Housing in Switzerland

Tenancy is governed by federal law (the Code of Obligations, OR/CO), so the core rules are the same in every canton. When you apply for a flat, landlords usually ask for an application form, an extract from the debt-collection register (Betreibungsregisterauszug), references or salary statements. There is no general housing allowance for tenants; support comes through non-profit housing, social assistance and supplementary benefits.

Renting: your rights

• Deposit (Mietkaution): at most three months' rent. The landlord must put it in a bank savings account or deposit in the tenant's name. The bank releases it only with both parties' consent or a final court decision or payment order. If the landlord has made no legal claim within one year after the tenancy ends, you can ask the bank to pay it back to you.
• Initial rent: in the canton of Zurich, landlords must notify the initial rent on an official form when you sign a new lease. You can challenge the initial rent as abusive at the conciliation authority (Schlichtungsbehörde) within 30 days of moving in, if you had to sign because of personal need or the local housing shortage, or if it is much higher than the previous rent.
• Rent changes: rent increases and terminations by the landlord must be made on a form approved by the canton. Rent changes due to interest rates follow the mortgage reference rate published by the Federal Office for Housing: 1.25% since 2 September 2025, confirmed again from 2 September 2026. If your rent is still based on 1.5% or more, you can generally ask for a reduction.
• Notice: both sides can end a flat lease with three months' notice to a local termination date.

Non-profit and subsidised housing

Housing cooperatives and municipalities offer flats at cost rent. The City of Zurich, for example, rents its own flats by lottery for viewings and keeps no waiting list. Households must have at least as many people as rooms minus one, and at the start of the lease household income may be no more than four times the gross annual rent. Subsidised city flats are only for people with a low income and taxable wealth of no more than CHF 200,000. Applicants need Swiss citizenship or a B, C or S permit and must have lived in the canton of Zurich for at least 2 years.

Help with rent

Pensioners and disability-pension recipients with low income can receive supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen, EL), which include rent up to a ceiling: for a single person, CHF 18,900 a year in a large city such as Zurich (2025 leaflet). People of working age in need receive rent as part of municipal social assistance.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Register with your new municipality within 14 days of moving in.
• Never pay a deposit into the landlord's private account: the law requires a blocked account in your name.
• Household and personal liability insurance are not compulsory, but the canton strongly recommends both.
• Landlords ask for a debt-collection extract, so unpaid bills that end in debt collection make it much harder to rent.

Official guidance: Federal Office for Housing: reference interest rate, Code of Obligations: tenancy law (SR 220), Canton of Zurich: tenancy forms, Canton of Zurich: living, for newcomers, City of Zurich: rules for city flats, AHV/IV: supplementary benefits (leaflet 5.01)