The current tight market for vacant apartments means that it can be relatively difficult to find the ideal ome, especially if you are planning to move to Geneva, Lausanne or Zurich, so start looking for accommodation well in advance.
The Federal Office for Housing FOH is the Confederation's centre of competence for all matters relating to housing and provides information on i.e. the housing market, housing policy or tenancy law.
How can I find an accommodation?
To get started, visit comparis.ch to get an overview of the current rental prices. Or contact your local EURAXESS Centre, which will be happy to help you find a nice place to live.
Consult the housing or property pages in the newspapers and official advertisements. Most Swiss newpapers regularly publish lists of vacant accommodation. Contact the estate agents operating in your preferred region or the commune where you are planning to move, as most communes keep an up-to-date list of vacant accommodation in their area.
Consult the websites specialized in housing supply: Homegate, ImmoScout24, ImmoStreet
Rent
The rent covers the apartment itself and any additional rooms or other living space (such as a storage area, shared laundry room, courtyard and/or balcony) made available to the tenant. It generally includes costs shared by all the tenants in the building, such as building maintenance and electricity for the common areas of the building. These shared costs are different from utilities.
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office's survey provides information on rental prices and the type of owners of rented accommodation. Please note that the average prices do not include additional charges or heating costs and that the rental costs may vary considerably depending on the region and canton and whether you are looking for an accommodation in the city centre or out in the countryside.
The brochure Living in Switzerland provides all information you need when renting an appartment.
What are the conditions for renting an apartment?
A rental contrat can either be a fixed-term contract or one of indefinite duration. In the second case, the contract is tacitly renewed until the notification of notice of termination is served by the tenant or the landlord.
If you wish to terminate your rental contract, you must as a rule respect the time limits for notice indicated in your contract. You may, however, give notice before the time limit under certain conditions, in which case you must submit yourself a list of solvent tenants to the owner.
In most cases you must pay a guarantee deposit into a frozen bank account, equivalent as a rule to 2-3 months’ rent. You will recover the sum with interest when you leave the apartment, provided there is no conflict between you and the landlord as regards the condition of the premises on your departure.
Some landlords and agencies also require a surety guaranteeing that a third party can pay your rent should you get into financial difficulties. There is a rental guarantee insurance company, swisscaution, that will guarantee your rent without the need for a bank deposit.
Personal liability insurance is an insurance that protects you against damage claims made by third parties. For example, the insurance will cover damage you cause to a rented apartment. Since any damage claims may become expensive, most landlords require tenants to provide proof of liability insurance; for more information go to Insurance.
Tenant's assocation in case of conflict
Should a conflict arise between yourself and the landlord during the period of your contract or on its termination, we advise you to contact a tenant's assocation which will provide you with valuable assistance on payment of a small fee.
Those Tenant's associations are active in different parts of Switzerland:
Miterinnen- und Miterverband in the German-speaking part of Switzerland
Asloca in the French-speaking part of Switzerland
Associazione Svizzera Inquilini in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland