Dear All, can anyone advise if it is legal to tell the owner of the apartment I rent, that she can have the final months rent directly from my security deposit when we "release" it at the end of June 2015? Technically it means my final rent is one month late but at least it means she must sign it back to me. I believe that... because there is no benefit to her releasing my security money, she will simply not do it. And I read on this forum she can make me wait for up to 12 months!!! Its a lot of money and I want to ensure somehow I get it back in a timely manner. Any other ideas how I can do this? I am thinking I will claim financial hardship this month...but not sure if my idea of taking the final months rent from security monies is actually allowed in Switzerland.

No, for the obvious reason that you could trash the place, ask them to use up the security deposit on the last N months rent, and they'd have nothing left.

The deposit should be in escrow, if it takes more than a couple of months complain vigorously to the agency and the escrow bank.

Not allowed. She'll raise a claim against you for the missing rent and it's a good way to ensure she then takes the full 12 months to return your deposit. If she did it properly, the deposit is in a joint account which she can't access on her own, without waiting 12 months and proving she's tried to return it to you or spent it on repairs. So she couldn't take that money to cover the missing rent.

Your best bet is to explain to her nicely that you're short of cash and could she do a deal by reducing your deposit by the last month's rent. This is assuming you paid the standard 3x rent as your deposit. If you only paid one month's rent worth of deposit then I suspect she'll say "no" very quickly.

Thanks both, I will take the intelligent approach then and ask if she is willing to do a deal (I paid 2 months rent in security). She is not a nice lady so will probably say no, but its better than nothing

I don't really understand why you don't want to follow the standard procedure. Except that you say your landlady is not nice, and you obviously don't trust her.

Here are the standard steps:

You give notice in writing, for the notice period specified in the contradct, by registered letter. A registered letter is considered proof of notice (you keep a copy of the letter and the sending-receipt from the post office). If you do not follow that procedure, your landlady could perhaps claim that she does not even know that you're leaving.

As the end date approaches, you and she set a date to return the keys.
Before then, you empty the flat of your things, and clean the flat absolutely perfectly gleaming and dust-free.
During the appointment, she may inspect every nook and cranny of the flat, and list any damages for which you will have to pay.
You should have a list of the damages that were considered "given" when you moved in, and you can compare the two lists. As long as you have them recorded on a document signed by you both when you moved in, you are not liable to pay for any damages already there when you arrived.

At that inspection, if you agree with the items she has listed AND she has specified the costs of the repairs and you agree to the amount, sign her list.
If you do not agree, then write on the paper only that you have been given a copy of the document, and not that you agree to ist sontents. If you think her claims are too high, you will have to prove that somehow... with the help fothe Tenants' association.
At the end of the meeting, you hand over all the keys to the flat.

Once you and she have agreed on the amount to which she is entitled, out of your deposit, she should order the bank to release your deposit to you, less the sum you have to pay for damages. You will have to sign for that release, too.

You and she write a joint letter to the bank where the deposit is held, asking them to release the deposit to you, minus the part owed to her, which they can release to her. Or, in some cases you can go to the bank together, and both sign the papers right there, and get the deposit account closed and the moneys paid out.