Contents
Key facts
- Furnishing for CHF 15,000 pays for itself in about five years for a 3-room flat in districts 3 to 12, in just under four for four rooms.
- The tax administration applies 25 per cent declining balance to furniture, or 12.5 per cent straight-line on cost — eight years, about CHF 156 a month on CHF 15,000.
- Include that and the lead in districts 3 to 12 falls from CHF 550 to CHF 400; by Lake Zurich to CHF 140.
- CHF 15,000 is a reference figure, not a measurement. For small flats outside the city, furnishing does not pay.
The short answer
A furnishing costing CHF 15,000 is paid back after around five years for a 3-room flat in Zurich districts 3 to 12, and after just under four for a 4-room flat. Around the lake it takes longer than the furniture lasts. Outside the city it never comes back — there the running return is already below long-term rent.
The measure is long-term letting: what short-term letting brings in over and above it, month by month, pays off the fit-out. The first year is included, in which a new listing has not yet reached market occupancy.
| Location | 2 rooms | 3 rooms | 4 rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich centre | 60 months | 42 months | 33 months |
| Zurich, other districts | 51 months | 38 months | 30 months |
| Lake Zurich | 109 months | 69 months | 51 months |
| Outside Zurich | never | never | 535 months |
What our calculator does not deduct
Our yield calculator shows the operating result: revenue less platform fee, commission and cleaning. The furnishing is not in it — and neither is it in any other calculator we know. That is not carelessness but a limit: a calculator does not know your budget, and most flats are already partly furnished.
The item does become visible as soon as you spread it over the useful life. The Federal Tax Administration sets 25 per cent declining balance for furniture and fittings, and half of that where depreciation is taken on the acquisition value — 12.5 per cent straight-line, so eight years. On CHF 15,000 that is CHF 156 a month.
That is the amount by which the calculator’s result looks too good. For a 3-room flat in districts 3 to 12, CHF 410 of lead becomes CHF 250. Around the lake it shrinks to CHF 10.
Both tables show the same fact from two angles, not two separate costs. Either you treat the fit-out as an initial investment that comes back out of the surplus — that is the first table. Or you spread it over eight years and read the monthly result — that is this one. Deducting both at once would be counting it twice.
| Location | Short-term net | Long-term net | Lead | after depreciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich centre | CHF 3,210 | CHF 2,680 | CHF 530 | CHF 370 |
| Zurich, other districts | CHF 2,540 | CHF 1,990 | CHF 550 | CHF 400 |
| Lake Zurich | CHF 2,380 | CHF 2,080 | CHF 300 | CHF 140 |
| Outside Zurich | CHF 1,680 | CHF 1,690 | −CHF 0 | −CHF 160 |
Why CHF 15,000 stands here and not a surveyed figure
No survey exists of what it costs to furnish a Zurich flat for short-term letting — neither official nor from an association. CHF 15,000 is a working figure so the tables have a reference point, not a measurement.
Your own figure is more useful than an average anyway, because the range is wide and turns on three things: how much is already in the flat, how big it is, and how high the listing aims. The table below translates budgets into months so that you can insert your own amount.
What it shows: the payback period rises almost in step with the budget, because the monthly lead stays the same. Spending CHF 25,000 instead of CHF 8,000 means waiting 92 months rather than 40 in districts 3 to 12 — unless the better fit-out lifts the nightly rate. That is precisely the question to answer before buying, and it is set out in the article on the initial fit-out: beds, textiles and kitchen lift the rate, designer furniture does not.
| Budget | Depreciation per month | Zurich centre | Zurich, other districts | Lake Zurich |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHF 8,000 | CHF 83 | 29 months | 25 months | 45 months |
| CHF 10,000 | CHF 104 | 33 months | 29 months | 52 months |
| CHF 15,000 | CHF 156 | 42 months | 38 months | 69 months |
| CHF 20,000 | CHF 208 | 52 months | 47 months | 86 months |
| CHF 25,000 | CHF 260 | 61 months | 56 months | 103 months |
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 returnWhen this is the wrong calculation
In three cases the question of payback does not arise, and then these tables say nothing about your situation.
- The flat is already furnished. Then the money is spent and irrelevant to the decision — only what is missing counts. What usually has to be added is textiles in triplicate, blackout blinds and an electronic lock.
- Long-term letting is not an option. If you need the flat yourself from time to time, or intend to sell before long, the tables compare against an alternative you do not have. The furnishing is then the price of entry and not an investment against something else.
- Short-term letting is not permitted in your zone. Then the whole calculation is beside the point. Since the Federal Supreme Court ruling of 30 April 2026, what matters in the city of Zurich is whether anybody still lives in the flat; binding information comes from your municipal building authority.
What follows from this
The furnishing does not decide whether short-term letting is worthwhile — location decides that. It decides how long it takes to become worthwhile, and in the borderline cases it tips the result.
- In the city of Zurich from three rooms upwards, the furnishing is an initial investment with a manageable horizon — four to six years at CHF 15,000, and the lead remains afterwards.
- For small flats outside the city it does not pay. A 2-room flat on Lake Zurich brings in around CHF 10 a month more than long-term rent; every purchase is therefore a loss.
- Outside Zurich the furnishing is not the problem, the running return is. Long-term letting is ahead there even without fit-out costs.
- If you have an amount in mind, put it into the third table. And work through your case in the calculator — it uses the same figures as this article, only with your size, location and fit-out.
Frequently asked questions
At CHF 15,000 and a 3-room flat, after 61 months in Zurich districts 3 to 12 and after 75 months in the centre — calculated from the lead over long-term letting, with the ramp-up year. For four rooms it is 47 and 54 months respectively. On Lake Zurich it takes 218 months for three rooms, longer than the furniture lasts, and outside the city the amount never comes back.
Eight years. Leaflet A/1995 of the Federal Tax Administration gives 25 per cent declining balance for furniture and fittings; where depreciation is taken on the acquisition value, half of that applies — 12.5 per cent straight-line. On CHF 15,000 that is CHF 156 a month. Whether you can claim it for tax depends on whether your letting counts as a business operation, which your tax adviser will clarify.
No. It shows the operating result — revenue less platform fee, commission and cleaning. The fit-out is not in it, because it does not know your budget and most flats are already partly furnished. To include the item, deduct the depreciation from the result: at CHF 15,000 over eight years that is CHF 156 a month.
Only up to a point, and it lies lower than most assume. In our calculation a high-quality property achieves 18 per cent more per night than a well-kept one — that is real, but it comes from bed, bathroom, kitchen, view and photographs, not from the price of the furniture. Doubling the budget doubles the payback period if the nightly rate stays the same: 40 months become 92.
In the city from three rooms upwards yes, outside it usually not. The empty flat is the case in which the furnishing counts in full — and in which it coincides with the ramp-up year of a new listing. In districts 3 to 12 both together are made up after a good five years. On Lake Zurich and outside the city, long-term letting is the better calculation for an empty flat.
And for your property?
Sources
State of our research: 10 August 2026. Official rules change — check the current position with the competent authority.
- Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung: Merkblatt A/1995 — Abschreibungen auf dem Anlagevermögen geschäftlicher Betriebe
- Statistik Stadt Zürich: Mietpreiserhebung April 2024 (Datensatz BAU516OD5161)
- AirDNA MarketMinder: Zürich — Auslastung und Nächtigungspreise
- AirROI: Zürich Market Report (Juli 2025 – Juni 2026)
