Subletting Your Rental Home in Switzerland: Tips and Guidelines

Subleasing your rented home when you are away for extended periods helps cover the costs while letting you keep your home rental agreement. Subleasing part of your home to roommates is also a way to save on rent.

In Switzerland, there are rules and conventions governing subletting, and following these can help you avoid problems. Here, moneyland.ch lists simple guidelines to follow for a smooth subletting experience:

1. Create a contract

Creating a written subletting agreement is the first step. The terms and conditions should match those of your original rental agreement as closely as possible. The rents you plan to charge must be clearly stated. Avoid adding special terms and conditions, as these may not be legally valid. A number of Swiss renters’ associations offer templates that you can adapt to match your needs.

2. Ask your landlord

Swiss law requires you to get permission from your landlord before you sublet your rental home. You also have to let your landlord review the subletting agreement, including all terms and conditions. 

Your landlord can only reject the sublease in these cases:

• You refuse to show them the subletting agreement.

• The terms and conditions are notably different from those of your primary rental agreement (e.g. if you allow pets when your main rental contract forbids them).

• The sublease would present significant disadvantages for the landlord. This rule is somewhat vague, but could, for example, include rejecting a potentially destructive or disruptive subtenant.

Failing to comply with these requirements entitles your landlord to terminate your lease ahead of schedule, following a warning.

3. Keep rents real

Unless you get special permission from your landlord, the rent you charge for a sublease cannot be substantially higher than the rent and utility charges which you pay for the property. Rents should also adhere to laws governing the size of rents. 

As a general rule, the rent you charge subletters should not be more than 10 percent higher than the rent you pay. If you have furnished the home yourself, the markup can be as high as 20 percent. Your landlord can reject a sublease if they deem the rent to be abusive.

You can demand a deposit equal to a maximum of 3 monthly rents, as with regular home rental agreements. This deposit must be placed in a rental deposit account and returned to subtenants upon satisfactory termination of the subletting agreement.

4. Get properly insured

Requiring sub-renters to have personal liability insurance to cover damages they inflict on the home or your furnishings is highly recommended. Just note that even if subtenants have liability insurance, the responsibility to ensure that damages are repaired rests with you.

Getting yourself personal legal insurance that covers disputes with your landlord and subtenants can also be beneficial, particularly if you see potential for disagreements. Make sure that tenant law is either included, or available as an optional rider. You should also check the terms and conditions to make sure the insurance provides the exact coverage you need.

5. Give subtenants sufficient notice

Swiss rental laws grant subtenants many of the same rights enjoyed by tenants. Unless a subletting contract specifies a limited rental term, you must give subletters 3 months’ notice before ending the agreement. For a single, furnished room, a shorter 2-week notice period is required. If your subtenant wants to terminate the subletting agreement, they must give formal notice in keeping with the subletting agreement.

Subrenters have the right to propose a successive tenant to take over their lease. If you accept the new person, the sublease can be transferred without having to wait until the notice period expires.

6. Understand your financial responsibilities

Even after your landlord accepts a sublease, you are still solely responsible to pay the primary rent. This is true even if your subtenants refuse to pay the rent they owe you. Make sure to budget for this scenario.

It is also important to understand that the subrenter can demand financial compensation if they are forced to move out without due notice. This could happen, for example, if you or your landlord give notice to terminate the main rental agreement, but you forget to give your subtenant notice. Tip: It is important that the notice period used in the subletting contract is never longer than the one used in your rental contract.

7. Be ready to deal with squatters

Subtenants can contest the termination of a sublease and request an extension if the eviction will put them or their family in a difficult situation with regard to housing. This can happen if the subtenant is badly off financially, or cannot find another place to live. That right to request an extension could put you in an awkward situation if, for example, your subtenant refuses to move out ahead of your return from a long stay overseas.

8. Don’t be too light-handed

Bad behavior on the part of subtenants puts your primary rental contract with your landlord in jeopardy. The landlord has the right to approach subtenants directly with complaints or notifications, but you are ultimately responsible for the overall conduct of your subtenants. You can terminate a subletting agreement if a subtenant does not pay their rent on time, or fails to abide by community guidelines, in keeping with the notice periods in your subletting agreement.

9. Airbnb rentals are also sublets

The guidelines to subletting apply to home-sharing as well. That means your landlord has to either consent to each individual sublet or give you a general waiver. It also means that you cannot add significant markups to your rent without your landlord’s permission, and that you have to observe the legal notice periods for whole homes or furnished rooms. You can find more information in the Swiss guide to sharing your home on Airbnb.

More on this topic:
How to improve your chances of being approved for a rental home in Switzerland
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Household insurance for roommates: A practical guide
Home-sharing with Airbnb in Switzerland: Mistakes to avoid