Hello,

First of all, let me introduce myself since I have just registered. I'm from Spain, and I came to Geneva three months ago because of work.

Since then, I have been living in a subrent apartment in Geneva (subrent or sublet? I am not sure which is the exact term in English). The apartment is rented by a regie to a friend of mine, and his contract expires in a few months.

I feel comfortable here and I would like to renew the contract under my name, do you have any advice on how could I do that?

Some of my friends tell me I should just go to the regie and tell them I am living here as a subrent, and they will allow me to renew the contract if the current tenant agrees. But I don't know how do that work, in Spain subrenting is strictly forbidden.

Discuss it with the friend. He can give notice before the end of the contract and give you as a follow-on tenant. Naturally, though, you have to be acceptable to the Regie. As it is your friend that has the contract with the Regie I am sure they will want to deal with him and not you.

Yes, that is what I thought, but do you know if it is legal then in Switzerland to subrent an apartment? As I said, in Spain it is not allowed and therefore under no circumstance you would tell the regie that you subrented the apartment to another person. We were not sure about doing it here since we don't know how the laws apply.

subletting is legal here.

Ok, perfect! Then I guess what we will do is that when the date is coming closer my friend will e-mail them telling them that I am currently living at the apartment, and that he recommends me to follow-up. I hope there are no problems..

As KB88111 wrote, subletting is legal, however the principal tenant has a duty to inform the landlord and may be required to show a copy of the sublet agreement.

Sublet agreement? Oops.. we just shook hands

Ok, I figured as much.

The problem is the following. The regie will want the apartment cleared when your friend's contract ends. They will go through the apartment with a fine tooth comb and check it for damage and ensure that it is clean. They will, most probably, not just allow you to keep living there and take on the contract without an inspection (although you could get lucky, which would amount to little less than a miracle).

In a way that also protects you. If you just take on the apartment without an inspection you will be liable for any damage that your friend may have caused.

That is the "correct" way of doing things, but life isn't black & white, so maybe you can find a middle way. But in this market, landlords are not known for their flexibility.

For complicated reasons, I am subletting an atelier to my girlfriend (who lives with me).

I simply had the administration who made my rental agreement, make the sub-rental agreement (they prefer it that way).

Tom

Hi,

I have the similar problem. I am subletting an appartment officially (regie knows about it) and it ends at the end of September. The guy that is renting the appartment is not coming back and wants to give the appartment to me. What do u suggest? Did everything worked fine in your case??

The official renter has to recommend you to the landlord. They cannot refuse you if you are able to pay the rent. But that is only the answer until September. After that, you would have to negotiate a new contract.