In October 2015 I moved out from an apartment and moved in in another one. The protocol to give the keys to the owner run smoothly. Pending to pay remained the heating, water, etc. from year 2015. The deposit of the apartment is in CreditSuisse in a locked account.
It is already 8 months after I moved out and the owner has not yet released my 3 moths deposit, either gave a bill for the costs pending.
I tried:
- Sending him certified letters asking him to do it within given time
- Contacted the renters asociation for support
- Contacted the Schlichtungsbehörde for support.
- Contacted CreditSuisse for support
However, none of them worked. He did not release the money, and according to the renters association, the Schlichtungsbehörde and CreditSuisse, there is no regulation/rule that can enforce him to do it. Absolutely nothing.
If I wait for 12 Months, then, after 12 months I can request the bank to release the money directly to me without asking any signature from the owner of the apartment. I asked creditSuisse to know what documents I might need for that. They claimed I just need the protocol when leaving the apartment and a copy of the contract of my new apartment. OK. But they say... when I will do that... they will still phone the owner and ask him if he agrees that they release the money to me. WTF!?!?!?!?! After one year?!?!?! And what if he says "no" . will my money stay locked forever?!
But, well, the real point comes now: I will most likely move out of Switzerland by July (10 Months after I left the apartment and my deposit is not released) and then I will not be able to be here managing all the paperwork etc. to ask the bank for a money release.
Do you have a clue how I can encourage the landlord to release my money?
First letters he replied always saying he will do it later. Latest letters he refused to take.
Have you joined the Mieterverband? You could have free advice for Sfr 70,-- per year.
The consumer magazine 'Beobachter' writes that the landlord has to release the deposit once all the outstanding bills have been paid. Have you had the Nebenkosten Abrechnung for the last period, up to when you moved out? Once you have paid this he has to release the deposit in escrow.
The bank employee was wrong. 12 months after handing the apartment back, the bank must return the deposit.
Quote:
Sobald die Kaution ihren Zweck erfüllt hat, muss der Vermieter sie freigeben. Dies ist normalerweise der Fall, wenn der Mieter sämtliche Mietzinsen und Nebenkosten bezahlt hat und keine Mieterschäden mehr zu begleichen sind.
Ab dann sollte die Auszahlung der Kaution innert ein bis zwei Monaten möglich sein.
Sind noch Nebenkosten abzurechnen , darf der Vermieter die Mietkaution in Höhe der mutmasslichen Nachforderung bis zum Ende der Abrechnungsperiode zurückhalten . Darüber hinaus muss er sich jedoch mit der Freigabe der Kaution durch die Bank zugunsten des Mieters einverstanden erklären.
Wenn der Vermieter die Kaution nicht freigibt
Weigert sich der Vermieter zu Unrecht, die Kaution freizugeben, kann sich der Mieter an die Schlichtungsbehörde wenden und dort die Herausgabe der Kaution verlangen. Einfacher, aber unter Umständen etwas langwieriger ist folgende Alternative : Hat der Vermieter innert eines Jahres seit Beendigung des Mietverhältnisses keine rechtlichen Schritte gegen den Mieter eingeleitet, so kann der Mieter nach Ablauf dieser Jahresfrist direkt von der Bank verlangen, dass ihm das Mietzinsdepot ausbezahlt wird.
Fatmanfilms is right -- he is fully within his rights to wait the full 12 months to return the money, and often charges come in quite a long time after you've vacated the property.
Of course, if you've continued to send registered letters, you may have just been fanning the flames. I find that if you back a Swiss person into a corner when they're technically in the right, they'll hold it over you and make you suffer for it. There's every chance that you've pissed your landlord off and he'll make you wait the full 12 months now out of spite.
And I know before releasing the money he needs to say how much he takes so needs to do the Nebenkostenabrechnung.
And yes also know he has the right to not to release the money (ever).
And yes I am in the Mietverband (completely useless in this case).
All this is written in my first post, in case someone read it.
The thing I was wondering is if there is something I could do to "encourage" him to release the money earlier, since I will be away from July and after October and it will be a pain to come back just to get this deposit back and I need the money asap.
At this point? After you pestered him with numeruous letters? Nothing. You have to wait until he calcualtes the final bill or till October 2016. What ever comes first.
Had the same situation, money was released after 12 months including accrued interest. It's frustrating, but it's just the way it is.
As hinted at before, i'm sure some landlords wait as long as they can, hoping tenants (foreigners) give up due to leaving the country or not knowing their rights (lack of German language or friends to advise them)
Sounds like your landlord will just wait until the deadline is up and release, patience is a virtue.
Your main concern seems to be to get your deposit back after you have left Switzerland. Surely CreditSuisse (whom you appear to have contacted) should be able to tell you.
You are obviously not the first person who moved out of Switzerland before recovering their deposit, surely there are pretty straightforward procedures set up by the banks to deal with this.