After applying for an apartment that I visited a couple of weeks ago, I received from the agency two copies of the contract that I have to return signed to them.
The contract is in German, so I will need some time to carefully translate it and in some days I will also go to the apartment to check it once again before being sure that I will put my signature.
Does anybody know how much time I have until they decide that I'm not going to sign and then search for somebody else? Inside the contract it doesn't seem to be anything related to that, only in the letter with it it's written to return it "sofort" (=immediately)

Just a word of warning that if you decide not to sign after the contract has been issued you may be liable to some processing charges (which should have been noted on your application form).

Why dont you call the agency and let them know that you'll sign the contract but need to get it translated into English first, hence there might be a delay. Otherwise they'll assume that you're not interested and will start looking for someone else.

Generally, in the covering letter itself, where it says to return the signed contract, there are also terms disclosing any fees associated with change of mind. Atleast, in the few contracts I've seen its always been on the covering letter. So worth looking at first.

However, Ebony's answer is a good one. My husband speaks fluent German but when a contract for a house we really wanted came through, he was overseas and I had to rely on my shoddy hoch Deutsch. I called up the realtor who actually took me through the contract over the phone and explained the parts I didn't understand.

Before I made this call, I did (with the aid of dict.leo.org) translate as much as possible, and have a list of questions. She was happy to help me since it didn't eat up too much of her time.

If you have access to a fax and the contract isn't, like, 30 pages long, fax it to me on 032 3841148 and I'll translate it within hours. Send your email address or return fax no. somewhere.
I speak, read and write perfect German / Swiss German and my native tongue is English, so it wouldn't be a problem for me.

Thank you all for the suggestions.
I wrote yesterday to the agency, but I haven't received yet any answer: probably they don't work on Friday afternoon.
I had already translated the contract and I will be able to send the signed copy back within next Tuesday.
Since I received the copies last Thursday, I hope that 5 days of delay will not be a problem...

Want to share this, maybe it could be helpful for somebody else.

Together with the contract, they sent me a copy of the "Allgemeine Bedingungen zum Mietvertrag für Wohnräume", that stands for "General Tenancy Contract Conditions for Residential Space", and once I sign the contract it implies that I accept it.

Since it's written in German and it's 4 full pages long, I searched and found an English version of it here: http://www.aw-immo.ch/en/20_formular...htm/AGB-en.pdf
The translation seems quite accurate, but remember that ONLY the German version is legally binding, so use the English version only as a quick reference

And you do this for free? There is no mention of a fee, unless you sent a private mail but then if you did that, you would have sent your fax number in that mail instead of posting it on an open forum. Are you sure you meant to do that? Seems the mods missed that but I thought posting one's phone number was frowned upon.

This is most often the case. One application form I recently received stated that if a contract is prepared after confirming with you by telephone that your application has been accepted and you would like the apartment, there will be a fee of 150 chf if you do not sign the contract. So at least they are not just going to go ahead and send the contract without first confirming your interest. This makes sense to me in this market where it is impossible to rely on just submitting one application knowing there are so many applicants.

Hi 81Joe81, that is excellent and very uselfu to include the link for the rental terms in English. When I clicked on it though it was all in German, is there another link?

Thanks again, Jules.

Yes, sorry for the wrong link: here's the English one... http://www.aw-immo.ch/en/20_formular...htm/AGB-en.pdf
I will correct also the previous post