Residential lease agreement template for Switzerland

Landlord: Landlord.

Give the name or company name and address. If a managing agent (Verwaltung) acts, name both the landlord and the agent.

Tenant: Tenant or tenants. Several tenants are jointly and severally liable for all obligations under this contract.

Give each tenant's full name, date of birth and current address. For a family home, the rules still protect a spouse who does not sign (OR Art. 266m, 266n).

The following flat in the building at Address of the building is let: Flat. Ancillary rooms and shared use: Ancillary rooms and shared facilities. Parking space or garage: Parking space or garage.

A parking space let with the flat follows the flat's rules (VMWG Art. 1). Let it in the same contract.

Fixtures and appliances let with the flat: Appliances and fixtures let.

The premises are let for residential use only.

The lease starts on Start date of the lease and is concluded for an indefinite period.

Either party may end it by giving three months' notice to the following dates: Termination dates.

The lease may set longer periods. If it names no dates, ask the conciliation authority about local usage. A late notice takes effect on the next possible date.

Optional

Notice may be given for the first time to First possible termination date.

A minimum term binds both parties. Delete this clause if you want none. The tenant can still leave early with a suitable replacement tenant (OR Art. 264).

Notice must be in writing. Notice by the landlord is given on the form approved by the canton and, for a family home, must be sent separately to the tenant and to the tenant's spouse or registered partner.

A landlord's notice that breaks these rules is void (OR Art. 266o). The tenant can challenge it before the conciliation authority within 30 days of receipt.

The monthly rent is: net rent CHF Net monthly rent in CHF; ancillary costs CHF Monthly ancillary costs in CHF (Ancillary costs on account or flat rate); parking space or garage CHF Monthly rent for parking in CHF; total CHF Total monthly amount in CHF.

In Zurich the same amounts go on the initial rent form, together with the previous rent and the reasons for any increase.

The following ancillary costs are charged in addition to the net rent: Ancillary costs charged. Ancillary costs not listed are included in the net rent.

Heating repair and renewal are not chargeable (VMWG Art. 6).

For payments on account, the landlord prepares a statement at least once a year for the billing period Billing period for ancillary costs. The tenant may ask to see the supporting documents. A flat rate is based on the average of three years.

With a flat rate (Pauschale) there is no annual statement and no balance to pay or refund.

The rent including ancillary costs is payable monthly in advance, on the first day of each month, to the following account: Account for rent payments.

Without this clause, rent is due at the end of each month, unless local usage sets another date (OR Art. 257c).

The rent is based on a mortgage reference interest rate of Reference interest rate of the rent%, on the Swiss consumer price index of Consumer price index level and base, and on the general cost level up to General cost increases included up to.

The federal department publishes the reference rate each quarter (VMWG Art. 12a). Later increases and reduction requests are measured against these values.

Rent adjustments follow the Code of Obligations. The landlord notifies them on the form approved by the canton.

An increase applies from the next termination date at the earliest. The tenant can challenge it before the conciliation authority within 30 days (OR Art. 270b).

The tenant provides a security deposit of CHF Deposit in CHF. The landlord deposits it with a bank in a savings account or deposit in the tenant's name.

The deposit can be at most 3 months' rent (OR Art. 257e para 2). Cantons may add rules on deposits (OR Art. 257e para 4).

The bank releases the deposit only with both parties' consent or on the basis of a final payment order or a final court judgment. If the landlord has not brought a legal claim within one year after the lease ends, the tenant can ask the bank to repay it.

The landlord hands over the premises on Handover date clean and fit for the agreed use. At handover the parties jointly draw up a handover report, which forms part of this contract.

The tenant should report defects not listed in the report in writing soon after moving in, so they are not charged at the end of the lease.

On request, the landlord shows the return report of the previous tenancy and states the amount of the previous rent.

This is a legal right of the tenant (OR Art. 256a).

The tenant uses the premises with care and shows consideration for other residents and neighbours. The attached house rules form part of this contract.

After a written warning, a serious and continued breach allows the landlord to end the lease with 30 days' notice to the end of a month (OR Art. 257f).

Optional

Pets: Pets allowed.

Keep the clause if you want to allow or restrict cats or dogs. Delete it if the house rules already cover pets.

Renovations and alterations to the premises by the tenant require the landlord's written consent.

If the landlord agrees and wants the original state restored at the end, this must be agreed in writing (OR Art. 260a).

The tenant remedies at own cost defects that small cleaning or repairs needed for normal upkeep can fix, according to local usage, up to CHF Small repairs limit for tenant, CHF per case.

Without an amount, local usage sets small repairs. The landlord must keep the flat fit for use. A term shifting that to the tenant is void (OR Art. 256 para 2).

The tenant reports other defects to the landlord without delay. The landlord remedies them within a reasonable time. The tenant allows necessary works and visits notified in good time.

A tenant who fails to report a defect is liable for the resulting damage (OR Art. 257g).

The tenant may sublet all or part of the premises with the landlord's consent. The landlord may refuse consent only if the tenant does not disclose the terms of the sublease, if those terms are abusive compared with the main lease, or if the sublease causes the landlord significant disadvantages.

This repeats OR Art. 262. The tenant stays liable to the landlord for how the subtenant uses the flat.

If the tenant returns the premises without respecting the notice period or date, the tenant is released only by proposing a replacement tenant who is acceptable to the landlord, solvent and willing to take over the lease on the same terms.

Otherwise the tenant owes rent until the next possible end of the lease. The landlord must credit any rent obtained from reletting (OR Art. 264).

At the end of the lease the tenant returns the premises clean and in the condition that results from use in line with the contract. The tenant is not liable for normal wear and tear.

Damages are limited to the repair cost or the item's current value. The joint lifespan table of the landowners' and tenants' associations helps set that value.

At the return the parties inspect the premises together and record defects in a return report. The landlord immediately notifies defects for which the tenant is responsible.

A landlord who does not notify defects at once loses the claim, except for defects that a normal inspection could not reveal (OR Art. 267a).

Other agreements

A term may not depart from mandatory lease law to the tenant's disadvantage. Do not add a fixed end-of-lease fee or an obligation to buy or insure anything.

The following form part of this contract: Annexes.

In the canton of Zurich, and in other cantons with the form rule, list the signed initial rent form here and hand it over no later than at handover.

This contract is made in two copies. Place of signature, Date of signature. The landlord: ______. The tenant: ______.

Every tenant signs. Make one copy per party if there are more than two parties.