I'm about to sign a lease for a flat, but there is a clause in the lease that I'm not entirely comfortable with. Is this a normal clause in a Swiss lease?
"The tenant will take care of the maintenance of the household goods provided (dish washer, washing machine, dryer, stove/wood heating system, kitchen appliances) and will pay for repairs when needed."
I would certainly pay for any repairs to the appliances/flat if I was directly responsible for the damage, but that's not what that clause says. So if a part breaks (because things do go wrong now and again) should I be the one to bear the cost of repair?
I've always rented, and have never been responsible for any repairs to the apartment I rent. But if it's normal in Switzerland, then I'll go ahead and sign the lease.
It's up to them to have service contracts on the appliances - I've never paid for a repair of a fridge, freezer, washing machine etc. in a rented apartment.
I wouldn't sign it - not with CH prices for such repairs
Nope, it's not normal! We own a house in Vaud that is currently rented and our tenants don't pay for the maintenance or repairs of any of the appliances.
We're living in a rented apartment and always call the owner about any issues with the appliances, etc. because it's his responsibility.
We also do not have such a clause in our contract. I would not sign such a contract as I feel it leaves you overexposed. Unless the appliances are brand new, and you only intend living there for a year. Otherwise it is too open to interpretation and repair costs here can often approach if not exceed the replacement cost.
we found a similar, though not quite so extreme clause in our rental contract. We were wary of it so got it checked out by the Mieterverband.
Firstly, our contract said we were liable for any repairs costing up to 1% of the annual rent, and secondly that we were obliged to provide evidence (i.e. receipt) of a full recent service (within last 2 months) of the dishwasher, washing machine and tumbler in the apartment when we eventually move out of the apartment.
The Mieterverband told us that the service before moving out is quite legal to have in a contract.
As for the repairs costing up to 1% of annual rent, they told us that the maximum limit that is generally legally accepted (in ZH canton, at least) is CHF 150 (far less than 1% of our annual rent). Above that is generally not accepted, and that the clause in the contract will not stand up in court (and apparently has not in previous cases), and we can therefore ignore it and sign the contract.
The clause in your case however, is a little more extreme.
I strongly advise you to become a member of the Mieterverband - once a member you can make an appointment free of charge to have them check over any queries you have about a rental contract (you can also pay CHF 65 for the 20 minute appointment if you are not a member, but for around CHF 30 more, you might as well become a member, should you need help again in the future ).
Don`t sign it, we have a rented flat and the number of things that have broken since we have been here is unbelievable we have had to have a new dishwasher, stove repaired, and next week someone is coming to repair the stove again, oven light and light on the vent dread to think how much this all would add up to
I just checked mine: I'm expected to do minor repairs and improvements ("kleinen Unterhaltsarbeiten.") There's a specific list and it looks like just about everything - window glass, cooktop, countertop, refrigerator, mirrors, all bathroom fixtures, any plumbing leaks inside my apartment, fuses, light sockets, door hinges, fireplace (if I had one) and on it goes. Then at the very end there's a clause including "all other minor repairs and maintenance not exceeding 1% of yearly rent per instance."
Apparently I'm also supposed to be cleaning the window blinds once a year. Oops!
Wow! I just read our rental contract and discovered that the landlord is supposed to pay for the special product that we have to use to clean the oak floors because they're oiled and not laminated. I've heard of other landlords giving special cleaning supplies to their tenants, but didn't realize that ours does!
On the other hand, the lease says that we should pay a CHF 50 co-pay for any repairs. He's never asked us to do this though. Maybe it's because we've been buying our own cleaning products...
This is Sutter your talking about. Eletricity and Sutter a deadly mix.
Anyway, with our apartment also in Vaud, no such clause exists in our contract as far as I'm aware. So far the Agency has had most all things fixed.
The only problem we had to fix ouraelves is the dishwasher, which we bought from the previous tenant for 250 Francs. He had replaced one of the cupboards with the Dishwasher. We thought ok at the time. It worked for about 18 months and is now dead. When I checked the power connections it was put together with a make shift extension cord.
The repair cost quoted from Electrolux was quoted as 77 francs callout and then a further 25 francs per 10 minutes on the job, plus parts. We checked with a local store that can also carry out repairs and the cost is similar.
We also found that the dishwasher is a smaller size than the standard 80*60*50 or whatever it is. There is no room to extend the space used by the dishwasher, so to replace our current one we need to find one of the same size. Having looked around I have only found one that size and it is 1300 francs (and that was a special offer down 400 francs in the first place). So for the moment we are doing without.
No idea you can`t see it you have to dismatle something to get at it, and i am not doing that with my history, when the man comes and replaces it i will take a photo and post it if you like. LOL please no d.i.y
Cheeky i know how how a screw driver works , and i am a dab hand at taking photos, that is when i can get the right flash for the right photo to take (don`t blame me blame the new camara with big words written in German )
Perhaps Sutter is just keeping quiet about it, but maybe she had been making a little hole in the kitchen ceiling to get at it at the weekend...when THIS happened.
You are all so mean!!!!Her long list of disasters are obviously totally unrelated. The only thing they have in common is they all happen in her flat. No other connection possible...