Hello all,

I would appreciate your advice on the following:

I am moving urgently out of my flat. I gave my landlord 1 month notice.
We spoke briefly and he said that I dont need to advertise the flat because he would ask his contacts. Then when I asked him to confirm that I am released from the obligation of getting a new tenant he asked me to meet. There he said that I should pay an extra month because there wouldnt be enough time to get a tenant. I said that I could advertise and find a tenant if he wanted to. But he said that he wanted to raise the rent. I said that if the terms are not the same I am not obliged to find a tenant. Eventually he agreed. However I dont have any evidence of this, just his word.

- Am I right that if the terms of the contract are changed I am released from the obligation to find a tenant?

- How can I protect myself in case he claims otherwise in the end? Would getting him to confirm in an email be enough?

Thanks!

If you provide someone who will take over on the same terms & they can afford the rent , your free of further obligations.

Using e-mail no. You need to get everything in writing, proper old fashioned letter/paper. And I hope you sent him a letter too, preferably by registered post, when you notified him of your termination of the contract. If not, he can come back on you that way too if the contract states that cancellation should be done this way and most standard contracts do. So check what it says, and then sit down with him and get his agreement in writing for the termination and no tenant finding on your side. Make two copies, both of you sign them and you keep one and he has the other. Otherwise, you may find yourself owing more than a month's rent. Is that the length of termination notice in the contract by the way?

Yes, I have sent the termination letter by registered post before the new month.
The terms were the standard ones, 3 months September or March.

Then you should have given 3 months notice, not 1. And you may have to pay 3 months unless you provide details of a new tenant willing to take the lease on. However, your landlord sounds pretty accommodating so get confirmation of termination and the rest in writing as suggested. Make sure to do a final inspection of the property with him as well so that everything is agreed for getting your rental deposit released.

Send him a registered letter with these details included and add "Further to your confirmation of the facts below"

Put's the onus on him to reply or refute

Actually this means you may in worst case have to pay until September it doesnt mean just 3 months but you can notify at least 3 months before september or march each year, but if you notify more then 3 months in this period then you may have to continue paying until september even if it is more than 3 months remaining

Question:

What if you give the land lord / mgmt company, 3mo notice, do you have to find a tenant?

i.e. 3 full months from now I want to move out.

Who bears the burden of finding a tenant in Switzerland?

Does the tenant have to advertise and find a tenant, or does the rental co do this?

No, it's only if you move out earlier than the 3 months. If you give 3 months' notice and then move out at the end of that period, the landlord/agency has to find a new tenant. Finding a new tenant only applies if you want to move out early and don't want to pay the outstanding rent. If you want to move out early and are happy to pay the 3 months' rent for the property you won't be using, then you still don't have to find a tenant.

If you give three month's notice according to the official moving out dates, then you pay rent for the whole period and it's up to the landlord to find a new tenant.

If you want to get out of your contract sooner then you need a replacement tenant (in German, Nachmieter) and then it's your responsibility to find one person who can fit the landlord's criteria, who will sign the contract and take the apartment over.

If you are in the first category, you still have to make allowances that the landlord will want to bring prospective tenants through the property until they find the right person, and you have to make it possible to do that, although there are very reasonable limits on how that is to be done, and it depends a bit on your tolerance level. Personally, I try to be as accommodation and clear as possible about the times I am available, as the sooner a replacement is found, the sooner the 'open house' inconvenience will be over...

Hang on, doesn't that depend whether you have the contract that states just 3 months, or whether you have the contract that states specific moving dates? Or am I confused?

I thought some contracts had 3 months, or any timeline but generally 3 months, and you can just give a 3 month notice anytime and leave or leave earlier if find a new tenant.

But other contracts, you still have to give 3 months but there are specific move dates quarterly throughout the year to which you would have to coordinate the 3 month notice?

Why not advertise it here and get a nice dodgy foreigner in after you - plus save any worrying....

All rental contracts here state the starting date and how long they run to.

For example: a rental contract is starting on 1.05.2011 until 30.04.2016. If you stay until 30.04.2016 you don't need to do anything.

If you want to leave before 30.04.2016 you must find a replacement tenant, who is able to keep to the rental conditions, earn enough to pay the rent, and does not have big debts registered at the Betreibungsamt. If you cannot find a suitable replacement, you have to pay the rent until 30.04.2016 !!!!

There is also the notice period to terminate the contract, this is usually 2 or 3 months. It needs to be a written notice, by registered letter, arriving on the last working day before the certain date, as specified in the contract. If you leave before the end of the notice period you must pay until the new tenant takes over the contract and pays the rent.

This has all been explained a dozen times, please search the forum.

Even death does not release you from a Swiss rental contract. My dear father died a few days after the notice date, and we found this out the hard way. Fortunately we managed to come to a friendly agreement with the landlord.

Does anybody have a pointer to the law that confirms this? I looked around and all I found was Art. 263 of the following law which applies for commercial rental places:
http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classifie...ex.html#id-2-8

Good afternoon everyone,

I am in a situation where I want to move earlier from my apartment. My rental contract ends in September 2019 and it has the typical 3 months notice.
I read the whole thread but in the end I got confused.

If for example I give an official notice to my landlord on 1/05/2019 that I want to leave the apartment, that means that until the end of July I will have to pay the rent but I dont have to find a new tenant.
Do I understand everything correctly? What happens with the deposit? Do I get it back after those 3 months?

Thank you in advance,
Loukas

Ending in September with three months notice means:
1. You pay until the end of September (unless you find a new tenant)
2. You have to give your notice by 3 months *before* September, i.e. by end of June, otherwise it is not valid.

Giving your notice earlier than that will not shift the end of the contract earlier. If you need to leave (and stop paying) earlier than the date in your contract, you need a replacement tenant.

The landlord can keep your deposit account blocked for up to 12 months after the contract ends without giving a reason. After that he has to either release it, or explain what tradesmen's bills etc. he is still waiting for.

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Rental contracts that have a predetermined duration can't be canceled, they automatically end at the end date. If OTOH it has a minimal duration until September, it can't end before that date (which requires the agency/owner receiving(!) your notice not later than June 30). If either applies, you need to present a suitable Nachmieter if you want to leave before September, in which case the Nachmieter enters into the contract and replaces you.

Please clarify which of the above applies, if any.

You could try and offer to give the flat back but pay a month or 6 weeks instead and hand back the keys. I've know this to work in the past and I usually accept this as I'm often a bit better off as I can find a tenant quickly, and the tenant is happy not to have the hassle of looking for someone else.

As for the deposit, the landlord can keep it for one year so the correct heating expenses and other condominium costs can be correctly calculated. For me (and the tenant who may need it for his next deposit) it's a hassle to have to wait a year so I agree a sum in advance and then refund the difference immediately he leaves.

Addendum:
If both parties agree to whatever happens to please both, the contract is overriden of course.