Hi

I have a situation here, I moved into a house in Basel, and the previous tenant left me the keys of the house in the post box saying he has moved out. When I enter the house all his unwanted stuffs... book
en manifold shattered bulbs and tubes in the bathroom, toilet filty,kitchen stinks , balcony filled with garbage bags 15 of them... broken tables , fungus ridden walls, not vacuumed of years I suppose,

I had a shock... i had just moved from India, deputed from my company and I did not know the procedure, I looked at the house once when the person was living and i did not know he will leave the house as it is for me, I took the pictures of all the mess went to the Agency which was renting this out..... The Agency was apologetic said they will clean up the mess and I can move in completely, which they did....

After some days the previous tenant calls me and says he has dumped lot of stuff in the cellar which he will take slowly.... another shock...I go to Keller all his Childs pram....old carters and stuff.....so I said if he needs any help to move ... I can.... get his pram to Zurich.. which I did.... and other baby stuff which he said his friend will pick it up ... 2 months no news... from the friend , when I call him... he says he does not require anything from the cellar... and I should dispose all the old cartons...that are heaped ... broken chair... old rice cooker... and heaps of his old clothes....

Ok ....My goodness soul.... trys to help again.... trying to dispose this.....without charges.....

Recently he writes a threatening mail that he will take legal action on me... as there is sub woofer of his music system in the cellar... if I don’t give it to him..



And it is 3 moths since I am living in this place….

Pleople Advice

I have contacted the Agency... again...

I think you should leave out the .....a bit makes for an easier read.

Tell the agency to get the crap out, clean everything on their expense. otherwise , or in any case you should. join asloca.

agencies are deadly afraid at the mention of their name and will do all very fast to get things in order. Otherwise stop paying rent (put it in a blocked account at the bank every month until the place is cleaned.

Ultimately, your first recourse is with the Rental Agency. Insist that they take action and soon.

I would also let him know you have asked the agency to remove the stuff.

Ignore his legal threats, if he tries to pursue this avenue he will will fail, at his expense.

Also pevious tenant calls me and abuses me on the telephone for going to Agency as he was chared for the the same and I am resposible for these charges....I write this to the agency... Agency replied again and said I dont have to worry as it was his duty to clean up before he left and handed over the keys.

Point is the agency should have checked this surely. So they must deal with it quickly- ask them for support against the previous tenants' threats- or you will go to the Police. This must be dreadful for you, I am so sorry.

Thats good. So stop worrying and when he calls again just hang up. Or start some language practice

I can't believe the agency gave you the keys to this house without checking it was empty and cleaned properly the person who lived in it before sounds like a dirty pig ( I could never live like that)

Frankly, this isn't your problem. I would send a *recorded* letter to your landlords informing them that you intend to dispose of all remaining items with 14 calendar days, and that you will forward along receipts for any charges you incur to dispose of the materials. You should mention that if the previous tenant wants anything, he must collect within 14 days.

If it was me, I would put all the stuff on the street and leave it to the landlord and previous tenant to sort out.

You are 100% legally in the right. You are totally within your rights to dispose of everything in the apartment, charge the landlord for the disposal charges, and direct the previous tenant at them. Your apartment should have been left immaculately clean and without any traces of the previous tenant.

There is a procedure in place for the handover of homes between tenants and the agency should know this. Which ageny is this? Where were they when you were given the keys? You should have been accompanied by someone from the agency and a report should have been made. It sounds to me like you are dealing with one very useless agency who also never did a handover with the previous tenant. If they had, they would have known the place was dirty and there were items still left there and they would have dealt with this situation.

When previous tenants leave belongings (or garbage) the landlord must go through the legal means of notifying the tenant about this and the tenant has a period of time to pick these items up. If they do not, the landlord has the right to dispose of them as he sees fit.

This should not be your problem, it is an issue between the landlord and former tenant.

Do not stop paying your rent. That is not legal. You need to send the landlord a registered letter and advise him that you want these items removed from your home at his expense by a certain date. Tell him if this is not done, you will take the matter to mediation and at the point the rent will be paid to the mediation authorities. I strongly advise that you join the tenant's association (Mieterverband) who can advise you on the correct procedure and help you with the paperwork.

I hope the matter gets resolved to your satisfaction.

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Thank you all for the advise, I contacted agency who asked me to get in touch with care taker of the building,who aparently lives in the same building, so that he makes sure the cellar stuffs are taken by previous tenant , when I am not around. If he does not clear the stuffs they will clear it which will cost him again. I have passed this message to him by mail and no more calls and messages on mobile.

That is a nightmare and completely unacceptable. you did right going to the agency, but I'm surprised that even the agency didn't do a walk through after he moved out or do anything to prepare it to make it move in ready for a new tenant.

Lots of laziness there. and lots of mistakes.

I would NOT have taken anything for him to Zurich. As far as I would be concerned, the agency would have to find a hauler to haul all of the previous tenant's leftovers and garbage away. If he moved out and left anything, then I'd say it's all garbage. The agency could then send him a bill or take it out of his deposit.

It's too bad you already are invested in this place, otherwise I'd suggest you refuse to accept it and find another place to live.

Good luck!

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I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. - Pietro Aretino