Hello !
So, after few weeks of active flat hunting, we finally found a place in Oberweningen. In the contract the landlord ask us to sign, he says that we have to pay the deposit (2months) and the first month of the rent on his own bank account. The landlord lives in Germany.
I've been looking in previous threads about deposit, and obviously, in CH, you have to open a swiss account where you put the deposit.
I am a bit confused here... Do you guys think it is a normal procedure or should I consider it like a scam ? Or maybe it is just normal as he lives in Germany...?
What do you think ?
It smells funny...
Normally you pay into a Swiss bank account that can will simply be untouchable until the end of a renting agreement in the name of the renter. Then once the end of the agreement arrives, it can be withheld if the money is needed to fix something up. However paying into somebodies personal account, seems iffy to me.
It doesn't seem right for me neither.... AAArrrgggghhhh it is already so hard to find a place, if we are picked by the scamers....
Stay away from it. Next thing he will say its that the only way to see the flat is after you pay. It screams scum. That or many many problems later
Well, I've already seen the flat and fill the form to apply but it feels to me that you are right. Lot of problems ahead. I guess I'll ask for a separate bank account, and if he says no, then I'll have my answer...
Thank you very much anyway !
The account for a deposit must, by law, be in your name. You get the interest earned on this account. The landlord has a block on the accountxand must agree to it's release.
Large firms may have you pay the deposit into their company account and then they transfer it over the rental deposit account once it is set up. The problem is that it can take weeks to set up these accounts. Since the deposit is what secures the contract, until it is paid the apartment is not yours. With large firms, you have nothing to worry about as they know the law and how the rental deposit account is to be held.
However, here it sounds like the apartment is privately owned. Some owners honestly do not understand how things work, particularly if it is the first time the apartment has been rented out. So before everyone jumps to the conclusion that this is a scam, it could be a case where the owner just does not know how things work.
Amande, you said the owner asked you to sign a contract. Do you mean a lease? Generally private owners will just buy two copies of a blank lease from the HEV and hand write out both copies. The law regarding the deposit is stated quite clearly in the HEV lease.
For my first apartment in Switzerland, I paid the deposit directly into the landlady's bank account, having no idea you weren't supposed to, and ... er, that's it. No scam, no hassle, and when I moved out three years later she refunded the deposit promptly and in full. No interest but then again, how much would that have been, twenty francs? I think she simply didn't know the rules (as I didn't.)
If I had it to do over again, I would probably ask her, point to the relevant bit of legalese and say here, can we set up one of these accounts please - but I didn't know then, and it all worked out well in the end.
You are right, this is a privately owned apartment but this is not the first time the owner rent it. I am pretty sure that he is aware of the separate bank account possibility, as he is german and it works the same over there. But maybe he just considers that it doesn't worth doing all the administrative stuff or whatever, and maybe he is a trustable person. Honestly,we spoke to him on the phone and he seemed very nice.
But I've been fooled once, and it costed me a lot. And you know what they say, fool me once.... I guess I am becoming a bit paranoid. Or not. Who knows. I just try not to be naive.
The paper he sent us must be the lease, I didn't realise it, I didn't know how a swiss lease would look like. It is indeed written that it has been made with the HEV. But it is also written that the money should be send on his private bank account.
I think we will call him tomorrow and ask to have a "sparrkonto". I suppose that he won't refuse, as it is the normal procedure... I really hope so because we like the place, the landlord seems nice, the actual tenants were very nice and apparently, the neighbors are nice too ! And we don't have the time to find another place anyway.
Thank you Mrs Doolittle for giving my a little perspective here (I don't know if i am using the right word in english... but you know, an other point of view!).
Maybe I am just over reacting, and the landlord will put the money on a separate account once he has it.
Ok, too much of maybe, let's call him tomorrow and we'll see !
Thanks everyone for your advices !
Thank you for your answer MathNut (my Thanks button is gone ! But I guess there is a quota, I must be thanking too much ). You are probably right.
Firstly, don't call him on Sunday. That will not be a good idea. I hope you manage to sort everything out.