What to do when your tenant doesn’t pay their rent?

Rent payments are firmly planned income for landlords. Therefore, as well as being frustrating, missing rent payments can cause significant financial harm. When tenants fail to pay their rent, many property owners suddenly face major challenges, such as paying mortgage interest out of their own pocket. Unfortunately, most landlords are faced with missing rent payments sooner or later. When this happens, it is vital to quickly take the right steps while acting in a legally compliant manner. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to quickly remove tenants who are unwilling to pay their rent.

Procedure – How do you remove tenants who are unwilling to pay?

We explain step by step how you should proceed if a tenant stops paying their rent. It takes about 3-4 months from sending a reminder with a threat of termination to eviction by the police.

Reminder with a threat of termination

According to Art. 257d CO, in order to give a notice of termination within 30 days, you must first send the tenant a reminder with a threat of termination. In this letter, the tenant is requested to pay the outstanding rent within 30 days; otherwise he/she will be given termination without notice.

The following points should be noted:

• This letter must be delivered to both spouses individually in the case of married couples (i.e., to all contracting parties).
• Include the outstanding amount and the account number to which the rent should be paid.
• The payment deadline must be 30 days from the delivery of the letter.
• Keep the receipt of the registered mail or get a written receipt in the case of personal delivery.

Formal errors must be avoided

Only amounts due (including ancillary costs) should be claimed in formal reminders and listed in detail to avoid formal errors. Rent deposits or deferred rent should not be claimed.

Reminders and notices must be sent separately and in separate envelopes to both parties in the case of married couples or registered partnerships. Pay attention to details, such as the correct spelling of the tenant’s name, to prevent challenges.

Termination without notice

If the tenant doesn’t comply with the 30-day payment period, the notice of termination can be given at the end of the month with at least 30 days’ notice.

The following points should be noted:

• The cantonal notice form must be used and the legal remedy must be printed out.
• In the case of married couples, this letter must be sent to both spouses individually.
• The handover date and time of the residence should be included in a cover letter.

The tenant may initiate conciliation proceedings and contest the termination. If the termination is contested in the legal petition without legally conclusive argumentation, you can choose not to attend the conciliation proceedings. If you do not appear or there is no settlement, the tenant will be issued a notice of action anyway.

Request judicial expulsion

If, at the handover date, the tenant is still in the house and refuses to leave, the next step is to apply for a judicial eviction. This is best done in summary proceedings (see form below). The application must be submitted in duplicate to the competent civil district court.

Form – Request in proceedings for legal protection in clear cases under Art. 257 CCP

Legal request:

1. order the other party to vacate the flat …………………………………… at …………………………………… (address) in …………………………………… (place) within 10 days of the decision becoming final and to hand over the keys to the plaintiff.
2. If the other party does not leave the above-mentioned flat within 10 days of the decision becoming final, the requesting party shall be authorised to evacuate the flat with police assistance at the expense of the other party.
3. with costs and compensation to be borne by the other party.
4. the offence against a possible judicial decision shall be punished in accordance with Art. 292 SCC

Justification:

The tenant party has not left the flat despite termination without notice on xx.xx.xxxx.

Evidence:

• Enclose the delivery confirmations and receipts of all registered letters
• Copy of the reminder with threat of termination
• Copy of the official termination form
• Other possible evidence

Expulsion order

The court sends out an order giving the other party 10 days to present evidence proving that the dismissal was unlawful. If no evidence is presented, or if the evidence given is rejected, the court orders the expulsion with a deadline of approximately 10 days.

Decision of the court – expulsion

After the decision, the court gives the tenant about 10 days to move out. The decision can still be appealed to the cantonal court within 10 days. Only after this period does the decision become legally binding.

Apply for a certificate of enforceability

A certificate of enforceability is required to enforce a police eviction, and it is recommended that this be obtained from the court where the eviction order was made after the appeal period has expired. If the tenant disregards the expulsion, the judgment can then be enforced promptly.

Police eviction

Suppose the tenant party is still in the flat after the expulsion deadline. The certificate of enforceability can then be sent with a signed application for police eviction to the Civil and Administrative Law Enforcement Agency by e-mail or post.

The owner must carry out the eviction itself. The police are present and only intervene if the tenants try to resist the eviction. The easiest approach is to change the locks, leave the tenant’s belongings in the property, and then file an eviction request. The tenants will then be asked to collect their belongings within approximately 2 weeks. If this does not happen, the items may be disposed of.

It is also important to note that after termination, the outstanding rent can be claimed through debt collection. The rent deposit also serves as security.