I have spent the past 5 and a half years in an apartment where I have been very happy and I believe myself to have been a decent tenant: paid rent on time, not loud etc.
my girlfriend and I received an offer and contract for another apartment that we fell in love with and we jumped at the opportunity. Our current contract says the termination of the contract must be written 3 months in advance but as this offer came last minute we only had just over a month to give our kündigung letter. We went directly to the Verwaltung and gave them the letter with a suggestion for two tenants who can take over from us. They seemed very happy with this and suggested it would be no problem.
Now we received a letter that we cannot terminate the contract early and they want pictures to put on the Internet to have time to search for new tenants. It seems that the Verwaltung were fine with only one months notice but the landlord won't allow that even though I have read it is common practice in Switzerland to only have to give one month if you present the Verwaltung with new tenants.
So my question is, where do I stand on this? The Verwaltung say one thing but the landlord says another? Can I still revoke the termination and maybe sub let? This situation has left myself and my girlfriend plus the two future tenants in a tricky situation, I would very much appreciate any help/advice anyone can offer.
This has come up elsewhere on the forum recently. Are you on a fixed term contract? If so, you might have a harder time getting out via the "finding a new tenant" method, and you are locked into the term.
If you are on an open ended contract, you should be able to present a new tenant (maybe some ask for three to choose from).
They've been there over 5 years - it's not a fixed term contract.
They've already recommended tenants to take over the lease. Two, in fact.
The requirement to submit three suitable tenants is one of those EF myths; it's nice to send three but legally only one suitable tenants needs to be found.
"Suitable" is not defined, as far as I can tell. It's usually taken to mean someone with a decent income (rent not to exceed 30% of gross? net?) and who is going to stay a while. So no L permit people, probably.
Seems the OP has done the right thing, assuming the two tenants are suitable. Speak to the agency, get it clearerd up, and get it agreed in writing that you can move out earlier with no penalty.
If the contract is with the agency then there's no reason to speak to the landlord. Deal with the agency, say that unless the tenants can be deemed "unsuitable" that you will move out on the date the new tenants said they can move in. That's what I would do.
The best thing to do is go to the meiterverband and ask them. It is not entirely unknown for people to think they're legally entitled to something their not.
You need to find one tenant with a reasonable income who is willing to take on the lease. Whether or not they end up taking on the lease is not your business, the supply of the one tenant is your only obligation. Thereafter it's the agency/landlord (in this case, agency) obligation to fill the property. You find the tenant, get them to fill in the application form, and then pack your shit and walk.
In many cases, the owner does call the shots so before the property manager makes any promises, they usually get their information straight to give the tenant the correct information. It sounds to me like the property manager spoke too soon here without having full approval from the owner. Of course there are cases where the owner is not involved at all and the property manager is the decision maker.
The miscommunication between the landlord and property manager should not be your problem though I suspect you do not have the official acceptance of your notice in writing.
To keep things official, you should redo the notice with correct notice period and inform them that you intend to find someone to take over your contract. Ads cost money and take time so if you already have someone have them send an application with all their relevant information.
I think it is still possible to resolve this so that it is a win-win for everyone. Hope you find a good solution.
If the present tenant can find ONE new tenant that is willing & able to pay the rent, ie. earns 3 times the rental, and has no "Betreibung" (Bad debt record) against him, then the old tenant has covered his responsibilty.
The landlord can refuse the new tenant if he is very different to the present tenants (aged person in a young house, single person in a house with families etc) I don't think he can refuse on grounds of religion, race, sex etc.
Just join the Mieterverband (Tenants association) and they can tell you how to react, what letter to write etc.
So you have a contract that says you need to give a 3 months notice, and read somewhere it is common practice to give one month's notice? I think a contract trumps whatever you read elsewhere.
No. The notice is for the move out dates. Reasonable is 2 to 4 weeks to complete a tenant transfer where the onus is on the tenant to find a new tenant. There is no notice period. http://www.mieterverband.ch/?id=2417
Thank you all for your helpful response. A swiss friend of mine talked me through the Mieterverband contract and it seems pretty clear on there that I am legally entitled to act in the way I did. Fingers crossed for the outcome, cheers
Just for your info, I spoke recently with the Mieterverband about this exact problem about having replacement tenant rejected. Their advise was that I need to find 3 tenants, even if officially it's only one. They said if it came to court I wouldn't have a very strong case.
And even then they recommend to advertise fully, and find as many as possible... not advise as to what to do if landlord keeps rejecting. To be honest they were very disappointing, and made me feel like I was in the wrong.
Maybe the Mieterverband are just being realistic in their suggestion that having more than once possible substitute makes sense and advertising is a good back-up strategy. No-one who wants to leave their flat 'at the wrong time' really wants to have the situation going on too long, whether they are in the right or not. And they want their deposit back as soon as possible too. Maybe the Mieterverband get a little tired of explaining the same ruling to one expat after another. I would. I do!
As far as I remember, you need to hand-in your notice via registered post and the Verwaltung/landlord must also reply of their acceptance in writing. So if you went directly to the Verwaltung and they replied just verbally that it was fine, but then you received the letter... they're acting according to protocol and the letter is the official answer which would override a verbal statement.
As per the "suitable candidate" rule, suitable here means that they're approved by the Verwaltung and they're ready to sign a contract - it's therefore safer to have 3 candidates so that if one declines the offer, you have at least two others lined up.
Did you keep copies of the two prospective new tenants' applications you submitted to the Verwaltung? it's very important that you can prove you've brought suitable candidates forward.
You are probably right, but on the other side it can be very frustrating to keep getting potential tenants rejected with no consistant explanation - makes it difficult to find the 'right' tenant. Agreed advertising is the best strategy, but how many paid advertisements is reasonable - and can it be used as a reason for rejection?
In any case IMO the more potential tenants the better, and a contract is a contract...
The landlord can reject the tenants you suggest, but if they are "suitable" then the landlord must release you from the lease contract. Then it's up to them to find new tenants.
You need to make sure the tenants are in fact suitable, so best that you collect their full application. And as was said, even though you better make sure they are in fact "suitable". Employed or financially independent, have no debts, make enough money, have a permit. Always, better to have two or three prospects.