How does flatsforexpats.com help expats rent an apartment in Geneva?

flatsforexpats.com is meant to make the search for an apartment to rent in Geneva easier. Expats in Geneva have one big disadvantage when renting an apartment: they often lack connections! flatsforexpats.com tries to overcome this disadvantage by motivating expats in Geneva to help out each others. Learn how they can do that.

How can expats in Geneva help others to find an apartment to rent? Whenever someone is leaving an apartment before the officially allowed date in Switzerland, he or she has to find a replacement tenant who will rent the apartment. This is quite common! The old tenant – who might be an expat in Geneva leaving Switzerland – has now the chance to select a new tenant among other expats in Geneva and recommend him or her to the real estate company or the landlord in charge.

Does that mean that the old tenant has the right to determine the new tenant? No. The expat who is leaving the apartment in Geneva must look for an acceptable new tenant. However, the landlord is not obliged to accept the recommended tenant. BUT! But it’s very common that they do. Why should the landlord make efforts and spend money on finding a new tenant to rent the apartment if he already has a good suggestion? For an expat in Geneva who would like to help another one to rent an apartment – help to be the next replacement tenant – it might help to call the landlord and let him know that you would really like to give the apartment to rent to the expat from Geneva who was selected. In most of the cases, the landlord will say yes.

 flatsforexpats.com asks expats who place an ad not to publish the ad on big housing platforms. Why? So the expats using flatsforexpats.com get the exclusive chance to apply first and get preference over all the other people who might apply once the ad is on all the big real estate platforms. This is how expats in Geneva can help each others find an apartment to rent!