Apartment termination: official dates and deadlines in Switzerland
06.07.2023, Anaïs Frisano
The termination date often causes confusion. We help you to keep track of the common notice periods and deadlines for apartments in Switzerland. This way, nothing stands in the way of your proper apartment termination.
Notice periods in Switzerland
A period of notice in a rental agreement refers to the contractually defined period of time that must elapse between giving notice and actually moving out of the rented apartment. It serves to give both the tenant and the landlord planning security. In principle, the notice period stipulated in the rental agreement always applies.
What if there is no notice period in the lease?
If no notice period is specified in the lease agreement, the statutory minimum notice periods and the customary local notice dates shall apply.
3 months notice for apartments - at least
Three months is the statutory minimum notice period for rental apartments in Switzerland. The contractual notice period may therefore be longer, but not less than the statutory three months. This period also applies to tenants who issue a sublease.
Apart from apartments, other notice periods apply to other properties. You can find an overview here:
| Object | Minimum period of notice in Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Apartment | Shared room | At least 3 months |
| Commercial space | At least 6 months |
| Garage | Parking spaces | Furnished rooms | At least 2 weeks (contractual minimum term 1 month) |
Official termination dates in Switzerland
The customary local termination dates vary depending on the canton in Switzerland. In many cantons, the apartment can now be terminated at the end of each month, with the exception of December 31.
Still widespread are the quarterly termination dates on:
March 31 | June 30 | September 30
The official termination dates are particularly important if none have been agreed in the rental agreement. If there are termination dates in the rental agreement, these take precedence over the cantonal dates in any case.
Here is a list of the usual local termination dates by canton:
(You can find out more from the tenants' association and the arbitration authority)
| Canton | Termination dates |
|---|---|
| Aargau | March 1 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Basel-Landschaft | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Basel City | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Bern | April 30 | October 31 |
| Freiburg | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 | December 31 |
| Genf | No customary local termination dates |
| Glarus | Every month end |
| Grisons | March 31 | September 30 |
| Jura | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 | December 31 |
| Lucerne | No customary local termination dates |
| Neuchâtel | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Nidwalden | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Obwalden | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Schaffhausen | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Schwyz | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Solothurn | March 31 | September 30 |
| St. Gallen | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Ticino | March 29 | September 29 |
| Thurgau | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Uri | Every month end (except 31 December) |
| Vaud | January 1 | April 1 | July 1 | October 1 |
| Wallis | No customary local termination dates |
| Zug | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 |
| Zurich | March 31 | September 30 |
Send notice of termination in due time
You now know your cancellation dates and the contractual cancellation period? Then you must send your termination letter in time. If you miss the deadline, the notice of termination will also be valid, but automatically only on the next regular date. Until then, the tenancy continues and you still pay rent. Or you can find a new tenant. In this case, we are talking about an extraordinary termination.
When to terminate with 3 months notice?
If the notice period is three months, the letter of termination must reach the administration before the start of the notice period. That is, at least three months before you move. Note that it is not the postmark that counts, but the day on which the notice of termination reaches the landlord.
What date do I have to indicate when giving notice to terminate the apartment?
For a proper termination, you write the date of your last day in the current tenancy in the termination letter. We use a simple example to illustrate this.
Max Muster can move into his new apartment on October 1 and is now calculating the date on which he must give ordinary notice to terminate his old apartment. He proceeds as follows:
Move to new apartment: October 1
Notice period old apartment: 3 months (July, August, September)
Last day of current tenancy: September 30
Latest arrival of termination letter at the administration: 30 June
Max Muster will therefore inform his administration by June 30 at the latest (before his notice period starts in July) that he is terminating the lease as of September 30.
Important: If June 30 falls on the weekend, the last working day before this date applies. It is best to send the notice of termination a few days earlier by registered mail.
Create your termination letter with Flatfox
You don't have to write the termination letter yourself. On our website you can directly create your personalized cancellation letter. The process takes only five minutes, requires no Word template and is free!