Deposit and handover

Article 257e of the Code of Obligations limits the security for a residential lease to three months’ rent. The money is deposited in a bank account in the tenant’s name. The landlord does not hold it in a private account. The English text of the Code is on Fedlex. This page is not the bank and cannot release the deposit.

The handover

At the end of the lease both sides walk the flat. The protocol is the Abnahmeprotokoll or the état des lieux. An end-of-tenancy clean (Umzugsreinigung / nettoyage de fin de bail) is often the tenant’s job under the lease, so the protocol can be signed. That is different from a repair to the roof or the heating, which sits with the landlord’s duty in article 256 unless the damage is the tenant’s.

Book the clean early enough that it is finished before the protocol, not the evening before if the flat is large. The cleaner’s quote should say whether VAT is included. Words and a message are on the cleaners guide.

If you disagree

Do not refuse to attend the handover. Note the items you dispute on the protocol before you sign, or sign “with reservations” and list them. A dispute about the deposit goes to the cantonal conciliation authority, not to this website. Write to the landlord or the agency at the address in the lease.