hi
we are taking over the house in Vaud on 15th june (which we hv rented) and hv heard of asloca. i tried the website (the one in Nyon) but its all in french which i dont understand. can someone help me with what their services are? i also heard its good to hv someone from asloca do the walk through with us. is this really useful? can we join online and before we actually arrive in geneva? and HOW DO WE JOIN and how long does it take ? we arrive on 13th which is a saturday and monday 15th is when we meet the housing agent.

many tks for your comments and advice.

I think that you can actually get someone from ASLOCA to do the walkthrough with you even without being a member. They just charge slightly more.

ASLOCA offers assistance when taking over and giving back an apartment to make sure that you are not zinged unnecessarily for items which are the landlord's responsibility. If you are having trouble with the landlord they offer free legal advice. They also offer to insure your liability insurance excess. Any damage you do as a tenant will generally be covered by your liability insurance. However there is generally a deductible of a couple of hundred francs. The ASLOCA insurance will cover the deductible.

are you UK'er?

its like a citizens advice burea for renters/tennants. ALL their services are covered by the annual fee to them of 50/60CHF. they can walk around with you to make sure things are in order if you wish, can look at the contract to make sure it is 'standard' etc and during your tennancy if you have any problems (taking to long to fix a hot water system, dodgy windows, etc) that you cannot resolve with the landlord/agency then they can 'fight' on your behalf.

phoning them would be a good idea, the chances of an english speaker being there are high.

HI
many tks for your replies. tried calling them...no luck with anyone who speaks english! eventually got my french friend who called them and was told that they dont do that service of having someone do the walkthrough anymore as they seem to not hv enough staff. what a shame, for the first time in renting a home, i thought we are in luck as we finally have some professional help in dealing with landlords (we dont hv much luck with them!).
thank you for your help.