Hi everybody,
we moved from the States in October 2007 and originally had a 6 month rental contract until March 2008. After that, nothing was signed anymore and now we would like to move out. The problem is that we discovered that the contract says:
(From French)"The contract will be renewed under the same conditions for one year except if one of the two parties indicates their departure 4 months before the next cycle, and so it remains year after year".

So, do we read this correctly that even though the contract expired long time ago (le bail se termine le 30 mars 2008, written on the contract) that this is nevertheless a "life contract" almost except if one party says something? Hope not...

Thanks for all the help!!

That's standard for Swiss rental contracts. It rolls over automatically unless it is a)a fixed-term lease or b) you give notice according to the terms in the contract. One way out now would be to find a follow-on tenant who will take on your apartment/house at the same conditions as you are renting it and who is acceptable to the landlord.

I know you are probably kicking yourself and I don't mean to rub salt into the wound, but for anyone else who is reading, it really does make good sense to have someone translate stuff for you that is in a foreign language at best before, or worst case - immediately after, signing.