Hello


Many people are moving out in the summer period and many have encountered problems.


A friend of mine is moving out from an apartment that she rented from a private landlord for 6 months. She paid 3 months worth of deposit into his account before she moved in. Now what will be the procedure to follow if he wants to charge her unfairly? She does have a direct contract, not a sub-lease.

Contest any bills she's unhappy with basically. Was the deposit paid into a special rental locked account as it should have been? Did she make a list with the landlord when she moved in of any/all problems? This should have been checked against when moving out.

Bear in mind that the landlord has up to a year to return the deposit.

No, she paid into the landlord's own private account.

Unfortunately, this can be a problem when renting privately. It may be too late, but I suggest she contacts the renters' association

http://www.asloca.ch/

to see what advice they may be able to give her. She may need to join, but if she's staying in Switzerland it may be money well spent.

It is not acceptable to pay into the landlord's private account, the landlord MUST know this, so she can expect some trouble getting 100% of the deposit back....

In German speaking Cantons she needs to join the MieterVerband in the Canton where the apartment is located, (It costs about SFr 75 a year) https://www.mieterverband.ch/

At the handover she can ask for a witness from the Mieterverband to be present, she will pay for this, (It costs about SFr 100 per hour) but at least the landlord cannot perform any more nasty tricks!

She should clean the apartment thoroughly and it is best to use a steam cleaner in the bathroom and the kitchen. Don't forget the blinds or shutters!

What is the usual procedure when people disagree on this?

One reason for delay in repaying deposit is Nebrosken charges.

Do ensure the property is ultra clean, remember to put new filter in extractor fan above cooker if you have one.