Contents
This article reflects the state of our research and is not legal or tax advice. What applies to your property depends on the zone, the municipality, the house rules and your contract; only the competent authority gives binding information.
Key facts
- Article 262 paragraph 1 of the Code of Obligations permits subletting — with the landlord's consent.
- Paragraph 2 allows refusal on three grounds only; failing to disclose the terms is one of them.
- A February 2024 ruling of the Zurich rent court: occasional subletting through booking platforms can be permissible within the agreed residential purpose.
- Without consent it is a breach of contract — with the risk of extraordinary termination.
The statutory basis
Article 262 paragraph 1 of the Code of Obligations allows tenants to sublet the property in whole or in part — with the landlord’s consent. Without that consent, subletting is a breach of contract.
Paragraph 2 limits the right to refuse: the landlord may say no on three grounds only. If the tenant does not disclose the terms of the sublease; if those terms are abusive compared with the head lease; or if the landlord would suffer material disadvantage.
This is not a formality that can be passed over. Letting without consent puts the lease itself at risk — however carefully the letting is otherwise run.
Occasional or commercial
A ruling of the Zurich rent court (Mietgericht) of February 2024 holds that occasional subletting through booking platforms can be admissible within the residential purpose agreed in the contract.
The converse also holds: commercial subletting without consent is a breach of contract — and can justify extraordinary termination. The line is not drawn at a particular number of nights, but at the character of the use.
In practice that means: anyone letting a rented property to guests systematically and permanently is operating in commercial territory — and needs express consent for it.
Your figures, not our examples
The calculator takes the number of rooms, the neighbourhood and the fit-out and shows you a range — with the arithmetic beside it, not as a single figure you have to take on trust.
Estimate the returnObtaining consent properly
A verbal assurance is of little use in a dispute. What makes sense is a written agreement in which the landlord consents to subletting in general — together with the conditions under which it applies.
- Name the type of use: short-term letting to changing guests, not «subletting» in general.
- Disclose the terms: rent, duration, frequency — paragraph 2 names non-disclosure expressly as a ground for refusal.
- Settle who is responsible: who is liable for damage, who can be reached in the event of noise complaints.
- Clarify the consequences of termination: what happens to bookings already taken if the head lease ends.
And with condominium ownership?
Ownership is not automatically the simpler position. In 2019 the Federal Supreme Court (judgment 5A_436/2018 of 4 April 2019) upheld a ban on short-term letting imposed by a condominium owners’ association (Stockwerkeigentümergemeinschaft).
In the case decided, guests in a high-end residential building made intensive use of the communal areas — roof terrace, gym, sauna, swimming pool. The association amended its rules to permit long-term letting only; the Federal Supreme Court found in its favour.
The ruling cannot be generalised: it concerned an individual case. The principle remains that short-term letting in condominium ownership is neither generally permitted nor generally prohibited — it depends on the character of the property and on the association’s rules. Reading those rules therefore belongs before the purchase.
Frequently asked questions
No, only on the three grounds named in Article 262 paragraph 2 CO (Art. 262 Abs. 2 OR): failure to disclose the terms, abusive terms, or material disadvantage to the landlord.
The statute names no figure. What matters is whether the use still falls within the agreed residential purpose or has taken on a commercial character.
In law it can suffice, but in a dispute it is hard to prove. A written agreement is the safer route.
And for your property?
Sources
State of our research: 2 April 2026. Official rules change — check the current position with the competent authority.
