Good Morning!
I rented an apartment in October 2020 and the contract was for 3 months because I was waiting to get my residence permit. In the contract it was specified that it was not possible to cancel it (I was not worried because it was a contract for 3 months). Then it was extended for 5 years with a letter declaring it (they didn’t change the initial contract and I didn’t think to ask to change the termination section in the contract)
I would like to change apartments because I need a bigger one, however I wonder if they can tell me that my contract cannot be cancelled as it was initially specified in my contract. Is it legal not to give the opportunity to terminate the rent early?
Yes I signed the letter to extent the contract. At the end of the letter, it was written:
‘All other provisions of the rental agreement of 04.09.2020 and its components remain in force unchanged - insofar as they are not affected by this or other agreements/supplements.
This addendum forms an integral part of the rental agreement.’
So I think since they didn’t change (and I forgot to ask) the section of the contract on the early termination of the contract, the old one is still valid…
In short, if you bring in a tenant that is willing and able to assume your contract, with reasonable conditions then you can leave early.
Basically, the notice period is for leaving and not caring about what happens to the property next. The contract is pretty clear on that, and yes it’s legal to have a fixed term. However, if you can find a tenant that wants the place and their income is at least 3 times the rent, and it’s not about moving “next week” then you should be OK. The idea is that the landlord will not be left hanging.
Now legally speaking, 1 candidate is enough, however best practice is to present 3. Also, the landlord might request a reasonable amount of time to assess candidates and prepare paperwork for the next tenant. This is not somewhere in black and white, but I’ve managed with about 6 weeks notice without issue (gave notice in mid Feb and moved out end of March).
If you give a few candidates and they’re employed and their income is sufficient, and the notice is reasonable, then even if the landlord for whatever other reason does not accept them, you’re still off the hook and can leave.
Thank you for your reply! I live in Basel, so the demand is not like Zurich but better than small city. The rent is quite low (~1200 chf for 55mq2) and we want to move out in November, so I hope we have enough time to find someone who can take over the contract… at the end the contract will end 11month later, so I hope it will be not a big problem not have a cancellation period for who will take over. I wrote an email to the agency who is renting the apartment to understand if it is possible for them to reconsider the notification period (but I already know the answer ). I’m just worried about not finding someone to take over the contract… we’ll see! Thank you!
A small update… the agency was very kind and agreed to give me 3 months of notification to terminate the contract as they agreed that they should change when they extended the initial contract!
). I’m just worried about not finding someone to take over the contract… we’ll see! Thank you!