Zurich - Finding Accommodation

Bellevue - Always on the Tram to the Next Place!

I’ve got quite attached to my studio flat in this short time and it’s made me realize that I would be happier if I could always be coming back to the same place each time in Zurich. It would also be easier as I could leave clothes here, I wouldn’t have to buy the same things each time (washing powder, salt, herbs), and I wouldn’t have the hassle of learning my way around. In addition, I am supposed to be resident here and I don’t want to be registered at my friends’ house for more than necessary.

Consequently, I decided to start looking for a small, cheap flat to rent in Zurich.

It’s amazing how straightforward this sounds and how difficult it is in reality!

In the UK, finding a flat is pretty easy – you set your criteria and you can generally find what you want. I remember when I was looking for a flat to rent in Horsham and I turned it down saying it didn’t have a shower and they immediately offered to put in a shower for me if I would take it.

It’s nothing like that in Switzerland. There are literally hundreds of people looking at the same flat and competing for it. Some flats have viewing days, and you have to queue to get in to see it. Often, they’ve run out of application forms (at one place 120 application forms had gone in 10 minutes of the flat viewing starting). I keep on going to viewings and feeling exhausted before I’ve even seen it. It’s just the sheer number of people that are there. At one place I mentioned I couldn’t take it without a shower but this time my criticism was met with total indifference.

On top of this, I’d totally forgotten that the application process is quite convoluted. It’s harder to get a flat than it is to get a job in Switzerland, so your application for a flat has to be seen as a sales document that will get you chosen for the flat over the hundred other people who are also applying.

Each application has to contain an official statement that you are not being prosecuted for debts (you have to pay for this certification, of course). The application form asks you how much you earn, how many savings you have, and sometimes you have to provide your last tax bill. On top of this, you have to write an application letter, you are advised to attach your photograph, stating why you want the flat. Some people advise you also to attach your CV.

Then they will have criteria that they don’t tell you about. So, many landlords want you to be applying for a flat that will be a quarter to a third of your income. This means someone like me is unlikely to get a cheap flat because of the amount I’m earning. Sometimes, they don’t want a single person having a two-bedroom flat as this is deemed too many bedrooms for one person. Some landlords won’t like foreigners, whereas others will encourage them for diversity.

It’s thought to be a good idea to talk to the decision maker so that they will be more likely to give you the flat. Often it’s a matter of who is the first to get their application in, but I’m sure they must get piles of applications all at the same time, so heaven knows how they choose.

I’ve now signed up with an agency in the hope that I might get to view some unadvertised properties and thus have a chance of getting in first. It’s gutting though when you see a flat that would be perfect for you but you just know you don’t have a chance of getting it.