Votes on November 24 Lawyer: rental templates can harm SMEs

On November 24, two rental law proposals will be put to the vote. These affect not only private individuals, but also SMEs. The president of the Association of Business Tenants warns of the consequences of their adoption.

One of the bills that will be put to the vote on November 24 aims to tighten the conditions for subletting. If people sublet their rented premises or parts thereof, they should require written confirmation from the landlord. Among other things, the landlord may refuse the sublet if it lasts longer than two years.

In the discussion about this bill, there is often talk of shared flats. However, subletting is also widespread among Swiss SMEs, explains Armin Zucker to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. The lawyer, who specializes in tenancy law, is president of the Association of Business Tenants.

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Subletting is financially important for many Swiss companies, he explains. They would not only make parts of their office space available in return for interest, but also storage capacity or parking spaces. Many shop-in-shop solutions are also based on subletting, doctors rent space in shared practices, as do lawyers in jointly operated law firms. According to Zucker, in times of working from home, some companies rely on being able to sublet office space that they no longer fully need.

Landlords can prohibit long-term subletting

The landlord's consent has long been mandatory for subletting, but is often forgotten in practice. The fact that companies now have to wait for written approval is a bureaucratic complication.

According to Zucker, the possibility of prohibiting subleases that last longer than two years is more serious. Longer terms are common, especially for business premises, and moving for business purposes is time-consuming and expensive.

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Confronted with the criticism, Gregor Rutz, SVP National Councillor and President of the Homeowners' Association, explains that landlords could continue to allow subletting for longer than two years. The aim is to prevent abuse, such as tenants ripping off their subtenants, the politician and entrepreneur continued.

Lawyer: Landlords can take advantage of the legal situation

Zucker sees a new dependency developing between business tenants and the owners of their premises. It is crucial that tenants continue to have the right to sublet their premises and that they are not dependent on the goodwill of their landlord.

The representative of the commercial tenants fears that profit-maximizing landlords could take advantage of the new legal situation and, for example, increase the rent if their tenants sublet part of the rooms or space. This with the argument that they would save money by subletting.

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For SMEs, relocating is always an expensive feat of strength; some are dependent on a specific location, such as stores with regular customers. According to the tenancy lawyer, more and more indecent landlords are taking advantage of such situations.

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Zucker does not accept the supporters' argument that the change would create legal certainty. In the current situation, tenants have the certainty that they are entitled to sublet rooms as long as they do not make a profit.

The second bill, the intention of which is to make it easier for landlords to terminate rental agreements due to personal use, also weakens SMEs that rent their business premises. It is not foreseeable how the courts will interpret the new regulation. Instead of creating legal certainty, a Pandora's box would be opened, warns the lawyer. Rutz and the homeowners' association see things differently.

Armin Zucker explains to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that almost all of the association's members vote for the middle class. On November 24, however, almost all of them would vote no to the rental proposals in line with Jacqueline Badran. At least that's what he strongly recommends on the association's website.