Swiss tenancy glossary
The ten words that decide a rent
Each term in plain English, with the legal article and the official source. The same explanations Landlo puts one tap away.
- Mortgage reference rate
The rate published each quarter by the Federal Office for Housing, derived from the average Swiss mortgage rate. A rent is tied to the rate in force when it was last set: when it falls, the tenant may ask for a reduction; when it rises, the landlord may ask for an increase. Nothing happens by itself.
art. 12a and 13 OBLF · art. 269a CO
- Net rent
The rent without ancillary costs — heating, hot water, caretaking. It is the base of every calculation: the reference-rate adjustment, inflation, the deposit ceiling.
art. 257 and 257a CO
- Instalment or flat rate
The two ways of charging ancillary costs. The instalment is an advance, settled each year against actual costs; the flat rate is a fixed amount, never settled. The lease must say which applies and list the costs concerned.
art. 257a and 257b CO · art. 4 OBLF
- Official form
The form approved by the canton, mandatory to notify a rent increase — and, in several cantons, the initial rent. An increase announced without it, or received too late, is void.
art. 269d CO · art. 19 OBLF
- Term date
The date on which the lease can end — often one or more months of the year fixed in the lease, otherwise local custom. A rent increase takes effect only on a term date.
art. 266a and 266c CO
- Notice period
The notice to give before a term date: at least three months for a dwelling. A rent increase must reach the tenant ten days before that period starts.
art. 266c and 269d CO
- Rent deposit
The security a landlord may require: at most three months' net rent for a dwelling, placed in a blocked account in the tenant's name — never the landlord's.
art. 257e CO
- Service-charge statement
The annual statement of actual ancillary costs when the lease provides for instalments: what it cost, what was paid, the difference. The tenant may inspect the receipts.
art. 257b CO · art. 4 and 8 OBLF
- Consumer price index (CPI)
The inflation index published monthly by the Federal Statistical Office. In a rent adjustment, 40 % of its change since the rent was last set may be passed on — the equity share.
art. 269a let. e CO · art. 16 OBLF
- Value-enhancing works
Works that improve the dwelling beyond maintenance — insulation, a new kitchen, a lift. Part of their cost may justify an increase; routine maintenance never does.
art. 269a let. b CO · art. 14 OBLF