Contents
Key points
- An empty month costs around CHF 1,990 in Zurich districts 3 to 12, CHF 2,680 in the centre.
- Time pressure produces the wrong question: not «what is quickest» but «what carries over the holding period».
- A new listing sits at around 82 per cent of its later level in the first year — the lead of short-term letting shrinks, and outside the city both routes are level.
- Re-letting is not the problem: the city's vacancy rate stood at 0.10 per cent on 1 June 2025.
What one empty month costs
The yardstick is not the gross rent forgone but what would have been left after deductions. For a well-kept 3-room flat that is around CHF 1,990 a month in Zurich districts 3 to 12, and CHF 2,680 in the centre. Mortgage, service charges and upkeep run on alongside — they are not in that figure and come on top.
That is the pressure under which this decision is usually taken, and it regularly leads to the wrong question. It is not «what is quickest» but «what is more, over twelve months, after everything».
| Location | Per month | Per quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich city centre | CHF 2,680 | CHF 8,040 |
| Zurich, other districts | CHF 1,990 | CHF 5,970 |
| Lake Zurich | CHF 2,080 | CHF 6,240 |
| Around Zurich | CHF 1,690 | CHF 5,070 |
The mistake that time pressure produces
The obvious calculation says: short-term letting brings around 54 per cent more than long-term letting in districts 3 to 12, so off we go. But that figure holds for established operation — and there is no established operation in the first year.
A new listing does not reach market occupancy at once. Over the first twelve months, revenue by our assumption sits at around 82 per cent of the later level. Long-term letting, by contrast, starts at the full amount in the first month.
The result: in the first year the lead shrinks considerably, to around 30 per cent in districts 3 to 12 and 21 in the centre. Outside the city both routes are level in the first year. The full lead arises from the second year — anyone who calculates over twelve months only, because the flat is empty now, underestimates short-term letting.
| Location | Short-term, year 1 | Short-term, established | Long-term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich city centre | CHF 3,240 | CHF 3,850 | CHF 2,680 |
| Zurich, other districts | CHF 2,570 | CHF 3,060 | CHF 1,990 |
| Lake Zurich | CHF 2,790 | CHF 3,310 | CHF 2,080 |
| Around Zurich | CHF 1,710 | CHF 2,030 | CHF 1,690 |
How quickly the routes actually bring money
Both are quicker than the time pressure suggests — the difference lies not in the start but in what follows.
With long-term letting, re-letting is not the problem in the city of Zurich: the vacancy rate stood at 0.10 per cent on 1 June 2025, and 0.48 per cent in the canton — the lowest figure in over twenty years. What takes time is viewings, selection and the contract, not demand.
With short-term letting, around two weeks lie between the go-ahead and the first booking if the flat is furnished: visit, photography, listing, pricing, keys, cleaning schedule. If the flat is empty and has to be furnished first, the delivery time of the furniture sets the date — and the initial fit-out is money tied up before the first booking.
The starting date matters more than the two weeks of lead time. Beginning in spring puts May and July ahead of you while the listing collects reviews. Beginning in November means facing the weakest months — January runs at 38 per cent occupancy in Zurich — with the weakest listing.
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 returnWhat follows from this
Three cases, and in two of them long-term letting is the calmer choice.
- You are keeping the flat for more than two years and it is in the city: then the first year’s ramp-up is an initial investment like the furnishing, and the calculation works out from the second year.
- You want or need to sell or move in within twelve months: then furnishing often no longer pays — if the flat is unfurnished, long-term letting is the better calculation. If it is already furnished, flexibility speaks for short-term letting, because a tenancy cannot be interrupted by the day.
- The flat is outside the city: then both routes are level in the first year, and even in established operation the lead stays smallest, at around 20 per cent — with long-term letting needing considerably less work and carrying no zoning risk.
- And above all: is permanent short-term letting permitted in your zone at all? If not, 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.
Frequently asked questions
For a well-kept 3-room flat, around CHF 1,990 in Zurich districts 3 to 12 and CHF 2,680 in the centre — calculated as long-term rent forgone after deducting property management. Mortgage interest, service charges and upkeep run on and come on top; they are not in these figures.
Both are quick, and the difference is smaller than expected. With short-term letting, around two weeks lie between the go-ahead and the first booking if the flat is furnished. With long-term letting, demand is no bottleneck in Zurich — the vacancy rate stood at 0.10 per cent on 1 June 2025. What takes time there is viewings, selection and the contract. If the flat is unfurnished, long-term letting is clearly quicker, because the fit-out falls away.
If the flat is already furnished, usually yes. By our calculation, short-term letting is ahead in the first year by around 30 per cent in districts 3 to 12, 21 in the centre and 34 around the lake; outside the city both are level. Then there is flexibility: a tenancy gets in the way of viewings and the sale, while a guest leaves after three nights. If the flat first has to be furnished, the furnishing largely eats up the lead of a single year.
It does not work without full furnishing — that is not a question of fit-out but the precondition. That money is tied up before the first booking comes in, and it comes on top of the ramp-up year. If you are wavering anyway and the flat is empty, that is where the decision falls: anyone not prepared to invest before the first franc of income should let long-term.
In spring. Then the strong May and July lie ahead of you while the listing collects reviews and grows out of the ramp-up. Starting in November means facing the weakest months with the weakest listing — January runs at 38 per cent occupancy in Zurich against 56 in July. In relation to vacancy that does not mean you should wait: an empty month costs more than the better starting date brings in.
And for your property?
Sources
State of our research: 10 August 2026. Official rules change — check the current position with the competent authority.
