From how many flats is this worthwhile?

From one, if it is in the city and the zoning permits it. The effort per unit does fall sharply from the third onwards: photography, listing template and pricing logic are produced once per flat type. For a single flat outside the city the calculation is often negative — there, long-term letting is ahead even in settled operation.

What happens to bookings if a flat is sold?

Confirmed bookings are honoured to the end of the stay. That is why, in an interim letting, we set the booking window shorter than usual — usually six to eight weeks. It costs a little occupancy and spares you the case where a handover hangs on a guest's booking.

Does an interim letting get in the way of the sale?

It tends to help. A furnished flat shows better than an empty one, and a property in operation demonstrates directly to a buyer who intends to let what it carries. What does get in the way of a sale is a tenancy that passes across under Art. 261 CO — and that is precisely what does not arise here.

Who pays for the furnishing?

The developer. Over a few months a full fit-out rarely pays for itself; the usual approach is reduced furnishing that is reused afterwards or sold with the property. We submit an itemised budget before procurement and pass materials on at cost.

What about the visitor's tax across several units?

It falls per guest per night, regardless of the number of flats. In the city of Zurich, Airbnb has collected and remitted it itself since 2025; for bookings through other channels, recording and remitting remain with you. Registering the operation with the municipality is likewise your responsibility — we tell you where.

Vacancy in a new build: interim letting instead of waiting — for developers in Zurich

For developers with completed but unsold flats. What the vacancy costs each month and what an interim letting to guests actually requires.

What is an interim letting in a new build?

An interim letting in a new build bridges the period between completion and sale or first tenancy by letting finished flats, furnished, to guests. Unlike a lease it creates no tenancy that passes to a buyer under Art. 261 CO — the flat stays viewable and saleable. In Zurich, at 64 per cent occupancy and CHF 206 a night, around CHF 2,310 per flat per month is achievable, provided the zoning permits the use.

What the vacancy actually costs

A completed, unsold flat is capital tied up with nothing in return. Unlike an existing property there is no lost rent to mourn, because there never was any — the loss sits in the costs that keep running: interest on the construction finance, service charges, insurance, property tax and the upkeep of a building nobody is using.

Against that stands what the same flat could earn in Zurich over the same period. For a well-kept three-room flat in districts 3 to 12 we work with around CHF 206 a night and 64 per cent occupancy; after platform fee, commission and cleaning, roughly CHF 2,310 a month remains. Across eight units and six months of marketing time, that is a six-figure sum.

The comparison has one weak point, and it is more honest to name it: a new listing does not reach market occupancy straight away. Over the first twelve months, revenue runs at around 82 per cent of the later level by our assumption. In an interim letting designed from the outset to last a few months, that ramp never completes — budget with the lower figure, not the target.

Why guests and not tenants

The obvious route would be a fixed-term lease. For a property that is to be sold it carries one drawback that outweighs everything else: under Art. 261 CO a tenancy passes to the buyer on sale. Anyone offering a let flat is not selling a flat but a flat with a tenant — and thereby excludes the part of the market that wants to move in.

Guest occupancy creates no such tenancy. It can also be interrupted between stays: viewings are possible without having to ask anyone for access, and the flat is furnished, which at a viewing helps rather than hinders.

What has to be settled comes at the start, not the end. We do not take on an interim letting before these four points are answered:

Do the building and zoning regulations permit the use, and is there a residential-use quota that stands against it? Following the Federal Supreme Court judgment of 30 April 2026, what matters in the city is whether someone still lives in the flat — in a pure interim letting, precisely nobody does.
Has the condominium already been constituted, and what do its by-laws say? Until the owners' association exists, the developer decides alone; after that, no longer. That is a window, not a permanent state.
Are there conditions in the building permit or a development plan that exclude commercial use?
How long is the use to run, and what happens to confirmed bookings if a flat sells earlier? That question belongs before the first booking, not in the dispute.

What several units change

Eight flats are not eight times one flat. Two things behave differently, and both favour the larger number: photography, listing structure and pricing are produced once and apply to every unit of the same type, and cleaning can be bundled because the changeovers happen in the same building.

One thing behaves worse. Filling eight units in the same stairwell with guests is a different proposition towards the neighbours than a single flat. Where flats in the same building have already been sold or occupied, the interim letting needs to be raised before the first booking arrives. A complaint to the municipality costs more than a quarter's revenue.

Contractually, an interim letting across several units runs with us as one agreement with a property schedule per flat. The scope of services is set once, and units are added or dropped without a new set of contracts. Notice is monthly, as it is everywhere with us.

Frequently asked questions

From how many flats is this worthwhile?: From one, if it is in the city and the zoning permits it. The effort per unit does fall sharply from the third onwards: photography, listing template and pricing logic are produced once per flat type. For a single flat outside the city the calculation is often negative — there, long-term letting is ahead even in settled operation.
What happens to bookings if a flat is sold?: Confirmed bookings are honoured to the end of the stay. That is why, in an interim letting, we set the booking window shorter than usual — usually six to eight weeks. It costs a little occupancy and spares you the case where a handover hangs on a guest's booking.
Does an interim letting get in the way of the sale?: It tends to help. A furnished flat shows better than an empty one, and a property in operation demonstrates directly to a buyer who intends to let what it carries. What does get in the way of a sale is a tenancy that passes across under Art. 261 CO — and that is precisely what does not arise here.
Who pays for the furnishing?: The developer. Over a few months a full fit-out rarely pays for itself; the usual approach is reduced furnishing that is reused afterwards or sold with the property. We submit an itemised budget before procurement and pass materials on at cost.
What about the visitor's tax across several units?: It falls per guest per night, regardless of the number of flats. In the city of Zurich, Airbnb has collected and remitted it itself since 2025; for bookings through other channels, recording and remitting remain with you. Registering the operation with the municipality is likewise your responsibility — we tell you where.

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