Hi folks,


i received a letter from the admistration service of the landlord asking me for a date to visit me and take pictures of the flat. They want to put an advertising and sell it.


Is this legal? What can I do?
If it is legal, how can I know that they are really going to sell it? They could just send the letter saying what they need.



Thanks for your advices.

Yes. They have to give you notice to leave as per the contract.

Landlord has a right to sell the flat you are renting, during this process you must give access to those who wish to see the place. This is very unfortunate in the Corona times but you can insist on complete precautions (everyone must wear masks) as well as them wearing disposable covers over the shoes so that no dirt is brought into your home.

Rental contract can be terminated at any time observing normal swiss contract termination deadlines and dates by both current and/or future landlord.

Swiss law gives considerable power to new landlord: he can terminate rental contract even if it is protected from termination due to lawsuit against previous landlord that you won. Usually you get 3 years protection if landlord looses the legal case or agrees to settle with you. Change of hand with following "usage for own purpose" by new owner is one of the very few exceptions where this protection is not valid.

I doubt they will be asked to leave, just the investment property will likely be sold to another investor. Happened to me, nothing changed.

That's very scary. I'm in this situation now where I have a lawsuit, and the old owner deferred the decision to the new owner as they didn't see it fit to take a decision when the building was about to be sold, and the court agreed.

Since the decision hasn't yet been taken and now I'm going to court again, but this time against the new owners, will I be protected for 3 years?

Edit: so I was reading this, because the CO is not all clear on this point, it says:
i.e. it explains in there that unless the new owners cancel the rent before the end of the contract, which can only be done if they are going to use the housing for themselves and it is urgent, then the 3 year protection still stands.

But in my case I'm think I'm good as the new owners are going to court to lower my rent, so they are directly involved in the procedure.

Phew

Yes they can. However, if you want to win time, you can contest the decision to kick you out within thirty days of receiving it. It may be considered an unlawful termination or that there is a strong case for you to be given additional time to find a new place. It is also looked at differently when the owner wants you to leave because they want to live there themselves as opposed to simply wanting to sell it. Technically, if it is sold, the new owner could take you over as a renter unless they, in turn, want to live in the place.

If this is about a multi-apartment building, the landlord is unlikely to give notice because the more apartements are occupied, and the longer the better, the more attractive the building will be to the potential buyer.

However the buyer may try to increase the rent later on, which OP may also be able to contest.

As always in such cases as well as in general:
You're strongly recommended to join the Mieterverband.

However the terms of the existing contract stand, so potentially a rent reduction may be due, due to falling interest rates. As far as I understand the existing landlord would have identical right to raise the rent as the purchaser.

Such ownership transfers occur frequently. Many owners sell once a property reaches a certain age and the risk of having to replace/invest in structural elements becoming expensive is elevating.

What do you know about the buyer and their investment/purchase motivation?

Are they an investor with no interest in living in your place, and only interested in maximising the return on their investment?

I echo the recommendation to join the Mieterverband, it may be more effective for support than here.

Definitely join the mieterverband, they helped me out with a difficult agent. My landlord also decided to sell the house we rented from him...first we heard was when an estate agent text me to arrange to come and take photos...we declined his request until we had confronted the landlord.....upshot was that we bought the house, no agents fees and at a reduced cost as he needed to pay off his ex wife. Speak to the MV in the first instance, I used the office in Zurich, they spoke English and were super efficient.

I don't believe you have to allow them to take photos or let people look round. The can sell the place totally unseen on the inside. Thats what happened when the flat I rented got sold, stayed there for another 10 years at the same rent.