Rent cuts: not for everyone!
Rent cuts: not for everyone!
"While surfing the internet, I read that a fall in the reference mortgage rate of 0.25% currently entitles you to a rent reduction. In practical terms, how can I find out whether this will apply in my case and what the calculation criteria are?"
Eliane, Nyon
At the beginning of June 2009, the Federal Housing Office informed the public of a reduction in the reference mortgage rate from 3.5% to 3.25%. Following this announcement, some tenants will be able to obtain a rent reduction of around 3%. That said, a fall in these reference rates is not enough to obtain a rent reduction in all cases!
If the tenant has not contested the initial rent (see the article published in these columns on 25 April), he cannot subsequently correct it under the same conditions. That said, article 270a of the Swiss Code of Obligations - which applies to applications for rent reductions during the term of the lease - provides that the tenant may dispute the amount of rent and apply for a rent reduction for the next termination period, (1) if he has reason to believe that the leased property is providing the lessor with an excessive return (2) due to a significant change in the basis of calculation, resulting in particular from a reduction in costs, especially mortgage costs.
To find out whether mortgage costs have fallen, you will need to compare the mortgage rate at the time the contract was signed with the current rate. It should be noted that if the landlord can prove that the rental return is not excessive and that the first condition for obtaining a rent reduction has not been met, the tenant will find it difficult to win his case in court.
Procedurally, the tenant must submit a written request for a reduction to the landlord, who has 30 days in which to respond. If the landlord does not comply with the request, accepts it only in part or does not respond within the prescribed period, the tenant may refer the matter to the conciliation authority within 30 days.
