Ending your lease: notice periods and form
How to end your tenancy in Switzerland correctly: notice period, termination dates, written form, family home, registered mail and moving out early.
As a tenant, you can terminate an open-ended lease at any time – without giving reasons, but only with the right notice, for the right date and in the right form. For flats, the law sets a notice period of three months to a customary local termination date (Art. 266a and 266c CO). Your lease may provide for a longer notice period or other dates – the lease comes first.
Notice period and termination date
- Notice period: at least three months for flats; two weeks to the end of a one-month rental period for furnished rooms (Art. 266c and 266e CO).
- Termination date: the date stated in the lease or customary locally. Many leases allow notice for the end of any month except December. If neither the lease nor local custom sets a date, the end of a three-month rental period applies.
- Fixed-term lease: it ends without notice on the agreed date (Art. 266 CO); ordinary termination before then is generally not possible.
If you miss the notice period or date, your notice is not invalid: it simply takes effect on the next possible date (Art. 266a para. 2 CO).
Form: in writing and signed
Notice must be given in writing (Art. 266l para. 1 CO), i.e. as a letter bearing your handwritten signature. An ordinary email, a text message or a phone call is not enough. Only landlords have to use an official form. If several people signed the lease, all of them must sign the notice.
Family home: if you are married or in a registered partnership and the flat is your shared home, the notice requires the express consent of your spouse or registered partner – even if only you signed the lease (Art. 266m CO). The safest option is for both of you to sign the letter. Without consent, the notice is void (Art. 266o CO). Conversely, a landlord must serve notice on a family home separately to both spouses (Art. 266n CO).
Delivery: receipt is what counts
Your notice must reach the landlord before the notice period begins – the postmark is not enough. For notice to the end of September with a three-month period, the letter must therefore arrive by 30 June at the latest. Send it by registered mail and keep a copy and the proof of posting. If a registered letter is not handed over in person, case law generally treats it as received from the day it can be collected at the post office. Even so, allow at least a week’s margin.
Leaving earlier: proposing a replacement tenant
If you want to move out before the next termination date, you can propose an acceptable, solvent person who takes over the lease on the same terms (Art. 264 CO). If the landlord rejects that person without good reason, you are released from your obligations anyway. Find out more in the guide Finding a replacement tenant. Ending the lease by mutual agreement is always possible; extraordinary termination for good cause (Art. 266g CO) is only an option in exceptional cases.
After giving notice
- You must allow viewings for re-letting the flat if they are announced in good time (Art. 257h CO).
- Agree on a handover date early; a move-out report is drawn up at the handover.
- The bank releases the rent deposit when both parties agree – one year after the tenancy ends also at your request alone, provided the landlord has not asserted any claim by legal means (Art. 257e para. 3 CO).
On immoz.ch you create the notice directly from the digital lease: the platform shows the earliest possible date under the lease and generates a letter with signature lines for co-tenants and – for a family home – for your spouse or registered partner. You can also propose an early return with replacement tenants or a termination agreement there.
This overview is not legal advice. The cantonal conciliation authorities and homeowners’ and tenants’ associations can help with questions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I give notice on my flat by email?
No. Notice on a flat must be given in writing with a handwritten signature (Art. 266l CO). An email is only sufficient with a qualified electronic signature – if in doubt, send a signed letter by registered mail.
What happens if my notice arrives too late?
It is not invalid, but only takes effect on the next possible termination date (Art. 266a para. 2 CO). Until then you owe the rent, unless you propose an acceptable replacement tenant.
Does my spouse have to sign the notice?
If the flat is the family home, their express consent is required (Art. 266m CO) – even if they are not named in the lease. The simplest way is for them to co-sign the notice letter.
Do I have to give reasons for my notice?
No. As a tenant, you can give notice without stating any reasons.