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Lease termination letter template for Switzerland

Tenant's notice to end the leaseKündigung des Mietvertrags durch die Mieterschaft

The tenant's signed letter that ends an open-ended lease of a flat. The tenant needs no reason. The notice period is at least 3 months to a termination date in the lease or a local date. A tenant who wants to leave earlier must propose a suitable replacement tenant.

Use it when you rent a flat and want to leave. Choose the ordinary notice if you can respect the period and date in your lease. Choose the early-return option if you must leave sooner: you are then released only if you propose a solvent replacement tenant whom the landlord can reasonably accept and who takes over the lease on the same terms. If the flat is the family home, your spouse or registered partner must consent expressly and should sign too. The landlord's own notice follows stricter rules: it must use the official cantonal form and you can challenge it within 30 days.

Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.

Key facts

Applies to
Whole country under federal lease law. Text in German for the German-speaking cantons. Local termination dates differ by canton and municipality.
Form
Written and signed by hand by each tenant (OR Art. 266l para 1, Art. 13 and 14).
Notice period for a flat
At least 3 months, to a local termination date or, without local usage, to the end of a 3-month period (OR Art. 266c, 266a).
Lease terms
The lease can set a longer period or other dates (OR Art. 266c, 266a).
Late notice
Takes effect on the next possible date (OR Art. 266a para 2).
Family home
Needs the express consent of the spouse or registered partner (OR Art. 266m, ZGB Art. 169).
Early return
Released only by proposing a solvent replacement tenant, acceptable to the landlord, who takes the lease on the same terms (OR Art. 264).
Early return without replacement
Rent is due until the next possible end date (OR Art. 264).
Landlord's notice
Only on the official cantonal form, sent separately to the spouse for a family home, or it is void (OR Art. 266l para 2, 266n, 266o).
Challenging the landlord's notice
Within 30 days of receipt before the conciliation authority. The tenant can also ask for an extension of the lease (OR Art. 271, 272, 273).

The document

Text shown

You sign the German version. The English version helps you understand it. Your answers fill both.

Tenant's notice to end the lease

  1. 1.Sender and recipient

    1. 1.1

      Tenant or tenants giving notice, Tenant's current address. To: Landlord or managing agent, Landlord's or agent's address. Place of writing, Date of writing.

      Use the landlord's name and address from the lease or the last rent notice.

    2. 1.2

      Registered letter. Notice to end the lease for Flat.

      If you hand the letter over, write "Persönlich übergeben" instead of "Einschreiben" and have the landlord sign and date your copy.

  2. 2.Ordinary notice

    1. 2.1

      Optional

      Dear Sir or Madam. I hereby give notice to end the lease of Date of the lease for the premises named above, in compliance with the contractual and legal notice period, effective Termination date.

      Keep this clause or the early-return clause, not both. Count the 3 months from the day the landlord receives the letter, not from the day you post it.

    2. 2.2

      Should notice to this date not be permitted, it shall take effect on the next possible date.

      The law already says so (OR Art. 266a para 2). The sentence avoids a dispute.

  3. 3.Early return with a replacement tenant

    1. 3.1

      Optional

      I intend to return the premises early, on Date you want to leave early. Under Art. 264 OR I propose the following person as replacement tenant, who is solvent and willing to take over the lease on the same terms: Proposed replacement tenant.

      Keep this clause or the ordinary notice, not both. Attach the candidate's application, debt enforcement register extract and proof of income.

    2. 3.2

      Optional

      Please inform me in writing of your decision on the proposed replacement tenant.

      Keep it with the early-return clause. Give the landlord reasonable time to check the candidate. If the landlord refuses an acceptable one, you are released.

  4. 4.Spouse's consent

    1. 4.1

      Optional

      The flat serves as the family home. Spouse or registered partner expressly consents to this notice and co-signs it.

      Keep it if you live in the flat with your spouse or registered partner, even if only you signed the lease. Without express consent the notice is not valid.

  5. 5.Return inspection

    1. 5.1

      Please propose a date for the return inspection and the handover of the keys.

      Ask for the move-in report beforehand, so you can compare it at the return.

  6. 6.Deposit and correspondence

    1. 6.1

      Please send the ancillary cost statement and the deposit release to the following address: New address for mail and deposit.

      The bank releases the deposit with both parties' consent. If the landlord brings no claim within 1 year after the lease ends, you can ask the bank directly.

  7. 7.Closing and signatures

    1. 7.1

      Kind regards. Signature of each tenant: Tenant or tenants giving notice.

      Every tenant named in the lease signs by hand.

    2. 7.2

      Optional

      Consent of the spouse or registered partner: Spouse or registered partner, signature ______.

      Keep it only together with the spouse-consent clause.

Formalities

  1. Write the notice. Every tenant signs it by hand.
  2. A qualified electronic signature is equivalent. A plain email, text message or scanned signature is not valid.
  3. Send it by registered post (Einschreiben), or hand it over against a signed receipt.
  4. The notice must reach the landlord before the notice period starts.
  5. An uncollected registered letter counts as received, as a rule, on the day after the post office leaves the pickup notice.
  6. This rule comes from Federal Supreme Court case law, which the Zurich courts apply.
  7. The tenant needs no official form.
  8. The same federal rules apply in the French- and Italian-speaking cantons. Check the termination dates in your lease or the local usage.

Common mistakes

  • Giving notice by email or with a scanned signature. It has no legal effect unless it carries a qualified electronic signature.
  • Posting the letter on the last day. The notice must reach the landlord before the period starts, so send it registered well before the deadline.
  • Forgetting your spouse's consent when the flat is the family home. Without it the notice is not valid.
  • Leaving early and simply stopping the rent. Without a suitable replacement tenant, you owe rent until the next possible termination date.
  • Proposing a replacement tenant who cannot pay or wants different terms. The landlord can refuse such a candidate.
  • Assuming the termination dates. Check the dates in your lease. If it names none, ask the conciliation authority about local usage.

Legal basis

Sources

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