Hello everyone. I am geting out of my wits in here and need some advice pronto.

I have been looking for cheap temporary accomodation and made an arragement to move in with some guys from Argentina to a 4.5 appartment until december.

I have been very busy and did not really had a chance to see what kind of arragments we will do for the apartment.

I am not complaning that i got the smalest room in the apartment (beggers can't be choosers). What got me was that the main guy (the one who's name is in the lease) decided to take the leaving room to sleep in, leaving a perfectly fine room empty.

I try to talk to the guy that this is a commond area, but the guy refuses to listen.... so I will move out.

I won't fight. I am too old to deal with this kind of 3er world, macho, I do what I want, attitude.

I talk to the guy and will give me until sunday night to move out. I could do that.... but where would I go?

My message has two objectives.... One is to ask your advise/opinion on the whole situation and second, if any one of you happen to know someone having an empty room or appartment (My budget is 900 month, but I really need to go cheaper than that). and could recomend me, that will be great.

I signed a sublease and payed my rent and deposit and have a key. in the lease talks about the use of the comonds areas... but I think the problem is that those guys are new to switzerland and in my opineon don't understand how things are done here.

I don't want trouble.... but I have rights.

Thanks for your help (sorry for the mispells, I am in a hurry) Luis

Hello Luis

As you state you have signed a sublease, then don't you have to give notice before moving out? Similarly, I assume your flatmate cannot just 'kick' you out.

I would suggest you read your contract carefully.

Good luck!

For somewhere new, have a look here http://www.englishforum.ch/adverts-property/

So make the empty room into a living room. What's the problem?

Our last place was a 4-room apartment and I don't think we used a single room (well, apart from kitchen and bathroom) the way the architect anticipated. The room we had as our bedroom was probably intended as the living room, the smallest bedroom became our cozy little parlor, and so on.

The in-laws were slightly bemused but I never had any inkling from Swiss guests that it was "not the way things are done here", let alone a "3rd world" way of doing things.

__________________
Need help? Contact a mod.

Take a look at these pages:

EASY WG
TUTTI
WG Zimmer
etc.

I guess you'll find something. I'm renting out a room for 460.- a month incl. kitchen and bathroom use, electricity, hot water, heating, internet...
But I'm in Bern, and the room's rented until mid December...

Good luck!

It is a good advise. Thanks, but what about the hook ups to the TV and cable? They suggested to bring the cables over.

I am sorry, but their motivation was the view and that they get two rooms and access to the balcony.

And again, I am not complaining, but what got me was the attitude .... If I choose to take the bathroom as my dormitory"".... the lease is on my name and I will do that if I choose.....

Sorry again. in a WG is does not work that way, or it should not. In any case They gave me until tomorrow night to move. I have been moving my stuff out.

Yes, read the lease and i would have to find a replacement person. so I am stuck .... Well, it is just until end of December.

To be fair, the person whose name is on the lease does bear a lot more risk than the rest of you. What if the others all leave? Yes, I know your contracts say you can't but what if you all just did anyway? Packed up, left the country, gave no forwarding address? No matter what happens, the person whose name is on the lease is responsible for the rent the next month - all of it, not just his share.

Someone living in a WG is presumably doing so because he can't afford the rent on an entire flat, so this is really a major financial risk. I think it's probably normal for that person to take some sort of extra privileges in return - whether it's having the nicest bedroom, paying a bit less than his share of the rent, or whatever. Who in his right mind would start a WG, putting his name down on the lease, if there wasn't anything in it for him?

It sounds like there is bad blood between you anyway, so moving out may be your best option at this point - but just try to see it from your flatmate's point of view. He is being a little unreasonable, maybe, but not entirely unreasonable.

Cables strung everywhere? In a WG? The horror!

(Our TV's in a different room than it was apparently meant to be. If we ever want to watch it - so far we can't be bothered - we will have to string some cables too. And we're not a WG at all, just a married couple with peculiar notions of floor planning.)

__________________
Need help? Contact a mod.

The guy has been completely prepotent. I am a reasonable person and yes he is taking a lot of benefits, like him and his wife paying just 1/3 of the rent.

But you are right, there is bad blood between us. for the moment I am stuck and need to make the best out of this situation.

thanks for the coment.

You are not stuck. You just need to advertise for the place. There are plenty of people (at least students) looking for such accommodation. Our son and another college mate started a WG (the lease started from yesterday) and advertised for one room. They had 25 responses and chose who they thought would fit in and get along with them.

First they had to go thru the process of getting a reasonable place in Zurich (all of us know how difficult and tedious this can be). Then, as has been said below, the person/s on the lease take all the risks, are responsible for all charges besides the rent such as Electricity, Bilag, phone, internet etc. They pay the three months' rent as deposit and as and when they leave they have to get the place cleaned and organised and accept charges for damages if any.

They are entitled to their preferences within the flat and also to have their set of rules within the WG.

__________________
Some times you are the pigeon, some times the statue!

Very good advise, thanks. I will advertise. regards.

You are making this look so trivial, and perhaps it is.... after all it is only until December.

But again, to me, it is unreasonable to sleep in the leaving room.

And I agreed with you that you may be able to accept mess, specially if it is your own mess, your kids, or your spouse's mess (Have you heard about the divorce due to toothpaste stains on the floor, or things like that?).

But I don't have to put up with someone else's mess

It was a bad start for someone like me, new to a WG.

live and learn.

Well, good report. I moved most of my stuff and found someone interested and even the main guy want to get out from the lease. so now I can relax and find the new location with a clear head.

thanks for the advise to everyone.

Good to hear.
Now try to find a flatmate that you'll like for a change.
Good luck!

Thanks Sagitta, but I should live alone. there is nothing like a quiet place for yourself.

I feel your pain man. I actually just moved to CH two months ago and lived for that time period in a WG. From what you describe I think you are being reasonable, if you are paying a share of the rent then you have access to the whole apartment unless it is specifically stipulated in your untermietervertrag. Also you cannot just get kicked out within a couple of days, usually you get a 30 day time period to find something new. But thats the trouble of WGs you are paying a little less to live in a flat but are subject to the whim of the guy running the place. I think this whole situation could be a blessing in disguise though, I mean if its already this bad now there is no point in staying, I am sure you will be able to find something. Good luck. Try this site as well: www.students.ch (you need to go the rental part of the website)