Moving to Zurich - Setting up utilities

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
Hi all,

Me and my wife will be moving to Zurich in the coming fall. We have signed a lease for a flat in a brand new building to be populated on October 1st. I was thinking about coming a month earlier to set up the different utilities (electricity, internet, water etc.) so that it will all be ready when we move in. Does my plan make sense? Is it possible to set these things up ahead of time so everything will be up and running by Oct 1st?

Also, (and this might be a question to a different forum) my B permit is contingent on my lease, will it be possible to apply for a B permit when I arrive (a month before my lease starts)?

Thanks for your time,

Alex

2
When you are renting a a new flat, the it is the duty of the landlord to provide electricity/water for the new flat(you have to report to the provider, that you are the new tenant of that flat, so the provider can charge you). There is only one provider, so no choices.

When you make a contract for internet/telephone , there are choices(speed/providers) so you choose the offer that suits your demand and make a contract, pay the provider(for example cablecom). That can be done online these days, so you don't need to arrive a month early.

3
When we moved in our apartment we have to choose from 3 different electricity (let's say plans all from ewz) I remmeber one of them was solar power, 2nd was from regular power plant can't remember 3rd option. As for internet you will need to check with lanlord which company have outlet in your building (or online you can type in your address an see if that provider can offer you service and which one) there are different plans adsl, fiber optic, cable...try cablecom, sunrise, swisscom... Water and heating are already installed.

4
Thanks for the quick reply!

Is there by any chance a sort of "check-list" of things to do once arriving in CH?

I'll be starting my job the Monday after we move and I'm trying to make the moving process as efficient and comprehensive as possible.

For example the Billag payment, which if not paid will lead to a hefty fine.

Thanks again,

Alex

5
You'll need to pay Billag, I tried to avoid that because I have only internet no tv, radio...But they will keep sending you notices until you paid. Think it's 440 per year.

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I wasn't trying to avoid paying it I'm trying to figure out if there are any other costs that I might not be aware of.

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Another thing I can think of is health insurance, which is compulsory here. There is a whole science to selecting a provider. You can check this website for comparison: https://en.comparis.ch/krankenkassen/default.aspx .

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If you got no TV, you pay only around 165sfr per year(PC /Mobile only)

9
As its a new building and your the first tenant then an electrician is needed to hook up the telephone with Swisscom or Sunrise. However, it being in Zurich you will must likely be connected to UPC for cable TV and internet. If that's the case you can also for about the same monthly cost also get phone service thru the cable company (UPC) and save a couple hundred on the electrician.

10
If you come over before the actual rent starts you will, by default, have no access to the building and the apartment. So first thing to do is make sure you do by arranging that with your regie/landlord.

Getting your B permit early would require you to register when you arrive, at which time (if you came a month early) your 'real' address probably wouldn't exist yet. Why the hassle? If you arrive a bit early you could do so as a tourist, no?

Electricity, waste disposal, warm and cold water, and heating are the landlord's and the commune's job. You can rely on that working when you move in, though making sure a few days ahead of the move won't hurt. Days, not a full month. As has been mentioned you'll get to chose the source of your electricity but you will be supplied before that already, nothing to sweat on.

In case you don't know: Tap water here is the same quality as mineral water, it just lacks the bubbles.

As for internet access, in Zürich city you generally have these options, though not in every house/street:

- fiber provided by the city Elektrizitätswerk (electricity company). Getting connected takes about four weeks. Check availability for your building here

- tv cable, assuming your house/apartment is connected. Ask landlord/regie

- ADSL (phone line), provider is your choice. Connection speed depends on your subscription. Getting connected typically takes a couple weeks

- by radio relay (Richtfunk) provided your apartment isn't shielded/blocked by some other building. See www.antanet.ch if interested. However, this option is fairly unknown, and with fibre arriving that may no longer make sense.

With fibre and ADSL you only have a line, a connection, but no data feed thus you'll also need an ISP, some of which also offer packages with tv, phone and mobile. With cable and radio relay the line and the ISP are provided by the same company, they are one package. Not sure if it still applies, but just a few years ago UPC Cablecom (provides cable access) ratings for service quality and customer service were nothing short of abysmal.

You'll also need a mobile phone provider. In many cases this can be combined with the above. Swisscom has a reputation for excellent quality - you'll most probably overpay compared to others but, especially as a newly arrived who barely knows his way around here yet, it may still be your best option.

PS:

Ordinary search on this forum is less than useless, use google powered only

11
Thank you all and especially Urs Max for your answers!

I feel a bit more comfortable with my move date now .

My start date at my new job is just 2 days after my move and I want to have enough time to sort out any complications I might have with the B permit. Also I assume that it takes more then 2 days to produce the permit and I need it before my start date. Then I might be overthinking it, would appreciate your 2 cents.

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For the first time I will be moving into a building that Swisscom have told me I will need and electrician to hook up. Do you know what exactly is required. If its as simple of just conecting a couple of wires in the AT&T box is this not something I could do myself? Phone lines only use two wires?

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Contact Amt für Wirtschaft und Arbeit , no need to fly over here just to ask.

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Sorry! Really don't know. Assume your right, being just two wires. All I know is that When we moved into our current then new place we were told to call some electrician for the hook up (next to having to dish out 45 SFr for the name plates below the door bell). Since the hook up to cablecom (UPC) was already done, just decided to get phone service with them instead. Then about a week later one of our new neighbors asked us if we also got a outrages bill from the electrician.

15

Your permit is not contingent on your lease, though you will need a mailing address that’s acceptable to apply for the permit. What is contingent is that you have an employment contract with a Swiss employer and that you have an EU passport.

You won’t get your permit straightaway - it’ll take a few weeks to be issued. But so long as you have the contract and have registered as being resident here you’re okay to work. You will get a piece of paper to say that you’ve applied for your permit so you can do things like open a bank account, mobile phone contract, etc.

Something you need to be aware of if you’ve been working in the US and have a Green Card is that, unless you formally give this up using an i-407 form, you will still be obliged to file US tax returns and may owe the US tax on top of your Swiss ones. Also opening a bank account may be difficult due to the American connection. You would need to sign a W-9 form to allow the bank to pass your account info on to the IRS. And if any of your foreign accounts come to an aggregate figure of more than $10,000 at any time of the year they will also have to be reported on an FBAR form.

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Really when the billag guy came for an inspection he said doesn't matter if you dont have tv you can use the internet to see tv, listen to radio, so we have been paying the 440. can we check about this somewhere or seek redressal in any way? Its quite a huge difference.