Cheers
Siv
My current apartment only asked for a 1 year lease but this new one I am moving has a 5 year lease requirement. Can they do this? I mean 5 years is a long time in any country. I will try negotiate but wanted to know your experiences.
Is it contractually binding? Why would you consider a 5 year lease if you know you may not be staying that long? Surely that is something you consider before you move.
You should be able to get out if you provide a suitable replacement or two, as far as I understand the rental regulations in Switzerland. So they can't tie you down for that long.
Either way it's too long for my liking.
Of course the landlord can stipulate a 5 year lease. Or 10 years. Or 30.
It used to be quite common that leases ran 5 years or longer; landlords valued stable tenants.
When we first moved here we found ourselves stuck with a 5 year lease. I had to go back in the US immediately after having selected the house and had a relocation agent draw up the contract with power to sign for us. It never occured to me that a lease would run for anything other than one year. As with so many things one trips over when one first moves to Switzerland - you don't know what you don't know, so don't know to ask questions. A mistake - and yes, I know, selber schuld .
(Turned out this particular relo agent automatically wrote contracts for 5 years, even though an expat assignment ran 1-2 years. When we questioned the agent, she blithely said that she just assumed the company would pick up the cost to break the lease. She lost the company account soon after. )
---
Have you already signed the contract? If not, now is the time to negotiate a different term. But be aware that in doing so you might risk losing the flat.
But if you have already signed the contract, you are bound to those terms - with the usual clause of finding an acceptable replacement tenant, or of paying to the end of the contract.
Thanks guys, I have not signed as yet. We really do like the place though and it suits the budget most importantly and would be a shame to lose it.
I will try the negotiation route, lets see what the agency says.
Thanks again.
Oh I did not know(because I did not ask) that it would be 5 years.
It seems to be more common with newer builds. When our building was first opened every tenant had to sign a 5-yr lease. If they were unwilling, the flat went to someone else. There's plenty of demand and not enough supply, so landlords/agencies know they can ask such terms and get them. You're not alone in your frustration.
And it is exactly that, well not new, but I am second tenant since it was built about 5-6 years ago.
Ask yourself how easy would it be to find someone to take over the lease of you needed to move out.
You could suggest a 1 year lease, automatically renewing another year, when no notice is given by either side.
But Lausanne has a problem with enough good rental property, and as you like it, maybe just sign the lease and
hope for the best. If it is an attractive property & price then you should be able to find a replacement tenant.
I suspect the landlord has no interest in a short let, I don't blame him either.
Ok update from the agency - Verbatim: ' It is really like a one year lease for you. Don’t worry about this lease, you do not stay minimum 5 years in this apartment. It is a normal lease based on the Swiss Index, like all leases for apartment. The normal cancellation is once a year by October 31st'
Basically I can cancel as usual by October any time. If I cancel out of this period then I need to find someone and pay rent until I do which is also normal.
Get that in writing - better yet, get it specifically written into the lease.
I was told the same thing by our agent. And I, selber schuld, naively believed her. But the contract stipulated a five year term, and that's what the landlord held us to.
Of course they can. They can do whatever they want.
If you want the apartment: have them confirm what they said on the phone with the one-year lease in writing. Ideally in the contract. Or at the very least send an e-mail confirming what you discussed and ask for a quick confirmation back. Print the e-mail. Keep it. Then sign the contract.
If the contract states 5 years, the term is 5 years end of story.
We were told the same thing when we were looking back in 2011 - it seemed odd to me but it sounded like it was a standard procedure. However, since we ended up buying we didn't have to ever test it out...
Have you read the lease to see how they worded that part? It sounds like it is something that automatically renews each year for 5 years unless you cancel. Then, after 5 years, a new lease (with possibly new term such as rent price) would be drawn up.
Yes a landlord can do whatever they want, but I am assuming that the OP is a tenant of the highest calibre if they want to sign a new agreement for 5 years.
Personally, it makes more sense on both sides to start with a one year contract just so both sides can determine how much they like the respective tenant/apartment and see if they want to stay longer.
I would imagine the contract is in someway rigged so that the landlord can evict you at any point, but you are contractually bound to meet the financial obligations for the full term... I would first beware of these this.
Personally, I would simply walk away from this if the contract length isn't negotiable. This is a red flag for me.
I faced a similar situation, and as is the first thing that one should be doing with such queries, I asked the leasing agency what does this imply... the answer was quite plain and simple:
- a 5 year lease means that the rent amount defined in the contract is going to be the same for 5 years... no fluctuations, based upon any changes in the reference rate (Referenzzinssatz)
- after 5 years the agency may or may not choose to renew your lease and/or change the rent
- you can still leave the apartment at any time with a 3 months (or whatever is stated in your termination clause) notice period in written... this 5 years lease doesn't affect the termination clause in any way...
- vica versa, the agency can also ask you to vacate within the period stipulated in the termination clause... unrelated to the 5 years lease...
HTH
Sure, in general, but if they say on the phone that it is "really just one year for you", I'd want that in writing.
Actually, I'm not sure this is always true. I once had a minimum lease of two years and there was no way I could get out of it sooner unless I'd found another tenant myself.
Cool!