Hello everyone, a month ago we were looking for a flat that allowed cats since we are finally going to bring our cat to Switzerland. We found a flat that did not specify anything about pets, we went to see it and we liked the flat. Before signing the contract, we asked the man who showed us the apartment (who works for the compañy that rents us the apartment, we believe that this building and all the ones on our street belong to a company and not to a private landlord) if we could have a cat . He replied in writing that we could have a cat as long as it was a strictly indoor cat. We have no problem with this, our cat is 9 years old and has never been outside, so 5 days after receiving this positive response we signed the contract and moved, assuming the costs that this had for us (approximately 5000 chf ).
Two weeks go by and we think it's appropriate to send an email and inform the company that our cat was going to arrive in a week. The same gentleman who previously told us that we could have our cat responds to this and tells us that under no circumstances can we have pets on the flat, and that it does not matter if the cat is indoors.
We tried to reason with him but he wouldn't budge. As we had evidence and emails approving that we had a cat, we went to ASLOCA and with all the evidence they told us that it was complicated because although the contract does not prohibit having pets, it does not indicate that they are allowed, except for "small pets" (which , as they explained to us, could include cats or not).
We feel terribly cheated by this company. They lied to us to sign a contract that we would not have signed otherwise. Now we don't know whether to go ahead and bring our cat (who already has her tickets and those of the person who was going to bring her bought and they cost us 750 chf) or start looking for another flat and spend another 5000 chf that luckily we have but we don't we want to spend...
ASLOCA's response was that we take the cat and if the company complained we would go to court. It makes us anxious to think that we are going to get in trouble for having our cat living here. The weird thing is that some of our neighbors even have ramps for their cats that lead to the garden, so I understand that there are cats living in the building.
What would you do in our place? Thanks.
Bring the cat home but be prepared to cover the costs of any damage it does. Make sure the cat doesn’t escape.
Get legal insurance on top of Asloca and bring the cat home. Let the agency know you are doing this based on your previous communication with them which you consider part of the contract.
Hopefully that puts a stop to this nonsense.
But could turn into a fight so be prepared for that also. It's ok and it is sometimes what happens with housing agencies.
I’d say nothing further to the agency. I’d simply ignore them. You asked, they said yes, you signed and that was a binding contract. They cannot unilaterally change the contract without your permission.
They will not want to devote any more time to themmatter, unless someone else complains. And why would anyone do that? Indoor cat isn’t going to be seen.
I am a bit surprised- as you had written confirmation that your cat was allowed, why did you write to them about the arrival of said cat?
Did the written confirmation say 'small animal' or specifically 'indoor cat'. If the latter, I would say no more and discretely move the cat in and say no more.
I would just bring the cat and say nothing as others have said. They agreed to an indoor cat when you signed the lease and you have proof of that in writing.
If you hadn’t written to tell them the cat would be arriving they would have been nine the wiser anyway.
Make sure to have a liability insurance that will cover any damage the cat might do to the flat.
You haven't been scammed. They agreed a contract with you that included the cat. Now they're trying to break the contract (who knows why?).
As others have said - say nothing about it further to them. Frankly, it's none of their business now.
Problem is, the remark isn't part of the contract so it may be immaterial.
But yes, bring the cat, don't tell the company and live a happy life, it's an indoors cat so nobody will need to know. If they do find out they may not like it and give you notice, but that would leave you no worse off than if you moved right away so you'd lose nothing. Obviously that won't be nice and generally you shouldn't be mean, but neither are they so why would you care.
The thing is that we asked him "if it was allowed to have a cat" but we did not say "we already have a cat that we will bring in the future" (we did not think that we had to mince our words so much and we simply asked it like that) and he told us that there was no problem, however our contract indicates that we are obliged to inform if an animal is incorporated into our flat, and that is why we thought we had to inform .
I think I'll bring our cat and start looking for another flat just in case they decide to throw us out... As you mentioned, it's difficult for them to discover that we have an indoor cat, however, we would like to protect the balcony with a mesh and we know that if we do that they will catch us ... But it is a danger not to have it for our cat. It also makes me feel bad that my cat can't go out to get some air and sun...
Thing is this written confirmation is only an email by the management company of the building, I don't think it's valid, especially if there really is a landlord who doesn't want cats and the management company that rented the flat told me that I could have them without consulting the landlord (this is what I'm afraid has happened, that they told me that he could have cats without asking the landlord and later when they asked him he said no).
This is of no help to you now, but when you move, make sure it is written in the contract - specifically "cat".
I am a bit confused. If your cat is an indoor cat, then why does your cat need access to a balcony ? Many apartments forbid tenants from placing enclosures on the balcony but surely this will draw attention to the fact that you have a cat.
Then it is a totally different story altogether. Did you ask at the time about a net/mesh/enclosure for the balcony when you viewed the apartment.These a definitely not allowed by many Agents, because they make the apartment block look messy and ugly- and because cats usually find a way to someone else's balcony after a while and go inside, and it creates major issues. They can also be very dangerous for the cats.
Sorry, but I do not understand? What does the fact that my cat does not go outside have to do with being able to go out on the balcony? Perhaps it is a misunderstanding of the language (English is not my native language) but for me an indoor cat is a cat that is not free to go on the street, a cat that can go to a balcony that does not have access to the street is not an outside cat for me.
In any case we are not going to put the mesh, but we are going to die of heat in summer if we cannot ventilate the house I hope to move before the hot months start
I didn't ask, my mistake, I know. In my country, when you rent a house it is YOUR house and no one can prevent you from putting something as simple as a mesh that is not even drilled. In fact, I read on the internet that it is illegal to be prohibited from putting up the protective mesh and that there has to be a valid justification, such as being a historic building.
I think we would have no problems, since ASLOCA indicates that an indoor cat fall into the "small pets" category, which my contract says are allowed and you do not have to ask for permission, it is also prohibited not to allow you to put the mesh unless there is a good reason (and in my building there is not).
Anyway, I've already started looking for a new apartment because I don't want any trouble.
Well yes, sorry, it's your problem. All other the world people are the same. Some are compassionate, some are nerds, some are stupid, some are greedy, etc, etc, but customs are local and it has nothing to do with "logic" based on your previous neighborhood.
''I hope to move before the hot months start ''
what are your contract terms and when can you give notice???
Are you renting a house or an apartment in a block of apartments?
Welcome to Switzerland! Nothing to do with renting- we own our apartment, but our building rules prevent us hanging anything above the level of the balcony rail, like a washing line etc.
We own our apartment in the UK- we are not allowed by the Owners' Association rules to have any pets that need access to outdoors,even our own access balcony, and would not be allowed to have any meshing or anything that would affect the look of the building, including drying clothes.
Small pets refers to hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, small birds, fish. Cats and dogs are not considered small pets.
Landlords and owners set the rules. Failing to get permission in writing to keep a cat is your mistake for which you must accept responsibility. If other tenants have cats this could be allowed if their units are owned by someone else.