Short-term rental in Switzerland: rules and advice for owners

Bern sets the frame, cantons write the rules

Switzerland is outside the EU, and there is no federal law on short-term rental. The Federal Office for Housing, in guidance updated in August 2026, points instead to cantons and municipalities, which act through spatial planning, cantonal tenancy measures, hospitality licensing, tourist taxes and guest registration. The result is a patchwork in which two neighbouring towns can treat the same flat very differently.

A city-by-city map

• Day caps: Geneva lets a home be rented for up to 90 days a year; beyond that, an application to the cantonal commerce police is required. Vaud requires a change-of-use permit when rental housing is let short term for more than 90 days a year, which covers Lausanne. Lucerne combines mandatory registration with a 90-night rule. Bern restricts letting in its old town to 90 days a year.
• Identification number: Ticino was the first canton to require an identification number in listings, which applies in Lugano.
• Zoning route: since 1 September 2026, Zurich no longer counts commercial short-term lets without a main residence towards required residential shares; such a use may need a building permit even without works and must be declared, while occasional letting of your own home during absences is excluded.
• Rules in preparation: on 23 September 2026 Basel-Stadt's parliament passed a motion asking the government to draft a registration duty; no text or date exists yet.

Taxes, guests and leases

Tourist taxes are cantonal or communal, and platforms collect them automatically in some places, Geneva among them. Hosts must report foreign guests under the procedure each canton applies to federal immigration law. Rental income is taxable. Tenants need their landlord's consent to sublet, and subsidised housing in Geneva may not be sublet at all.

What we recommend

Treat the commune as your regulator: ask whether a day cap, a number or a permit applies before you furnish anything, and check the co-ownership regulations. In Zurich and Basel, look closely at the new regimes if your plan depends on year-round letting. Tell us about the property and we will give you an honest view of whether and how we can help.