Why legal protection insurance for landlords?

Table of contents

Advantages
Costs
Services
Waiting period
What should you consider?

Is legal protection for landlords useful in Switzerland?

Yes, legal protection insurance for landlords is useful because Swiss tenancy law is the area of law that sees the most legal disputes. Common points of contention are rent increases, the amount of ancillary costs, defects in the apartment, or terminations.

In addition, tenants in Switzerland are usually well protected legally – either through the tenants' association or through legal protection insurance. As an individual private landlord without your own legal protection, you are often left to face lawyers on your own.

On the other hand, private landlords often underestimate the strict formal requirements of Swiss tenancy law. For example, rent increases or terminations of tenancy agreements often fail due to formal errors.

What insurance do I need as a landlord in the event of legal disputes with tenants?

You need landlord legal protection insurance for legal disputes with tenants. Landlord legal protection is usually part of real estate legal protection insurance. Important: Most private legal protection insurance policies and business legal protection insurance policies include legal protection for tenants as standard, but not for landlords.

How much does landlord legal protection cost approximately?

The cost of legal protection insurance for landlords depends on the type and number of properties rented out, as well as the desired benefits. It can vary greatly from case to case. Get non-binding advice, for example from Protekta, the legal protection insurance provider of Mobiliar. Protekta is our partner in the field of legal protection.

For rented properties, you can deduct the costs of landlord legal protection insurance from your taxes as property maintenance costs. However, the costs may not be passed on to tenants as additional costs.

What does landlord legal protection insurance cover?

Typical examples of conflicts in tenancy law are:

• Rent increases, especially after an increase in the reference interest rate.
   
• Termination of the tenancy agreement – whether due to the landlord's own needs, breaches of contract, or rent arrears on the part of the tenant.
   
• Defects in the apartment, such as mold, defective heating systems as well as noise and odor nuisances.
   
• Costs for defects or damage when moving out.
  Return of the rent deposit.

Landlord legal protection is part of real estate legal protection insurance and covers not only rental disputes but also conflicts with neighbors, authorities, and tradespeople in the context of repairs and maintenance work on the property.

At Protekta, you receive legal advice by telephone from lawyers – even if the legal case is not covered. In the event of an insured legal case, Protekta will cover, if necessary, mediation, lawyer, court, expert, and procedural costs, as well as any costs for party compensation to the opposing party up to the agreed sum insured.

After what waiting period does landlord legal protection apply?

Immediately after signing the contract, you will receive free legal advice by telephone from experienced lawyers, regardless of whether your case is a covered legal case. However, landlord legal protection only covers insured legal cases after a waiting period of 3 months. This waiting period is also known as a grace period. The waiting period specified in the policy applies.

Legal cases whose causes fall within the waiting period or the period prior to the conclusion of the contract are not covered. Landlord legal protection cannot be taken out retroactively.

What should you consider when comparing legal protection insurance for landlords?

Make sure that you have access to telephone legal advice for everyday questions and that the policy not only covers rental disputes, but also includes conflicts with neighbors and tradespeople as comprehensive real estate legal protection.

Choose insurance without a minimum claim value so that disputes over smaller amounts, such as utility bills, are also covered. Also check the waiting periods, as coverage usually only takes effect after three months, as well as any exclusions for larger renovation projects.

Finally, it is worth checking whether you have free choice of lawyer in the event of an insured legal case. Most insurance companies offer limited free choice of lawyer: you can suggest three lawyers, and the insurance company must choose one of them.