Lease terminated after the death of my spouse. Is this legal?

Lease terminated after the death of my spouse. Is this legal?

"My partner died. We weren't married and we were flatmates. The landlord told me that I was not entitled to keep the flat on my own and asked me to leave. Did he have the right to do that?

Ariane, Vaud

It is important to note that your question assumes two hypotheses: either you are a signatory to the lease in the same capacity as your deceased spouse, which means that you were formally joint tenants, or you are not a signatory to the lease.

In the first case, as you were not married, you and your spouse formed a simple partnership under art. 530 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO). According to the law, the partnership ended when your spouse died, unless otherwise agreed. However, the dissolution of the simple partnership does not change the commitments made to third parties; it therefore does not change the lease contract.

Art. 253 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) on tenancy law then apply to you and stipulate that since the death of your spouse, the tenant's rights and obligations belong to you and your spouse's heirs. If there are no heirs, you are now the sole tenant. If your lease was for an indefinite period, the landlord is entitled to terminate the contract by observing the usual notice period, i.e. 3 months for the term set by local usage, unless there are grounds for premature termination. It should be noted that the landlord must terminate the contract using an official form approved by the canton; it is not enough for him to tell you orally to leave, on pain of nullity of the termination.

That said, as a tenant, you are entitled to request an extension if the end of the lease would have a distressing impact on you and the interests of the landlord do not justify it. The lease may be extended for a maximum of four years.

In the second case, if you have not signed the lease, the landlord has no legal relationship with you. You will normally have to leave your home, unless you are able to take advantage of a tacit lease, a lease takeover, a sublease contract, or even if you have been appointed heir by your spouse, because, it should be emphasised, the lease continues with the heirs.