Rented room

Rented room

"I rented a room from my neighbour for my father for CHF 500 a month. We didn't put anything in writing because she lives in a council flat and is not allowed to sublet. The lady asked me for a deposit of CHF 1,000, which I paid her in cash. For the month of January, we paid the price of the room, but had no access to it because the lady was on holiday. On 5 January 2009 my father had to be rushed to hospital and will have to be placed in a nursing home. Am I entitled to claim the deposit back, knowing that my father had to give two months' notice for the end of the month?

Laure, Geneva

Firstly, as you know, subletting is prohibited in subsidised housing. Under art. 318 of Geneva's general law on housing and tenant protection (LGL), the building owner may be required by the relevant department to terminate the tenant's lease in the event of subletting.

On the other hand, since no contract or receipt was signed, neither you nor your neighbour have any proof of the sums owed, which is why you have both put yourselves in a rather delicate situation. The January rent was not due, unless you expressly agreed otherwise, as your neighbour did not make the room available. She therefore owes you the sum of CHF 500 that she has wrongly received.

Despite the fact that your father was rushed to hospital, and that this was an unforeseeable situation, you must, in principle, pay the rent from the effective date on which the premises were made available until the end of the sublease. That said, regarding the notice period, you explain that you had to give your notice two months in advance by the end of the month. This is therefore an agreement that differs from the legal rule in art. 266e CO, which allows a party to terminate the lease of a furnished room by observing a notice period of two weeks to the end of the month of the lease. However, the onus will be on the landlord to prove agreement to a longer notice period than that recommended by law. If you gave notice before 15 January 2009, the contract will therefore end on 31 January or 31 March 2009. In either case, the landlady will owe you a deposit of CHF 1,000 by the end of March 2009 at the latest if the room has been returned in good condition.