Skip to content
Coverage

Rental deposit

Switzerland — Mietzinskaution (CO art. 257e)

NationalCHRead off primary law

Switzerland

Rule id
deposit.ch
Version
1.0.0
In force from
July 1, 1990
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
Switzerland

In plain language

What this regime says.

Swiss rental security for residential premises is capped at three months’ rent and must be held in a bank account in the tenant’s own name, blocked in the landlord’s favour. If the landlord has not legally asserted a claim within one year of the lease ending, the tenant can require the bank to release the money.

Who is covered

Tenants of residential or commercial premises in Switzerland who furnished security.

What you get

Release of the blocked account, plus repayment of anything demanded above three months’ rent for a residential letting.

Where claims go wrong

  • Negotiating with the landlord for a year instead of diarising the art. 257e(3) date and writing to the bank.
  • Accepting a landlord’s letter to the bank as a "legal assertion". It is not — proceedings are.
  • Not noticing that the deposit was never in a blocked account in your name at all.
  • Skipping the conciliation authority, which is compulsory before court and free.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. CO art. 257eFederal Act on the Amendment of the Swiss Civil Code (Part Five: Code of Obligations), SR 220URL verified 2026-08-05art. 257e (security furnished by the tenant)

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

The clocks it starts

  • Landlord’s one year from the end of the lease to assert a legal claim (art. 257e(3))Article 257e(3) is the tenant’s lever. If the landlord has not legally asserted a claim against the security within one year of the end of the lease, the tenant may require the bank to release the deposit. "Legally asserted" means real proceedings — a conciliation request or a debt-enforcement action — not a letter saying they intend to claim.CO art. 257e — art. 257e (security furnished by the tenant)Filing window

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"We have told the bank we are claiming"

high likelihood

The landlord writes to the bank asserting a claim in order to keep the account blocked past the one-year mark.

What answers it

Article 257e(3) requires the landlord to have legally asserted the claim — commenced conciliation or debt-enforcement proceedings — within the year. A letter of intent to the bank is not that. Ask for the reference number of the proceedings, and if there is none, press the bank for release.

CO art. 257e — art. 257e (security furnished by the tenant)

"The property needed cleaning and redecorating"

high likelihood

The landlord charges for cleaning, carpet wear, scuffed paint or tired fittings and treats the deposit as a refurbishment fund.

What answers it

Fair wear and tear from ordinary use is not a recoverable loss in any of the regimes this product covers — a deduction must reflect damage or a breach beyond ordinary use, must be evidenced, and must be reduced for the age and remaining life of the item. Ask for the invoice, the check-in and check-out evidence, and the calculation.

"Prove you did not cause it"

high likelihood

The landlord asserts damage and expects the tenant to disprove it, often without a check-in inventory.

What answers it

It is the party seeking to keep the money who must justify keeping it. Where there is no dated check-in record to compare against, an adjudicator has nothing to measure the alleged damage from, and the deduction generally fails on that ground alone.

"We held it ourselves, that is normal"

medium likelihood

The landlord admits the deposit was never placed in a blocked account in the tenant’s name.

What answers it

That is a breach of art. 257e(2), not a matter of practice. The tenant can demand that the money be placed in a proper blocked account in their own name at any time, and a landlord who has mixed it with their own funds is in a much weaker position on every other issue.

CO art. 257e — art. 257e (security furnished by the tenant)

Where to take it next

  1. Ask the landlord to co-sign the releaseThe bank will unblock the account immediately on the written agreement of both parties. Send the bank’s own release form with your signature on it and a deadline. Most disputes end here.Claim directtypically 14 days
  2. Require release from the bank under art. 257e(3)Once a year has passed since the end of the lease without the landlord legally asserting a claim, the bank must release the deposit to you. Write to the bank citing art. 257e(3) and enclosing the termination and handover documents.Claim direct
  3. Schlichtungsbehörde / autorité de conciliation en matière de baux et loyersConciliation before the cantonal tenancy conciliation authority is compulsory before court and is free of charge in tenancy matters. It is genuinely effective: a large share of Swiss tenancy disputes settle at this stage.Alternative dispute resolutiontypically 60 days
  4. Cantonal court (Mietgericht / tribunal des baux)Binding on themIf conciliation fails you receive an authorisation to proceed and can bring the claim before the competent cantonal court.Courttypically 180 days

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Albania — rental deposit (Kodi Civil (Civil Code), qiraja)ALNational — AlbaniaKodi Civil (Civil Code), qirajaConfidence: lowAustria — rental deposit (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG))ATNational — AustriaAllgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG)Confidence: lowBelgium — rental deposit (Regional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du Logement)BENational — BelgiumRegional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du LogementConfidence: lowBosnia and Herzegovina — rental deposit (The law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislation)BANational — Bosnia & HerzegovinaThe law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislationConfidence: lowBulgaria — rental deposit (Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наем)BGNational — BulgariaЗакон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наемConfidence: lowCroatia — rental deposit (Zakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosima)HRNational — CroatiaZakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosimaConfidence: lowCyprus — rental deposit (Rent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contract)CYNational — CyprusRent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contractConfidence: lowCzechia — jistota / kauce (Občanský zákoník § 2254)CZNational — CzechiaObčanský zákoník (89/2012 Sb.), § 2254Confidence: high

Other rights in the same countries

EU air carrier liability for baggage (Regulation (EC) No 2027/97)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 2027/97, Art. 1 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002)Confidence: highEU Regulation 261/2004 (air passenger rights)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 261/2004Confidence: highEuropean Union — air fare all-inclusive pricing, Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 art. 23EUAIRSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 1008/2008, art. 23(1)Confidence: highSwitzerland — Code of Obligations right of revocation (and the online gap)CHNational — SwitzerlandSwiss Code of Obligations, arts. 40a–40fConfidence: mediumSwitzerland — dormant assets at Swiss banks (Banking Act art. 37m; Banking Ordinance arts. 45–59)CHNational — SwitzerlandBundesgesetz über die Banken und Sparkassen (Banking Act), art. 37mConfidence: mediumSwitzerland — Financial Services Act ombudsman affiliation and the Swiss Banking OmbudsmanCHNational — SwitzerlandFinancial Services Act (FinSA / FIDLEG), SR 950.1Confidence: mediumSwitzerland — SBB CFF FFS passenger rights and the fare network’s compensation arrangementsCHNational — SwitzerlandSwiss passenger transport legislation; Regulation (EU) 2021/782 does not apply directlyConfidence: lowSwitzerland — Swiss PostCHNational — SwitzerlandPostgesetz (Postal Services Act, SR 783.0) and the Postal Services OrdinanceConfidence: low

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.