Hi there!
I just came up with a strange situation while applying for an apartment in Zurich and wanted to share it with the community - maybe someone had similar experience?
For an apartment listed on Homegate from a real estate agency and after a quite crowded viewing that happened last week, I submitted my application along with all relevant attachments.
Surprisingly, the official reply from this office was that due to the high number of applicants, they decided to carry out the selection process using a random number/algorithm generator, which makes the selection, to ensure a transparent and fair selection !! Apparently, the algorithm did not select me
Have you heard something similar? Is this a common practice? Does this procedure have legal base?
Thanks for your comments!
Imagine that the company receives 200 applications of which 50 meet all criteria. How do you expect them to select?
This “random algorithm generator”, is that the same as tossing a coin or throwing a dart?
I guess the algorithm takes away the risk that the remaining suitable but rejected applicants get the hump that they've been discriminated against in some way.
indeed it could be the case, but timing was very quick to have all the assessments done...
viewing was last Thursday and Friday - then weekend.
Monday morning i send my application, 10mins after the "algorithm" reply..
I think something else is happening
Then you were probably already too late sending your documents? Seems they had enough applicants already last week to decide.
And yes, it is up to the landlord to decide who gets the apartment and how he/she chooses a new tenant.
Agree with this - going to a viewing normally means you slam in your application as soon as humanly possible. Leaving it till after the weekend is a big risk if there are a lot of interested parties.
to be honest, my concern is not on this specific application. It is more on the general concept of how the real estate market works and if this is the standard procedure.
People are investing their time or may take a day-off in order to go for a viewing. Then specific documents are needed (i.e. the debt free declaration) for which a 1-working day is needed to issue, plus the cost to issue it.
And if people are getting into this process, at least they are expecting a transparent and fair treatment. For sure not a Sunday algorithm rush to find the new tenant...
sorry but what do you mean?
it's their apartment, they give it to whoever they want
No, it isn't. You see the number of unread emails in the mailbox immediately
Yes, exactly. More or less. :-)
First time in a big city? Think of an agency having to have so many people going through the apartment, processing so many applications, they ́ll probably want to automate that as much as possible.
A Betreibungsauszug is generally required and can be requested online. Best to have one ready and if I remember correctly was 20 CHF.
Start looking outside of the city and the competition will not be that fierce.
Using something like this - randomly selecting from the total pool of acceptable applicants - seems like a much better way of selecting.
The fact that the CH housing market is so tight in so many areas, this alleviates the stress of tenants having to rush to be the first to view and the first to submit an application.
The landlord can have a period of time for viewings, people who are interested submit their applications by a predefined deadline, the landlord uses whatever criteria they wish to put some of those applications into the approved pile, then a hopefully well-designed system is used to randomly select the winner (or the order of winners, since winning does not mean one has to accept, I believe).
The other solution would be to loosen restrictions on building more housing, but that's an entirely different debate.
hahaha, yeap first time to apply in Zurich
anyway it is what it is and i see that you guys are more or less confirming that this can be the case here, so next time I will be prepared!
Presumably you were applying to one of the large immobilien companies which let thousands of apartments around the city? Gone are the days where they hand-select applications. If you want that, then you need to apply to places with private landlords.
Besides, now you've got your documents ready to go, and your debt-free confirmation has a shelf life of 6m, or whatever it is these days, there's nothing stopping you from being as quick off the mark as everyone else. Good luck!
And depending on where you will work/study, have a look at the cities outside of Zurich. From Wallisellen 3 minutes, from Dietlikon 5 minutes to Oerlikon.
Other cities have similar good connections.
you get all the documents you need ahead of time. often it is the first to hand the application in who gets the flat.