Your first flat – and what you have to consider

06 March 2012 - Living

At the age of 21, half of the young Swiss don’t live with their parents anymore. This is shown in a survey by comparis.ch.The first own flat is a first jubilant step towards independence for most people: finally being able to do what one wants! However, latest at the end of the first month, the bills can bring one back to earth. Living alone is more expensive than at the parents‘ home. It is recommended that you think about financing of the rent, electricity bills, telephone fees and the Internet subscription in time. Even though you probably would like to be independent from your parents, you should keep one thing in mind: mother and father often know one or two tricks on how to handle everyday expenses and how to save money. Also comparis.ch offers some services regarding this topic (www.comparis.ch/berufsstart). The budget also shows clearly which rent you can afford for your own home.

But money alone is not everything when it comes to living. Often it is more difficult to find a flat than to plan the finances. If you would like to move in with your partner or would like to share a flat with others, you should present yourself as a collective tenancy party. Thereby, young tenants increase their chances in the housing market, as the tenant association recommends in their fact sheet. In the case of collective tenancy, all of the tenants sign the tenancy agreement. This means that each person is liable in solidarity for the rent. This gives the landlord a higher financial security; he/she can claim the money from each signing person. However: if you want to leave the shared flat, you have to be discharged from the contract; with that, this step could become more complicated.

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