Hi,

We have received the contract for our rental house today. Looking through the terms there are some odd ones - but maybe this is normal for Switzerland. It's certainly not for the UK!

All of the servicing, repairs, breakdowns of household appliences fall on us as tenants including the whole of the boiler maintenance! We have to produce evidence at the end of the lease that we have had everything serviced - that includes the whole central heating system being flushed through and decalcified.

We also have a responisbility to insure the heating system. Is this not normally down to the landlord? And we are required to pay a servce subscription fee for the household appliences.

Does anyone have experience of this type of clause or even if they do then wheredo I get/how much is this type of insurnce???

Thank you.

Welcome to the forum.

...fixed that for ya.

It's normal for electrical appliances, windows, dish washer and anything that is inside the apartment. The heating system clause is out of my knowledge. All the maintenance related costs should be covered by your "nebenkosten".

This clause is quite common in rental agreements but it is not binding. It is Swiss law (Code of Obligations Art. 259) that landlords have to pay anything more than minor repairs. So, in other words, if someone has to come to repair the dishwasher, the landlord by law has to pay, no matter what it says in the rental agreement.

tenants are by law responsible for small repairs, but is there anything that says that landlords must be responsible for these other major repairs?

the specific law you quoted doesn't seem to override those points in the contract.

OR 256: "The landlord or lessor is required to make the object available on the agreed date in a condition fit for its designated use and to maintain it in that condition."

Which points? I don't know what you mean.

You cannot contract out of mandatory law in Switzerland. The law (case law provides more detailed interpretation as to what is "small" etc.) concerning repairs is mandatory and clauses in a contract that place more burden on the tenant are void.

First, thanks for all the posts. Now I sleep much better...

Now when you seem to know a lot, I have one question related to this topic: If I drill some small holes to wall for let´s say mirrors, do I have to repair them? Someone told me that I have to pay for painting all the walls again!?!