Reclaiming a deposit

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
I thought it might be useful for some people if I documented my recent experience of reclaiming my deposit.

I gave my landlords 9 months notice of my intention that I would be ending my tenancy. It quickly became apparent to me that they would try to keep as much of my deposit as they could. I therefore joined ASLOCA who gave me great advice and support throughout the process - I advise anyone renting to join ASLOCA.

Through a combination of their advice and my own research I found out that their are agreed “lifetimes” covering all sorts of things from decorating to bathrooms and appliances. This effectively means if any items are beyond their lifetime then the tenant can not be charged for any replacement cost. Also even within the lifetime a tenant can only be charged a prorata cost. As an example if a 15 year old fridge is damaged it is beyond its lifetime and hence the tenant cannot be charged.

Also your deposit is automatically returned to you after 1 year unless the owner has started proceedings against you.

In my case I had several things removed from the exit inspection check list by challenging on the lifetime rules. The owners still tried to claim several things which I disagreed with so I refused to sign the exit report.

The owners wrote to me trying to claim several thousand francs which I replied to explaining that the property was returned to them as I received it.

Next step was a court of arbitration where ASLOCA can represent you for a fee - I think it was 70. Prior to this I discussed with ASLOCA and they also counterclaimed for several defects in the property. The arbitration failed to reach a resolution and at that point I thought the owners would drop their claim - incorrectly as it happened!

Next and final step was the tribunal. The tribunal send you a copy of the claim and you must respond and give details of any counterclaim. I also requested a translator which the court arranged.

The tribunal was very fair and is based on evidence which the owners did not have. Their claim was dismissed and I was given paperwork at the end of the hearing to return my full deposit.

My belief is that many owners will try to claim as much of your deposit as possible in the belief that many non-Swiss tenants will simply pay thinking that the system is against them. The reality is that tenants are very well protected by the law.

Of course you should document and photograph everything at the entrance inspection but not many people do this.

2
Yes No, this kind of gouging happens to Swiss people as well.

I believe that some landlords are deliberately gouging, others simply don't the law - though they think they do.

3
In my experience not knowing the law is absolutely correct. The president of the tribunal was very dismissive of the owners in my case and even said that they did not understand the law.

With the whole process being new to me it was stressful but with hindsight it’s relatively straightforward and fair particularly with ASLOCA supporting you.

The only way we will reduce the gouging is with more tenants standing up to the landlords.

4
There should be many more cases published if what you experienced was a common landloard's approach.

The tribunal's reproach that they don't know what they're talking about makes much more sense. Contrary to intentional abuse (and the personality that's based on) this is relatively easy to remedy and unlikely to happen for all that long. After all, yours was a waste of time and money for everyone, that's an excellent motivator for everybody who doesn't act with malicious intent.