail as proof, print it off and ask him to give you ALL the keys as is your right. Only in an emergency as others have said can he ask for you to make a key available to him and then it should be returned to you once the emergency has been dealt with. If he continues to do it, call the police.

I second the suggestion to join the Mietverein which is the association for people who rent properties. They can tell you exactly what your rights are and help you make sure you get them.

He had no right to enter at all

A good example of a good landlord: many years ago,i used to set music to wake me in the morning. One night, I never came home and the neighbors had loud music early in the morning..... I came home later and the power had been cut off and turned back on to solve the problem.

I apologised to the neighbours and the admin and it never happened again.

They never did come in.

It is called trespass (verbotene Eigenmacht).

I don't have a copy of the Basel rental contract but in most other cantons, the rental contract covers the conditions upon which the landlord may enter under the clause: "Zutritts-und Besichtigungsrecht des Vermieters".

Snooping is not one of these conditions.

Did you give the landlord permission to have a key all the time, not just when you are away or for emergencies? I recommend you give a key to a landlord for these circumstances.

We suspected a few times that the owner of our apartment (who also happens to be my husbands' boss) had been in our flat when we were at work or out.


I put a light dusting of baby powder just inside our front door and trues bob we found footprints on two occasions!! We then made a sign on one of the walls in our apartment: 'Welcome Mr. X there is fresh orange juice in the fridge if you like and make yourself at home!' and since then there has been no more footprints....

Imagine his reaction if you had installed a webcam with audio function.

You may not need to prove anything now, but that need not apply in the future. If, for instance, you were to have him prosecuted he'd be virtually guaranteed to dispute your claim. Whether an email is valid proof I don't know, but I definitely wouldn't bet the farm on it - it's almost trivial to spoof the sender shown in an email, as you may already be aware of from receiving spam.

The rent of an apartment or similar is for exclusive use by the tenant, nobody else is allowed to enter without your previous consent (exceptions: in dire emergencies to prevent damage of a higher good or damage to the apartment/house itself, or if legally authorized by a judge beforehand). The curiosity of a noisy landlord is no such higher good.

This is completely illegal! How did you "notice" that he has been entering your apartment? Does he/she do this frequently? During the day while you are at work or while you are out of the country? This is completely absured and should not be tolerated! Call the police next time and tell them you have the suspicion that someone's been insider your apartment. Also, you could make something valuable disappear" and then blame the landlord! LOL

Old thread, I know - but hoping for some luck for help with my landlord.

We rent a ground floor apartment and the garden is included in our contract as our private garden. Our landlord has shown up in our backyard multiple times - once even to water the weeds we were trying to get rid of in the lawn... We've asked at least 3 times that she let us know ahead of time before coming into our backyard 1. for piravcy reasons, and 2. because what the heck! Stop snooping around! What are the laws about the garden?

Our moving helper confirmed she shouldn't do this and talked to the landlord formally for us - but she showed up again today for at least the 5th visit that where I've caught her at least. Any help?

Thanks!