Hello fellow swiss redditors,
I’m moving out of my place in Lausanne and found a new place in Lucens (VD).
Property management company or "Management" is a small business operating between FR and VD (called OF-D). In the rental application form I stumbled upon this :
"An amount of CHF 170 excluding VAT will be charged to the tenant when the contract is drawn up to cover administrative costs. The drawing up and sending of a contract entitles the landlord to a cancellation fee of CHF 170 excluding VAT in the event of withdrawal by the tenant(s), as compensation. "
I found it to be outrageous at best, since they are actually asking me to pay for them doing their work, for which they are already paid by landlord. I can understand the cancellation fee, but not the first part.
Is this common practice? is this even legal?
My plan is to include the following in my application: "The establishment and/or signing of a contract does not constitute an agreed service. Furthermore, management fees are part of your operating costs, which are already covered by rent and management fees. There is no legal provision requiring the tenant to pay such fees before or after the conclusion of the lease.
You might think it will impair my chance to get the rental, but I really don’t care. Question of principle.
What do you think?
https://i.redd.it/2i5vg26e3nwf1.png
Posted by KaymelKan
8 Comments
it’s not legal but also how does including the text in your application help with anything?
IF they send you a contract, and IF you refuse to sign it, and IF they send you the 170chf invoice, you can then send them the text and tell them to get lost, it’s then up to them to prove legally they spent 170chf taking a word template of a contract and putting your name in, and to convince a judge to make you pay.
Classic gérance bullshit. Do not pay, these costs have to be paid by the landlord.
We are being charged 180 for “administration and changing the name on the post box”.
No idea if this is legal or not
Hey, this is quite common in Vaud at least. The idea anyways is that they will ask (call) you before actually drawing up the contract. Usually submitting application and then saying you will not take the apartment will not lead to the ‘fine’ at all. To be fair I also think that this is not enforceable, but I read like 5 years ago on reddit so idk.
These fees for drawing up a rental agreement are a long-standing bad practice and, to my knowledge, are not legal. Otherwise the number of applicants who do not respond after receiving a rental contract is increasing and causes mor work fir landlords. However, I would sign the rental agreement in any case, because the landlord has the upper hand and, as is so often the case, enforces things that could be legally challenged. If I were in your position, I would immediately check the initial rent when the signed lease agreement arrives from the landlord. Landlords who do things like this may also make mistakes when communicating the initial rent, which may be excessive. In that case, you can file a complaint to have the rent reduced to the legally permissible amount.
You can send them a 500 chf invoice for reading the contract.
The cancellation fees are already unenforceable, but cancellation fees and upfront cost? It just doesn’t make any sense. In the event of cancellation, you would be charged twice for the same service. That can’t be legal.
It sounds like whoever drafted this is…. kind of a moron. Unfortunately, just being moron doesn’t make them easier to deal with, and could potentially make them more difficult to deal with. So all I can say is sorry that you have to deal with these people. Probably time to join the renter’s association in your area because if they start off like that, there’s more illegal shit coming your way.
Despite these fees not being legally enforceable, my new rental agency forced me to sign the contract in person, despite that in all their written documents they pretended I was given the time to sign it at home. And on top of that, they make you pay 150.- directly on the spot at the signature by card, cash or TWINT.
Beautifully orchestrated scam.