Hi,

I now fill a lot of application forms to rent a flat most, if not all, of them have some small print in the end about paying some penalty if the interested party declines an offer.

What exactly should happen to get fined?

If I just apply for all flats I visit and fill all the forms and then they all get offered to me, will I have to pay that penalty to all bar one that I take? That would be ridiculous.

Or it's only when I sign a contract and then refuse to honour it? That would make sense, I guess.

An example from Livit here.

Cheers

They are only likely to enforce the fine if the draw up the lease agreement and you back up...which in my opinion is understandable.

I usually get a phone call to see if I still want the apartment before they draw up the lease

I agree with Porsch. It's the admin fee for the papers.
I would not suggest applying for each and every flat you view. Just simply a waste of your time if your not even interested in living there.
Good luck in the flat hunting

The text you quote says that you must pay 100 CHF if you decline after an "agreed" contract has been completed.

That is, you can decline an initial offer without penalty (e.g. "You got the flat. Do you want us to draw up a contract").

Thanks

So if they contact you and you agree, only then you're liable, not when you send the form to them?

If you backtrack later, after the agreement, I understand you'll have to pay. How do they enforce it, by the way?

they put a poursuite out in your name. with that agains you you cannot rent another apartment until paid

That's right.

They'll send you a bill. See the thread below for what happens after that.

The complete guide to bills and what happens if you don't pay them.

That link is harsh But does it really happen with the accommodation offers as well? Any one heard about real cases of being prosecuted for not accepting the offered accommodation?

It doesn't cost them to go down the Betreibung line (the costs are added to your final bill) and they're relatively easy to file. Consequently, there's a good chance that they'll get one.

It's not prosecuting you as such, it's a bit like a government debt collection agency. Only if you refuse to pay the government would it get awkward.

A Betreibung goes on your credit record for a few years. Agencies often ask for a copy of this before they'll let an apartment to you so it might affect what you can rent in future.

__________________
Nothing of value kept in this post overnight.

I don't quite agree with that reasoning. If you use something and don't pay for this, then it's fair enough you should be punished or forced to pay somehow. But if you just indicate interest, especially in such a crazy property market as this, getting fined and put on Straf/Betreibung-register isn't very appropriate, in my opinion.

So, let me repeat my question, did any one get caught in this trap here? Just agreeing with an agency a property and then being prosecuted for not taking it?

You would have used something; the agency's time and resources to prepare the contract.

Read what people have written. You will only be charged if you ask them to go ahead and prepare the contract. You've indicated that you've not done that yet.

Do you think we're just lying to you? Go ahead, ask for a contract to be drawn up then refuse to go ahead. Let us know what happens.

I'm not suggesting anyone is lying, I'm just looking for some first-hand experience with that penalty clause. If this really gets invoked in such circumstances, it does look an overkill for me. I didn't sign or agree to anything, but I want to clarify this issue for me before proceeding any further.
Actually, I do appreciate all feedback here, however harsh or weird it may sound