The Graffenried actually used to own almost all of Switzerland until 1798… 
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I need another good night of sleep before thinking next steps.
At the moment other aspects of life have two or three more orders of magnitude of complexity to be kept under control.
I don’t exclude to go to Mieterverband even after we settled for 50%.
I don’t know if I’m pissed off more by EVIL_VERWALTUNG asking me 100% or 50% of 540 Fr. or by the company who charged 540 Fr. for something that in my country costs 50 Euro. I think the latter wins.
Jesus. This is a very pro-tenant country (since most swiss rent) and you’re letting a landlord jerk you just like that? Grow some balls
Write down all your complaints and what you want from them, mention that if they are not resolved to your satisfaction you’ll see them in your local Schlichtungsbehörde and send by registered mail. Hearing in Schlichtungsbehörde is free for you, no reason not to use them, this is a pre-court arbitration instance designed for cost effectiveness in such tenant-landlord disputes. They have the power to order the rent to be withheld which will kick some sense into your landlord
Give a call to Mieterverband’s hotline to consult on what you can demand and the process, if you are not sure. No reason to commit to membership though. Better spend the money on a proper liability insurance instead. If you have one already, you can let them deal with your 540 Fr bill, it’s typically included - either they will pay up or fight for you. There’s a risk here however that they will pay up out of sheer cost effectiveness for them and charge you the dedictible, whereas your ideal outcome is to not pay anything
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Can someone sum up all the points? I’m not sure there is much to discuss for a hearing. I’d like to understand how much pro-tenant the country is if the contract said that you have 15 days to inform them.
…I know. I play devil’s advocate, but I want to know as well how it is.
BTW have a look at your insurances if you have the right for a lawyer. I think I saw a health insurance once that gives you the right to ask for help for non-health-related issues as well. not 100% sure though.
Swiss landlords both private and professional routinely put unenforceable things into contracts. Don’t bend over so easily. There’s a large body of civil law that takes precedence over contract.
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Thanks for the push, maybe I need this. As I said it’s now more a problem of opportunity cost than a matter of principle. Today I saved 500 Fr from two ugly bills. With two phone calls and an email. Totally worth it. There are 270 Fr. still to recover? Well, I’d need to invest a lot of time (and money) and go thru a process that will make me angry and stressed. I also got a confirmation that two others problems I asked them to fix (one with the dishwasher and one with the ventilation in bathroom) were covered by them.
Law of diminishing returns is kicking in.
But I can’t thank you all enough for the pointers and the precious information.
I second the @ma0 request: so far I’m hearing “Swiss is a pro-tenant country” but no evidence is shown. Can you or someone else point to evidence of this claim?
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This thread is awesome. however everyone be VERY careful with publishing landlord’s details. This thread here is far beyond “objective citique” and could attract legal action
I am actually sorry for anyone who has to endure such bullshit. My last landlord forced 30 people into my flat during the peak of the corona pandemic for flat vistits. absolutely detached from reality.
This reminds me of a former landlord of mine, absolute lunatic, total hippocrat. tons of unlawful and unenforcable stuff in the contract. We had multiple counsellings with mieterverband. Landlord turned out to be very incompetent, büntzli and lunatic but not per se evil. Shame on me that I was naive to sign it… however it was the kickstart of four of my most amazing years in my life (apart from dealing with my landlord…). We have books worth of ridiculous email conversations with him… I am happy this is long gone by now.
His “masterpiece” contract (a real abomination) you can find here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZUvQLbN0I1ITJGVkOtXGiR_ss67iGPoY/view?usp=sharing
just as an idea on how not to do it in case you ever become landlord 
[edit: i seemed to mess up the rights for the file, should be fixed now. anyone who could not see it, try again]
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You can actually call your Schlichtungsbehörde for free (possibly your normal calling costs) and they will give you advice about your situation. Usually, if you’re in the legal right, the advice is just “write them a ‘eingeschriebener’ letter and tell them you won’t pay the bill”.
Then it’s their move and they probably have little interest to go any further. If they do take it further the Schlichtungsbehörde basically already told you you’re going to win.
I Redacted the name of Verwaltung. I hope it’s enough
I had a shitty landlord once and became member in the Mieterverband. Didn’t use them in the end but it felt good. I think they are better at helping you than anyone here.
In the mean time I don’t have this problem anymore but MV pissed me a bit when I tried to cancel membership after the yearly bill which was not possible.
At that point, I would pay for a yearly mieterverband membership and have them deal with the repair bill. You’re supposed to replace lightbulbs and small stuff like that, but a leaking faucet it’s on the landlord. I read somewhere that the threshold is “can this be done by an average person without any specialized tools?” yes -> tenant pays for it, no -> landlord arranges and pays for it.
For the mailbox plates I think that’s standard. We were charged 35.- for them and received them in the mail to install ourselves.
For the rent reduction, it is a common tactic to say the rent is already low and refuse. This doesn’t usually work. Do what I did: send the rent reduction letter registered, wait 30 days for no answer or a negative answer, and then contact the tenant landlord board at the rathaus (also by registered letter). Tell them you dispute the landlord not reducing the rent, give a copy of the letter you sent asking and their answer, and a copy of your rental contract where it shows the reference rate (has to be higher than 1.25%). The board will give you a hearing date and I guarantee you’ll hear from your landlord a few days later that your rent is reduced.
In any case, the mieterverband membership is a good investment for you because they’d sort it all out for you. It’s what they do so they know the laws very well.
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You wouldn’t belive it, but on my contract there is no reference at all. They don’t even say the square meters.
(sorry for hijacking)
I guess the reference rate is well known for any moment in history so the starting date of the contract is relevant.
There are probably rules if it’s omitted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in the tenant’s favor. But that’s the kind of stuff the mieterverband eats for breakfast and can answer right away while for us mere mortals it would take a few hours of research (if we can even turn up the information at all!)
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