Hey!

I'm not looking for an apartment right now, but I'm just curious… should one ask for how much has been the rent increase from the previous tenant? and I think on two scenarios here:

- If you are visiting the apartment and it's the current tenant the one showing it.

- If it's a the real state agent the one showing the property.

I don't know if this question will signal you as an unsuitable future tenant since it could mean that you know what is going on with the unlawful rent increases.

You will not be seen as an unsuitable tenant if you ask about the previous tenant's rent. In fact this is a normal request and is sometimes provided as routine information.

In fact in canton of ZH, and given the current housing situation, this information must actually given to the new tenant on a government prescribed form. You have 30 days after taking over the apartment (getting the keys) to challenge the rent.

In addition to the above, you can usually check the rent history of a place via this link on Comparis - https://en.comparis.ch/immobilien/ma...adId=19638903t

Yes, I know this info is provided when you are about to sign the contract and I know that you have 30 days to challenge the rent if you believe that it's unsuitable.

However, there is two things that make this funny:

- Most real state companies tell you that if you are sent the contract and you don't sign it, you have to pay CHF 300. I asked the tenant association about this in particular and they told me that is just bullshit and I don't have to pay anything since you haven't sign anything.

- If you ask your real state company about this, their answer usually is that you knew the rent price before you signed and that signing the contract you agreed to it. This just happened to us.

What I see is that the real state market as a tenant here in Zürich is quite complicated and full of sharks, to say the least.

It's a pity that government here is not more proactive and provide more tools to keep rents down.

What has the government to do with private property? It is a simple market of demand and offer, unfortunately. Capping rents as they do in Berlin for example has not helped at all.

"It's a pity that government here is not more proactive and provide more tools to keep rents down."
As did aSwissInTheUS explained to you above, you can challenged the increased rent AFTER signing the contract, which is, to my limited knowledge, huge exception in legal concept of contract. Done exclusively to protect the tenant.
So, the rent changes are not controlled (by administration), but the tenant can challenge them. Only 0.5% contracts are challenged).

No one is hiding prices, I have never seen an ad without a price, ie homegate.ch or immoscout.ch

Don't like the price, don't even call them. It's them who lose a nice tenant.

Actually I have seen rental properties "on request". They usually tend to be more expensive properties though... Just search comparis with 5+ rooms

It is rarer with rentals as compared to for sale but definitely existent...

It used to be around 100 when I was last searching for a flat. Has it increased?

Doesn't matter, the demand is void in all cases.

This might help one in future reference: https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/rent/ad...be%20increased.

The government has a lot to do with private properties when they are a natural monopoly and you are the part with less bargain power.

If you think that there are such thing as free market I'm sorry to disappoint you, there isn't. There is just a economic liberal illusion. Markets has to be all the time rebalanced to be really functional. Thats the function of the government, oversee the market, so it's fair.

A contract is void if you're doing something ilegal on it… As far as I know, in Switzerland —and in general elsewhere— you can't do usury, and your earnings from a property have to be reasonable. Specially if the property is on a location where there are scarcity of places to live.

They are hiding the increase… and the reasons for such increase. Adjust the rent to the uses and customs of the area where the apartment is, is not enough reason in general. In other words, if others are asking X for their properties, you shouldn't ask X+1 just because if you don't you're leaving money on the table. That's how you create a bubble or inequality.

Wait a min, let's recapitulate:

• You moved in
• Found out that the previous tenant payed significantly less
• You already know you have 30 days to contest the rent increase after signing the contract and moving in
• You ask the real estate company about the rent increase and they told you since you signed the contract, piss off. Do you have this answer in a written form?

Maybe some details are missing but how you communicate with the real estate company has an effect on their answer. Did you asked about the rent reduction via registered letter? It may be that the real estate company is betting on let the 30 days pass if you only use phone or email to communicate with them. Discuss with them the rent increase.

Again, what aSwissInTheUs said a few replies above about the 30 day period and how to contest rent increase: https://www.ch.ch/en/rent-tenant-rights-obligations/ Local regulation protect tenants, but you have to do your part. In the link you can search the contact info of local conciliation boards.

Err, I don't think that means what you think it means
[QUOTE]usury
noun, plural u·su·ries.
the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest.
an exorbitant amount or rate of interest, especially in excess of the legal rate.

Says who?

No, you can charge whatever the market will bear. And who would define '"reasonable" anyway?

Yes… I know now what is the process. However, you have to think that if you just arrived to the country and don't speak german the process could be really daunting since you don't really know what is going on. We finally decided not go for it because the unknowns for us where bigger than the knowns. I hope that will change overtime.

[QUOTE]Err, I don't think that means what you think it means
The law and the judges

Source: https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/...ord-and-Tenant

By the way, I perfectly know what usury means… and that the source of the word is lending money. However, language allows you sometimes to use words on other contexts that are similar. I come right now with the exact word on English to define this behavior… but I can come with some other similar ones like: pirating, robbery, thieving, bootlegging…

I don't know. How would you define the act to have a first necessity good and try to extract as money as possible just because it's on scarcity and people needs it.