From when does a letting count as short-term?

The term is not defined in law. What is meant in practice are stays of days to a few weeks; in Zurich the average is around three nights. The only hard line is drawn by Art. 253a para. 2 CO at three months: up to then the provisions on the letting of residential premises do not apply to holiday flats, beyond it they apply in full.

Is short-term letting permitted in Zurich?

It depends on the zone, the municipality, and whether anybody still lives in the flat. Since the Federal Supreme Court ruling of 30 April 2026, permanently exclusive short-term letting in the city of Zurich is judged differently from letting a flat the owner lives in. Binding information for your address comes from your municipal building authority; we do not advise on permit questions.

How many guest changeovers does a flat have in a year?

At an average stay of around three nights and 64 per cent occupancy, roughly 78 arrivals a year, so a good six a month. That figure is the real driver of effort — not the number of nights. Every arrival means communication, handover, cleaning and laundry.

What is the difference between short-term letting and holiday letting?

Holiday letting is part of short-term letting — the part with leisure guests. Short-term letting additionally covers business travellers, project staff and people between two flats. In Zurich that distinction is not merely linguistic: business travel accounts for around 30 per cent, and those guests stay longer and book midweek.

Short-term letting in Zurich: where the term begins and where it legally ends

The umbrella term for everything shorter than a tenancy — with a line in the statute that runs at three months.

What is short-term letting?

Short-term letting is the paid provision of a furnished flat for days to a few weeks, usually through Airbnb or Booking.com. In Zurich the average stay is around three nights. Up to three months it does not count as the letting of residential premises under Art. 253a para. 2 CO; whether it is permitted at a given address is decided by the municipality’s zoning law.

What falls under the term and what does not

Short-term letting is an umbrella term, not a legal one. It covers holiday letting, business travel accommodation and serviced apartments — everything let by the day or week. What it does not cover is letting to a single party for a fixed period of months: that is a tenancy with an end date and follows different rules.

In practice the distinction matters more than it does in language. From the first day beyond three months, the full tenancy law for residential premises applies, with protection against termination and the possibility of an extension. Below that, it does not.

Short-term letting, fixed-term tenancy and long-term letting — where the lines run
	Short-term letting	Fixed-term tenancy	Long-term letting
Usual duration	days to weeks	3 to 12 months	open-ended
Furnished	always	usually	usually not
Tenancy law for residential premises	not up to 3 months	yes	yes
Who governs admissibility	municipal zoning law	nobody, it stays residential use	nobody
Price adjustable	daily	on a new contract	tied to the reference interest rate
Does alphakey operate this?	yes	no	no

As at 10 August 2026. The three-month line is in Art. 253a para. 2 CO and applies to holiday flats; it is a tenancy-law line, not a permit threshold.

What is particular about Zurich

Two things set Zurich apart from most Swiss markets. First, demand is unusually even: between the strongest month, July, at 56 per cent occupancy and the weakest, January, at 38, there are not even 20 points — in a pure holiday region there are easily 50.

Second, admissibility has been in flux since the Federal Supreme Court ruling of 30 April 2026. In the city, what matters is whether anybody still lives in the flat. A flat let exclusively and permanently on a short-term basis is judged differently from one the owner lives in and lets at times.

What follows: the yield question is the second one, not the first. First comes the information from your municipal building authority.

What short-term letting actually demands

The effort is regularly underestimated — not in hours, but in how they fall. A flat with an average stay of around 3 nights has roughly 78 arrivals a year, each with communication, handover, cleaning and laundry, and none of them at a time you choose.

Full furnishing, textiles in triplicate, reliable Wi-Fi
Availability for guests, including evenings and weekends
Cleaning between stays, often on the same day
Ongoing pricing — a fixed nightly rate measurably costs occupancy in Zurich
Registering and accounting for the tourist tax, guest registration under cantonal law

Frequently asked questions

From when does a letting count as short-term?: The term is not defined in law. What is meant in practice are stays of days to a few weeks; in Zurich the average is around three nights. The only hard line is drawn by Art. 253a para. 2 CO at three months: up to then the provisions on the letting of residential premises do not apply to holiday flats, beyond it they apply in full.
Is short-term letting permitted in Zurich?: It depends on the zone, the municipality, and whether anybody still lives in the flat. Since the Federal Supreme Court ruling of 30 April 2026, permanently exclusive short-term letting in the city of Zurich is judged differently from letting a flat the owner lives in. Binding information for your address comes from your municipal building authority; we do not advise on permit questions.
How many guest changeovers does a flat have in a year?: At an average stay of around three nights and 64 per cent occupancy, roughly 78 arrivals a year, so a good six a month. That figure is the real driver of effort — not the number of nights. Every arrival means communication, handover, cleaning and laundry.
What is the difference between short-term letting and holiday letting?: Holiday letting is part of short-term letting — the part with leisure guests. Short-term letting additionally covers business travellers, project staff and people between two flats. In Zurich that distinction is not merely linguistic: business travel accounts for around 30 per cent, and those guests stay longer and book midweek.

Read on

Your question is not answered?

Send it to us — we answer from practice, in writing, within one working day.