Your chance: Expats in Geneva choose other expats as replacement tenants to rent their apartments!

If you leave your rental apartment in Geneva without respecting the official period of notice, you will have to look for a replacement tenant. Why not see this as an opportunity and choose another expat  to take over your lease and help him or her find an apartment to rent in Geneva? Learn more about how the replacement tenant system in Geneva works. 

The Swiss tradition of having to find a replacement tenant to rent your apartment is very common because it allows the tenant to leave his or her rental apartment in Geneva without having to stick to the legal period of notice. This period can be up to four months long and also it might be specified in your contract that it is only allowed to terminate a contract at certain times of the year. Therefore, a lot of tenants, especially expats in Geneva who often move around a lot, choose to search a replacement tenant to rent their apartment which gives them the right to leave their apartment at the end of the coming month.

Is it guaranteed that the new tenant you choose as the replacement tenant will be accepted by the landlord? No, but it is very common that they do! Why looking for a new tenant who rents the apartment in Geneva if you already have a suitable candidate? By picking an expat as your replacement tenant you for sure get him or her on the top of the list. Considering that there are sometimes multiple hundreds of people applying to rent an attractive apartment in Geneva, this is a big advantage!

When presenting a possible replacement tenant to your landlord in Geneva, make sure you get a written confirmation that the tenant will be accepted! Landlords have the possibility to reject a replacement tenant. If you pick another expat to rent your apartment in Geneva, make sure he or she can proof that she/he will be able to pay the rent (e.g. proof of regular income) and has always paid his or her debts (certificate of non-pursuite). Financial problems are the most common reason to reject a tenant!

On flatsforexpats.com you can find lots of apartment offers which are from other expats in Geneva who would like to find a replacement tenant among expats. Also you can post an ad for free in order to find a tenant!