I am currently oversees and I have sublet my flat in Zurich from January to End of June this year.
I made a contract with a sub tenant, he has paid me the one month safety deposit in January and also has paid all the rents regularly.
The sub rent contract states that the deposit should be done on my account directly (this sub rent contract has been approved by my landlord)
However, few days ago, he asked me if I would agree not to receive any rent for the last month. In this way he would get back the money of the safety deposit.
I rejected his proposal as I still want to make sure there is no damage in the flat before I give him the deposit back. He replied to me that he would not pay the last month rent unless I put the deposit in a deposit saving account with his name.
I made some research and it seems that tenants are obligated to put the deposit in a deposit safety account. I haven’t found anything specific on sublet though. From my experience this is not really common practice for short term sublets.
- is there any banks that would accept to open such kind of account in few days, also knowing that the sublet contract is ending in one month and has started beginning of January?
- do I have any way to protect myself against him making damages to the flat ? I don’t want to be paranoid but I am scared that he is asking this because he made damages to the flat.
Sub-tenat is right. Deposit must be put into a rental deposit account running in teants name. This is your obligation as landlord/lessor by law. Doesn't mater if you are "just" sub-letting.
(English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.) The German text uses "Vermieter" for "landlord" this is neutral and means any kind of lessor including sub-lessor.
If the sub-tenant asked what he should do in such a situation, the forum will say that they should pressure the sub-lessor that the money is paid by the sub-lessor in the prescribed bank account ASAP.
Sub-tenants have been stung in the past by shitty, disappearing sub-lessors:
My experiences of the casual letting market is a bit out of date (15-20 years ago) and in a different country (UK). Nevertheless, I find the subtenant’s request not unusual in that context. I remember making and being granted this request three times - twice landlords of shared houses, and once when I was a lodger. With the two landlords in shared houses, I predominantly asked to help my cashflow, and additionally in the first instance because I was leaving the country, and thought I had a risk of the landlord „forgetting“ to give my deposit back and not being able to chase it. In all cases the landlords were nearby/onsite and could therefore see I hadn‘t trashed the place and so were happy to do so.
I just mention this to suggest that the subtenant may not be trying to screw you, just manage his cashflow when e.g. paying for deposit on next place and/or limit his exposure if he‘s leaving the country and has limited ability to get the deposit back if you „forget“ to return it. I‘m not suggesting you would do this, just to highlight that with the deposit in a non-protected account, he is also carrying risk in this situation.
I would approach the subtenant with a view to trying to find a solution that you are both happy with. Say you understand his concerns and also explain what yours are, and want to look for a solution that gives both of you reassurance. I suspect there is little you can practically do if he simply doesn‘t pay the last month and you are out of the country. Could you offer to do the handover in person and return the deposit in cash on the day if the flat is as expected? Could you get a friend to go around and check the place to get some reassurance that there is no damage (with the the subtenant‘s agreement)? The suggestion to agree to the protected account if the subtenant arranges it is also a good one, and this would protect both of you.
You are in the wrong at not having set up a joint deposit account with your subtenant.
When we sublet, this is what we did - easily done at a bank - we did UBS.
Your tenant is being unreasonable thought at this point, however he is doing it to protect your interests because without a joint account, you can simply refuse to pay him back the money unilaterally.
So ask them to go set up this account. By memory, if it's a small amount it does not even require tenants signature so you are fine if abroad and cannot sign. once account is setup you can transfer the money to it.
By law it should have gone on a blocked account at the time of the rental. It's a bit late now but I understand both his and your concerns. However not too late to open the account and it's easily done. Maybe pay it to the landlord and ask him to do if you're not in Switzerland.
Again, as the landlord knows, why not ask him to do the handover when the tenant leaves and he can then check all is in order and repay the deposit.
Indeed, even if it’s a very late to ask for the sub tenant, I thought it is fair to have a look at his concern. Eventhough it’s not really common practice for short term subletting (which done means it’s the right thing to do ...)
Two other questions:
- do you know any bank that would accept doing it in the most simple way? I have check credit suisse and they ask for both parties to sign with a blue printed pen on the application form. Also it seems I need to have a credit suisse account in order to do so.
- if I fail to open this account for whatever
Reason, is legal proceeding still an option? I mean, there is a contract behind and it has been validated by my landlord (it even says that one month deposit should be placed on my own bank account)
Personally, I'd ask the tenant to open one in a situation like this, and send you the payment instructions. AFAIA all it takes is some form of ID and the rental contract the account will be linked to. It's a holiday weekend for many which often slows things down yet it should be done quickly.
I think the main challenge is that you do not have a deposit. The money on your account is a payment from the tenant... but not legally a deposit as not in a deposit account.
So you may struggle to ask for the last payment, as technically... tenant has already paid.