In the event of a housing shortage, some cantons may, from this day onward, require the use of the official form for the notification of the initial rent when concluding a new residential lease.
This will ensure that tenants are informed about the previous rent and their right to contest their own.
The use of the official form – which must contain the most recently valid reference interest rate or the most recently valid inflation rate - is also intended to encourage the landlords to exercise restraint when increasing the rent or when changing a tenant.
However, this new obligation only applies in cantons which already have mandatory disclosure - that is, in addition to the new rent, the landlord must also disclose the amount of the old rent on an official form.
This is already obligatory in Basel-City, Fribourg, Geneva, Lucerne, Zug, and Zurich, as well as in certain municipalities/districts of Neuchâtel and Vaud.
According to the Swiss Tenants Association, “the Federal Council hopes that this will increase transparency, while tenants' associations see it as an important step in the fight against excessive rents. For landlords, the change means that they will have to fill out their documents more carefully, because mistakes could quickly lead to legal proceedings.
The background behind the new law
A study carried out in 2024 by the real estate company Wüest Partner, found that after a move to a new apartment, even a smaller one, a large portion of tenants pay higher rents than previous occupants.
One reason is the persisting — and, in some cases, worsening — housing shortage.
Another is that when an old tenant moves out and a new one arrives, landlords have the right to increase the rent by up to 10 percent.
This is legal and, unfortunately, many tenants have to put up with this hike. However, a problem arises when the property owner is raising the rent by more than 10 percent.
This is considered an abusive practice, which the new law is aiming to correct.
READ ALSO: Can you know how much your Swiss landlord charged previous tenants?
What happens now?
From today, October 1, 2025, only the new, ‘more transparent’ forms must be used in cantons subject to this rule.
If a new tenant notices that the form does not contain the most recently valid reference interest rate or the most recently valid inflation rate, the agreed-upon rent is invalid.
What if you live in a canton that doesn’t have this mandatory disclosure rule?
If you suspect that your rent exceeds the 10-percent threshold allowed for increases, you can dispute it.
First, though, you must find out how much exactly the previous occupants of your dwelling were charged. Fortunately, this information is public knowledge.
You have the right to ask your landlord what the previous rent was for the apartment, and the landlord must tell you.
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