General questions

Can I rent if I am not a resident?
Yes you can.  But you have to make sure that you respect visa requirements and do not overstay in Switzerland. Landlords have to report you to the local population office. They better know what you intend to do. We can take care of this for you.

How do I become a resident?
There are many ways one can become a Swiss resident. We offer services in many cases - please check our Swiss residence page.

What is the rent level in Switzerland?
Swiss rents are comparable to those of other European countries. There are great variations between areas. As an example, a 100m2 appartment would cost CHF.1,500 a month in a small city around Lake Geneva up to CHF.3,000 a month for a luxury appartment in a larger city. A beautiful house with an overlooking view of the lake can cost between CHF.5,000 up to CHF.15'000 or more for a luxurious ambassador residence.

What sort of quality should I expect from rented accommodation?
The Swiss build houses that last a 100 years or more. That means that building standards are very high in every price category. Many exeptional places can be rented, such as for example a 15th century castle that we found for a client!

Can I find furnished accommodation?
Yes you can. This is not common in Switzerland but in some cities (Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich ...) there's a market that offers surprisingly good quality appartments.

What is the typical lease duration?
Most leases are made for a one year, renewable period. Some landlords ask for 5 years terms in brand new, highly desirable buildings.

Can the landlord kick me out?
No he can't, as long as you pay. Tenants rights in Switzerland are stronger than in a communist country and landlords have no power to expell tenants who pay their rent on time.

How easy is it to cancel a lease?
It is quite easy. You can cancel it for the end of the lease (usually one year with a three months notice period). If you are in a hurry you can also present the landlord with another tenant, which he can refuse only in very specific circumstances.

What do landlords ask before they accept a new tenant?
Swiss landlords are much less carefull than their American, French or British counterparts when it comes to selecting a tenant. With a good reference letter from our part, the only element that most landlords will ask is a 3 month deposit. If you don't want to tie the cash down, there are several insurance companies that can vouch for you against a yearly payment. Basically it is a first-come, first-served game in most areas. Some highly prized buildings might favor stable tenants but this is rare. If you are a wealthy celebrity you do have an edge.

Do landlords accept pets? Children?
Most of them do. It is quite rare for landlords to ask questions about pets or children and turn down a tenant application because of them.

How do I convert square meters to square feet?
Very easy. 100 square meters is 1076 square feet. Surfaces are given in square meters, written m2 or m².

How do I convert CHF in dollars?
Swiss francs can be converted to any currency on Yahoo Finance. Note that CHF, SFR and Fr. are all used to designate Swiss Francs.

How can your company help me find a dream rental?
We offer an highly-efficient house search service that can locate and help you secure your dream rental in Switzerland.

Our services

Who are you and what do you do?
We act as a buyer agent and rental agent to locate the best deals available on the market for our clients. Micheloud & Cie is a Swiss company offering services to people that settle in Switzerland. We handle individuals - not companies. Our clients are retired, live off independent means or come to Switzerland to start a business. We offer a one stop service that handles all the legal, fiscal and practical aspects of relocation. We offer a buyer's agent services. You tell us what sort of house or appartment you want - we find it for you. We are on your side during the whole search, negotiation and purchase procedures. Read more about our buyer's agent service ...

How does it work?
When you contact us, we define together what sort of apartment or house you are looking at. We send you a specially made summary of all the accommodations we have found that match what you want. You tell us which ones you'd like to visit and we set up appointments. We hear your feedback and go on searching until you find one that you like. Then we take care of the rest to make sure you can get object you want. To begin the research, we ask for a CHF. 500 advance on our finders fee. As soon as the lease or purchase is signed, you pay us our finder's fee minus the CHF.500.- advance.

Where do you offer your house search service?
We offer our house search service in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais.

How much does your services cost?
We work with a finder's fee based on the value of the accommodation and a CHF.500.- advance. The finder's fee is one monthly rent if you rent or 1% of the total purchase price if you buy. The CHF.500.- advance is non-refundable and is deducted from the finder's fee.

Sounds great! Where do I start?
Please contact us so that we can understand what your housing needs are and get started as soon as possible.

Do you also search for houses for sale?
Of course we do. We do both rental searches and houses for sale searches. If you want to buy a house please visit this page.

Please send me a list
We are not list sellers nor real estate agents, and so do not have lists to send. or objects to sell or rent directly. What we do is looking for opportunities fitting your requirements.

Please send me a house in Ticino, in Interlaken, in Davos, etc...
Unfortunately, we only work in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais. This is the market we know and where our expertise bring value.