Are you about to rent an apartment but would like to use the 3 month rental guarantee for other projects? Then this article might be of interest to you. Indeed, when renting an apartment, a very important element to take into account is the rental deposit or guarantee. Depending on your situation, this can be difficult to pay at one time. With Properstar, we explain everything you need to know to choose the best option. Let us help you!
As a tenant, you have no doubt already experienced the infamous rental guarantee.
Indeed, your landlord requires it when signing the lease. It is prudent for owners to protect
themselves in the event of non-solvency on the renter’s part. Because if the landlord has agreed to rent you an apartment, he must also anticipate certain things, like any unpaid rent or damages that you may have caused in the accommodation. Thus, the Code of Obligations stipulates that this guarantee cannot exceed the equivalent of 3 months' rent. However, in the case of a commercial lease, this guarantee can be extended.
There are several forms of rental guarantee. We detail them below to help you see the differences for the tenant.
The bank deposit account
As a tenant, if you opt for this option, you must deposit an amount of money equivalent to 3 months' rent in a bank account. The amount of the guarantee will be kept until the end of the lease contract. This sum is not accessible, except in the event that the rent has not been paid. It is also possible that you have damaged your home and that the landlord is therefore asking for financial compensation. It is then possible for him to withdraw all or part of the amount of the deposit. If all goes well, you can get your deposit back at the end of the lease contract. This agreement with the management or the owner, is to assure both of you that the rent will all be paid. In the event of disagreement, but without any legal action on the part of the landlord, you may wait for a year, for this money to be returned to you.
And if it turns sour… who pays?
In the event that you are no longer solvent during the lease, your management or your landlord may send you a payment order. If you had previously opted for a bank deposit account, the bank would have to issue the amount to be paid, which is the proper process in this situation, and gives the green light to release funds from the deposit. But in the event that you have called on a bond or surety company, as we will see below, it is the surety company that will be asked to advance the requested sum and you will be asked to pay them back.
Surety
You can call on a surety company for several reasons: the main one is that you are not able to provide 3 months of rent at once. At this time you receive an annual invoice that corresponds to a small percentage of the 3 months of rent initially requested. Here is a customer testimonial which shows this solution: "I remember having paid some 180 francs, or about 5% of the 3 rents to my surety company when I moved into my new apartment in Fribourg. I could have paid a guarantee to the bank, but it bothered me to deposit more than 4,000 francs in an account "just in case...". After consultation with my partner, we have therefore decided to call on FirstCaution and took advantage of the money saved to decorate our 2.5 bedroom rental unit.
Firstcaution: your partner of choice in the request for surety
If you find many companies offering surety services, you should know that FirstCaution is exclusively specialized in this type of request. In addition, this family business provides a provisional certificate of guarantee. This is a valuable document that you can attach to your file for an apartment application. Finally, their guarantee conditions are advantageous to you, since if you start on 1 July, for example, you only pay until the end of the year and not the full year. Finally, there is no annual premium to be paid, which is not the case for other providers.
After reading this article you are now ready to find the rental property of your dreams. If you have questions, our partner, FirstCaution, is there to answer all your questions. With the money you save, we wish you great trips to your favorite furniture stores to decorate your new rental! We are at your disposal to offer you exceptional properties for rent, all over Switzerland.
It's very simple to receive more information, just fill out the form below. The FirstCaution team will be happy to discuss your rental project and guide you through the steps to take out a rental guarantee.
Receive information on our partner FirstCaution's flexible rental guarantee.
