Hello!
I just signed a contract for a new room, but the lessor doesn't want me to access common parts (kitchen, bathroom). He told me before I signed I could take a subscription and have shower in the gym 100m away. I know, urgency and housing crisis made me accept strange deals...
Anyway, it turns out I can't easily access the gym because of opening hours, which by the way is far more than 100m away...
I realize it is not an acceptable situation and I would like to cancel the contract, unfortunately I already signed it yesterday.
Do you know if there is any recourse? Can it be argued the housing is not decent to terminate the contract immediately?
Thanks for your answers
I think that kinda covers it.
If you were not told before you signed, and denied use after you signed, you'd be in a strong position. However, if no Kitchen /bathroom is in the contract, and you signed KNOWING that fact, I'm not sure what you can do.
You knew there were restrictions as he told you upfront, BEFORE you signed, (whether that restriction is reasonable or not is another matter, you signed when you knew about it). What does the contract say about shower and kitchen usage in the apartment, that will be the key.
I don't believe that the housing situation is so desperate that signing a contract for a room with no cooking or toiletting facilities was all that was available, it all sounds totally bizarre.
Is it in writing in the contract? If not you can pretty much ignore what he told you and insist that he sticks strictly to the written contract. If it's not explicit forbidden in it to access common areas, I think a reasonable interpretation is to assume it's allowed, hence demand that he gives you access to bathroom and kitchen.
Before you go too far, what are the termination conditions in your contract?
Strategies as to the next step might differ depending on what conditions you are bound to.
you supposed to crap in a bucket?
Not everybody has a bath/shower at each toilet..
It's all a bit third world, isn't it?
Is it even legal to provide accommodation with no facilities for washing oneself?
It's not (as a residence, fine as a commercial space or vacation home).
Case in point, we rented a room with a toilet/sink (separate), but as it has no bath/shower, my girlfriend (now wife) could not make it her legal residence.
When I first came here, I rented a room with no kitchen, but access to a bathroom/shower (across the hall) in common with another person (who was around about 2x year for a couple days), and this was fine for being my legal residence.
Tom
Thanks for your replies.
The contract explicitly defines a notice period of 2 months. It is not explicitly written I can't access common parts, but "Bad/Dusche" and "Küche" are not ticked, the template used is this one:
https://www.mieterverband.ch/dam/jcr...ietvertrag.pdf
Is it legal to rent accommodation without washing facilities? That's what I would like to know. Also, I noticed in the contract there is star besides "Bad/Dusche" which refers to "Nicht zutreffendes streichen", which I believe translates to "not applicable". I wonder what it means in practice.
The asterisk just means strike through bathroom or shower depending on which applies, and is only relevant if ticked.
I would imagine it is not legal to rent a place without a toilet, but if it has a toilet which includes a sink then you have basic washing facilities and I'd be surprised if that was illegal.
The law doesn't tend to follow modern custom, like showering every day, but basic necessities.
This is interesting. Would it mean the contract can't be considered valid? Do you have a source?
Thanks
I had similar arrangements when I was a student. No kitchen but communal fridge in the corridor. Also a shared tolet and hand basin. The first place I lived didn't have a shower. I used the showers in the ETH. The rent in my first place was 250 CHF. The landlady was a retired teacher who lived downstairs.
Is there a requirement for a landlord to ensure a property is valid as a legal residence?
Unless specifically stated, the renter could have a separate legal residence and be staying temporarily - which is not an unfair assumption, given the renter knew the terms before signing.
I don't really see how you could get out of this one other than terminate via regular notice period. He told you upfront, you didn't bother to check whether his (frankly ridiculous) suggestion was feasible and/or were desperate - unpleasant, but not really anyone's problem but yours.
However, I'm not sure whether there actually IS a kitchen and bathroom in the house itself? Because if so, why would you not be allowed to use them? That seems very very odd. Aren't there other people in the building with similar deals? Where do they go? Or is there literally neither available? Than that too is odd. What kind of place is this?
Long time ago now, but in 1968 our legal residence in Basel was two living rooms, toilet off the stairway (but for our exclusive use) and a kitchen with one cold tap over the sink. We cooked, washed and did the washing, all in the kitchen. We survived.
He told you and you believed it without checking for yourself? Either you were very desperate or careless...
Hypothetically, if the gym was indeed 100m away and was open 6am to 11pm but this gym closed down after 1 month - what would you have done?
I think you probably want to move out because you have found a (better?) place and don't want to stick out the notice or suddenly are feeling hard done by or just trolling...
I will ask the commune if the contract is valid.
I know for sure in France there are strict minimum requirements to rent housing and I assumed it was the same in Switzerland, but it appears it's probably not the case...