Hello all, I hope you had a great new year, the hangover isn't too bad and that someone reads this today from a comfy chair who knows all the answers!

I will try to be as brief as possible. Some background: I am a swiss resident, B-Permit. I moved into my partner's apartment about 13 months ago, with the agreement of the landlord. I have lived here happily for that time, I have been the point of contact for the Hauswarterin, I'm registered with the gemeinde here etc. We do have written evidence of the Landlord's agreement to me moving in, however, my name is not on the contract.

Now that the landlord wishes to sell things have turned nasty. They clearly want us out as quickly as possible and are trying to force the issue various ways (semi-threatening messages, sending photos of clearly fraudulently amended contracts with non-matching pages and clauses removed, etc).

Of course, we spoke to Asloca who explained the situation as they see it, that the landlord can terminate our contract now, and that we would be forced to leave in June, or that if the apartment were to be sold, the new owner could evict us in April if the apartment is required for personal use (as a primary residence?). We essentially transmitted this to the landlord, who has changed tack...

They are now (and the wording was a more or less, if you play hard ball with us, we play hard ball with you) claiming that my living here breaches the contract as it was signed, and that I have no contract to live here. They will be sending an abmahnung today and it will arrive tomorrow. If I don't move immediately, we will both be forced to leave at the end of the month. I have no idea if that's legally correct at all, but my belief was that even oral amendments are binding in Swiss law, and written ones certainly are, so the initial question is thus:

The contract originally was signed by my partner as a single occupant. The landlord gave subsequent agreement for me to move in, has been fully aware that I have been here since November last year, and that has been a non-issue for 13 months until today, when this blew up. Now they are threatening to evict one or both of us. Do they have a leg to stand on, or is it just posturing (or misinformed swiss-guessing).

My belief is that we have done nothing wrong and our rights stand, but obviously, we are freaking out here. We will try to return to Asloca, of course, but may not find time quickly because the holiday season. Supposedly my eviction only comes with one week notice.

Thank you so much in advance for any information you might be able to provide!

Move out.

You will have to sooner or later.

Tom

I'm not sure if they would be able to suddenly evict you, but it does sound like you should hurry up and find a new place ASAP. I don't think things are going to get any better with your situation in your current place, even despite whatever rights you may have.

Have you expressed to your landlord that you're trying to find a new place? (And have you been)? They should be aware that it can be difficult to find a new place and be approved for a new place in this market, but perhaps if they were made to understand that you're actively seeking a new place, they might lay off a bit.

I think April is one of the months when people here can terminate their rental contracts early and move out, so there will probably be a lot of those listings coming up on the websites soon and a lot of places ready for move-in in April.

Happy New Year... and good luck!

Sorry about your situation. This is a bad way to start the year…
However if Asloca said that you have to move out in April or in June. we really need to find a new place. But until then there is nothing they can do. I doubt it that Asloca could be wrong. I would try to do everything by the book, maybe talk to Rechtsschutzversicherung and not react. Good luck and stil a happy new year!

If you have written proof of the agreement you can live there then I don't see they have a leg to stand on legality-wise. They agreed and the fact the contract doesn't specify you doesn't change that.

Also has the landlord sent you a registered letter informing you that they're terminating the contract? E-mails, phone calls, etc, don't count for this sort of thing; it has to be a written letter sent registered post.

Obviously talk to ASLOCA again and definitely look for a new place to move to.

That was my impression of the law too.

The path being pursued by the landlord is that, because I am not listed on the contract, I am living here illegally. They have supposedly sent an 'abmahnung' by registered post, which we get tomorrow, stating that I have to move out immediately (not sure what the definition of immediate is) or we will both be held in breach of contract and evicted at the end of this month.

But no, we have yet to receive a formal request to move out via post.

I really appreciate all the responses so far, believe it or not, it helped. And of course, we are going to have to move out, certainly by either April or June, and are actively looking. We will move as soon as we find something decent (not easy) but we're just trying to establish a reasonable timescale within which to do so, and what our rights are first.

Instead of bending over to them without a fight, I would rather advise to stay put.

It seems many rental agencies in Switzerland act like thugs and people willingly give in being afraid of a potential hassle.

If OP really has a contract that there is a 2nd person living in the apartment (named or not) then their threats are empty (as usual) and can be ignored.

You said in your original post that: "We do have written evidence of the Landlord's agreement to me moving in, however, my name is not on the contract."

Are they aware of the written evidence that you have where they had agreed to allow you to live there despite not being on the rental contract? And are they simply outright lying and denying that they allowed you to move in, or do they not realize or remember that they did?

It doesn't make sense that they would feel they could try to use you living there as a means to accuse you both of breach of contract in order to try to justify evicting you if they are aware that there is evidence of them having once given you written permission to live there despite not being on the contract.

Move out. Otherwise it could escalate quickly and you don't want that: bad reference, long repairs to heating, police calls etc.

The written permission could well be considered now to be part of the contract.

We do have the evidence because we always communicate with the landlord about everything in writing, via SMS or Whatsapp. They know that. I suspect they believe that granting permission is not equivalent to updating the contract. My impression of the law is the messages we supercede the older contract.

There is not much logical about how they are behaving generally. They have been as far sending my partner a contract with the first page, containing the clauses about move out, reprinted completely amended and attached to the original, dogeared and signed second page. We have our original so we were blown away

Not a lawyer here, but I join those who say that you should basically do just two things:
- play it safe and stick to the letter of the law. It looks like you are quite covered and therefore you will have to ignore some of the requests of the landlord - you need ASLOCA to help you understand what. If you can't reach ASLOCA today, wait;
- move out ASAP. Your apartment is lost, it's just a matter of time.

You will need ASLOCA's help until after you move out, especially regarding the handover and the return of your partner's deposit in full. People forging contracts means they may try to get some extra money as well.

In terms of your own position, it is my understanding from the information you’ve provided that you are basically in terms of your rights only „a guest“:

The actual tenant's right of use (so your partner) includes, among other things, the admission of guests. These may also be accepted for an indefinite period of time.

Legally, only those who do not provide any services of monetary value - not even symbolic monetary services or work - are considered guests. If services of this kind are rendered, a subtenancy or at most a contractual relationship exists, which is governed by the rules of the so-called simple partnership. The guest is not protected by the tenancy law and can be evicted from the apartment at any time.

There is another possibility that you are considered a Life partner - also without any tenancy agreement or tenancy rights.

It is also part of the tenant's right of use that life partners may be permanently accommodated in the rented apartment. Landlords should be informed about the admission of life partners. However, consent is not required. Provisions in the lease that restrict this aspect of the tenant's right of use are not permissible.

However, also in this case, since there is no contractual relationship with the landlord or landlady, life partners without a tenancy agreement cannot invoke the protective provisions of tenancy law.


Here the source:

https://www.mieterverband.ch/dam/jcr...sam_wohnen.pdf


As to the terms of your partners tenancy rights, then they are subject to the standard tenancy rights in terms of having the contract terminated when the landlord needs it for their own use. These terms will be stipulated in the contract she signed.

I have known people over the years that have unfortunately been given this notice, and it is really not a good idea to contest it at the end of the day. A better solution is always to try to reach some kind of friendly agreement with the landlord on whether there may be any possibility of remaining a bit longer in the property (while being on an active search for another home).

Perhaps use this as an opportunity, and co-sign the next apartment with your partner. Good luck in the search to you both!

That's hogwash, pure and simple. By that inane pseudologic a newborn could be evicted.

It's considereed a human right to move in with your romantic partner, that ranks pretty high. Provided of course you're here legally, which applies as per your post above.
Abmahnung is not an applicable term in this context. That applies to the domain of a Werkvertrag, or it's based on stuff copied over from a page on German law.

Rental contracts (except for furnished single rooms) come with a notice period of not less than three months (applicable to both sides). Canton Wallis has no default end dates, so whatever your contract defines, applies. As long as you keep paying your rent there's pretty much no way to bypass this.

Every canton has what's called a SchlichtungsBehörde, an official body tasked with settling this kind of disputes. On top of that they provide free advice outside of actual "hot" cases, advice on situations like you are in. Their assessment carries a "little" more weight than anonymous posters on an online forum, based on what you present it will definitely be in your favor. The ideal closing, if possible for a case like this, might be an official letter telling your landlord in no uncertain terms that they have no leg to stand on.

https://www.vs.ch/de/web/sict/mietverhaltnisse


ETA:
An eviction requires a court order, there's simply no way to get that in a few days or weeks, that's a matter of months. Interestingly enough, the first step to get such a court order is an official (but non-binding) finding and recommendation on settling the issue by the above SchlichtungsBehörde.

Similar advice to above....breathe and wait until the letter comes.

Put together the 'evidence' you have that you did inform the landlord about moving in and print it all off and leave it to one side.



Are you 'married' or in any way legally tied to your 'partner' ?


And then sit back and wait and see what ASLOCA have to say. You certainly cannot evict a 'guest' in one week.


Also, did you rent via an agency or directly to the landlord ?



Do NOT communicate with your landlord again, in any way, until you have received advice from ASLOCA.

The owner wants to sell and it is clear that he/she thinks a tenant is going to interfere with this so he wants you out so the place can be sold with "vacant possession." It isn't easy to evict tenants. If you were to ge given notice as per your rental agreement, you could contest it, but without a really good reason to stay, you would unlikely win an extension.

A new owner is required to take over the current lease and the tenants continue to live there. If the new owner were to decide to give the tenants notice, it must be done according to the terms in the lease, even if the reason is new owner wanting to occupy the apartment personally.

Your current owner/landlord doesn't appear to think the apartment might appeal to someone as an investment opportunity and they would be happy to assume tenants.

In situations like this, it is usually best to look for a new place and then try to negotiate the terms with your landlord so you move out when YOU want. The good news is that you won't need to find a follow on tenant. If you drag this out, as tenants you must give the landlord access for viewings for potential buyers. The sooner you move out this won't be your problem. Also something to consider is that you want a decent reference so you can find a new place.

Yours won't be the first owner/landlord who thinks the property is in demand and then it sits empty for months. It is possible your landlord really needs to sell and will price it for a quick sale.

Either way, you want to control the situation here and while you may not be in the wrong, fighting with your landlord will not be productive. I assume you cannot or do not want to buy the place so moving is really your only option.

__________________

As a landlord I suggest you of course return the place; life is too short to fight battles that you just know you'll lose. Its their property and you don't have the right to stay indefinitely.

If you stay beyond your legal period, then the landlord I guess would have the right to cut the water, power and heating; and that isn't going to be fun? unless you like living in a squat.

If you say beyond your legal period, maybe the landlord will turn up with a few friends and a locksmith and move you out? worse, he may turn up while you're there and move you out...

Choose you battles to fight in life, this one just isn't worth it.

It requires the civil authorities to perform a forceful eviction. Harrassment and intimidation are similarly not lawful.

If the landlord turns up as you suggest the immediate course of action is to call the police. Even if you have overstayed your contract, the landlord cannot take the law into his own hands - he'll need a court order or suchlike.

We are not in the US.

Tom

The letter arrived today, though we haven't collected it yet, we will do so before our visit to Asloca, hopefully, that will be tomorrow.

We rented directly from the landlord, who as we have stated, not only gave written permission for me to stay but for me to "move in" 14 months ago. As such, I have my registered address here at that time.

We will, of course, do as advised. And take the evidence to Asloca, as well as the evidence of the landlord's recent actions.

With due respect you either haven't read the post, or you're that kind of 'landlord'.

We have no intention in the slightest of trying to stay indefinitely, or even one day longer than the period of notice stated in our contract. Asloca advised us that, given notice received in January, that move-out date is the end of June. The landlord themselves installed a clause in the contract preventing termination of the contract from December to March.

We wouldn't dream of contesting the notice given as long as it is in accordance with said contract. As you rightly state, the landlord owns the place. The issue here is the landlord is trying to force us out for their own convenience before the contractually agreed period (and to fraudulently remove a clause in the contract initially added to protect them, not us). Or are you the kind of landlord that believes contracts only actually apply to the tenants too?

Ps. I am also a landlord back home, with all the lordly powers that bestows upon me.