Summit team site
Summit accommodation Expectations
Moving in to the apartment
We’ll have taken photos of the whole apartment. You can use these as a clear record of the contents and condition of the apartment.
When you move in, If you see anything that might not be shown in the photos we’ve taken, take your own pictures of everything and let us know. This can avoid any issues when you move out.
Moving out of the apartment
At the end of the contract, we expect the apartment to be handed back in the same state you received it. If you’ve kept up the cleaning through the winter, this won’t be a huge job. This means you’ll need to spend some time cleaning before you leave. We appreciate this might not be everyone’s forte and that enthusiasm for such chores might not be high as you’re enjoying the end of the season. But it’s both an obligation and a courtesy to leave the apartment clean.
To support you in keeping the apartment clean through the season, we will provide a suggested rota for cleaning and can happily elaborate if you need more guidance in ‘what is clean’ or how to clean.
Behaviour and living with Swiss neighbours
We are aware that your home life can directly affect the reputation of Summit as a school and a local business. The Swiss (and many long term residents here) often take great offence to noise (even if we don’t think it’s excessive), inattention to cleaning detail (even if we don’t see it as such) or non-conformation to ‘the rules’ (even if we aren’t aware of them).
In general in Zermatt, I’m afraid ski instructors don’t have a great track record as being model tenants. Problematic tenancy will likely be referred to as the “those ski instructors” or “those Summit folk” rather than just “those people in that apartment”.
While this is unfortunate and frustrating, we need to avoid adding to this instructor stereotype and work towards making sure Summit’s reputation is not adversely affected by your behaviour.
I’d like tothink that if we’re good neighbours, we can switch these opinions and promote the school and instructors in a positive light. This is a huge help to us as a school and generally makes relations with neighbours way smoother.
With this in mind, there are some Swiss rules / regulations / quaint foibles etc that one comes to learn when living here. Some make life better for everyone, some are just a little ridiculous. Anyway, when we move here, we do so accepting that’s the way they are and we have to buy into it, or at least play along like we do.
Here are some examples of things you might find surprising but are very normal here:
'The Abwart'
Most houses with more than one apartment have what is called an ‘Abwart’. This person is not normally the owner but is designated to be in charge of the building. They are responsible for cleaning communal areas (unless it’s agreed that tenants do it), maintaining wash room facilities, fixing any damages and clearing snow from the paths when it snows. The Abwart is a good person to get on the right side of. They often get stressed about odd things like skis left in the wrong slot in a ski room, washing left in a machine 5 minutes longer than it should be or even shoes left in a corridor outside an apartment.
If you can, find out who the Abwart is and try to speak to them when you move in. Find out what they might expect and try to keep them happy.
The 'noise police'
The Swiss are very sensitive about noise in the evening. There’s a myth about not being allowed to pee standing up after 10pm but it’s not far from the truth. After 10pm, anything above a normal dinner conversation is frowned upon and could warrant a complaint from neighbours. Noise in the streets after 10pm can result in police action. I’ve had friends fined 200chf for singing on the way home after a night out. Even local bars are often fined if their drinkers make too much noise outside.
So if you get a knock on the door or complaint about noise, take it seriously and make sure you don’t cause them any more disturbance.
The bin bag situation
The Zermatt valley’s garbage tax system seems ludicrous to an outsider. You have to buy special orange bin bags from supermarket check outs and you can only throw rubbish away in these bags. They come in 17, 35 and 60 litre sizes and cost around 2chf each. Paying to throw rubbish away seems harsh. However, we all used to pay a ‘rubbish tax’ of a few hundred francs a year which is no longer charged. So paying a few francs for a roll of bin bags every now and then almost seems like good value. Also, recycling is free so I think any incentive to reduce waste (you think twice about what you ditch when it costs cash to throw it) is a good thing for the world. Anyway, do not throw any rubbish away in anything other than the official orange bin bags or risk the wrath of locals (and a fine!).
Having said all this, w think Switzerland is a great place to live and most neighbours are super friendly and nice. We just need to make sure we are model tenants (and residents in general) to keep up the good reputation of the school.
So please think about the mark you might leave on the area, be sensitive to what may seem like unreasonable neighbours and always make the effort to be friendly and positive with everyone in and around your building.
Thanks in advance to you for doing your bit in that direction. And don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions about living in Switzerland.