Furnished apartments in Zurich: how to rent a serviced or temporary flat (2026)

Operators in Zurich: to compare operators, prices from and minimum stays in the table, see furnished and serviced apartments in Zurich.

Serviced apartments add services such as cleaning, linen or a reception, and many let by the night, week or month. Sublets need the landlord’s consent, which can be refused only if the terms are withheld, unfair compared with the main lease or a major disadvantage to the landlord (CO Art. 262, checked 20 Oct 2026). For a furnished flat, the tenant may charge at most 20% more than the rent they pay (ch.ch, checked 20 Oct 2026), so ask to see the main lease.

For the long-term search that follows, see finding an apartment in Zurich.

A lease is a contract granting the use of a thing for rent, and the rules for homes also cover what is let with the flat, such as its furniture. They do not apply to holiday homes (Ferienwohnungen) rented for three months or less (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026); the exception names holiday homes only. The same rules cap the deposit at three months’ rent, in an account in your name (CO Art. 257e, checked 20 Oct 2026). Our rental deposit guide explains how you get it back.

• Fixed term: ends on its last day without notice; if it is tacitly continued, it becomes open-ended (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026).
• Open-ended lease of a flat: three months’ notice, to a date set by local custom or the lease (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026).
• Furnished room: two weeks’ notice to the end of a one-month rental period (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026).
• Leaving early: propose a solvent replacement tenant the landlord can accept, or keep paying until the lease could end (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026).

Ancillary costs such as heating and hot water are owed only where specifically agreed (CO Art. 253–266e, checked 20 Oct 2026); if a contract mentions none, ch.ch says they may be assumed to be in the rent (ch.ch, checked 20 Oct 2026). ‘All-inclusive’ means whatever the contract lists, so check electricity, heating, internet, cleaning, linen, final cleaning, parking and the Serafe fee. For serviced apartments, also ask about extension and cancellation terms. At move-in, record every defect in writing (FOH, checked 20 Oct 2026).

Statistik Stadt Zürich’s survey covers existing leases on 1 April 2024, leaves out flats that are furnished or reserved for groups such as students, and reports net rents; gross rents run 10 to 15 percent higher (Statistik Stadt Zürich, checked 20 Oct 2026). For a sublet, the 20% cap gives you a check. Serviced apartments set their own prices, so compare the total for the stay you need.

The partial revision of the city’s building and zoning regulations (BZO) took effect after the Federal Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by private objectors, and owners must report these uses (City of Zurich, checked 20 Oct 2026). It asks nothing of guests, but a flat let in breach of it may have to stop being let, so on a long booking ask whether the flat’s use is approved.

You can register only once you have actually moved your residence to Zurich; if no appointment is free in time, book the next one and ask for an extension. A landlord or host confirms your move-in online (City of Zurich, checked 20 Oct 2026). The city’s twelve former district offices were merged into three residents’ office sites on 12 June 2023 (City of Zurich, checked 21 Oct 2026). Our guide to registering at your commune covers later moves and the rule that you register before starting work.

The fee is owed by the adults whose main residence the household is, from the first day of the month after it is set up, as registered with the commune (RTVG Art. 69–69a, checked 20 Oct 2026). A private household is everyone in the same dwelling; collective households, which pay CHF 670, are a closed list of institutions such as care homes and student residences (RHV Art. 2, checked 20 Oct 2026) (Serafe, checked 20 Oct 2026). A room in someone’s flat puts you on that flat’s bill. If an operator says the fee is included, it is refunding you: get that in writing.

Swiss Crime Prevention describes the pattern: an ad too good to be true, a ‘landlord’ abroad and a deposit of several thousand francs by money transfer before any viewing (Swiss Crime Prevention, checked 20 Oct 2026). A genuine deposit goes into a bank account in your name (CO Art. 257e, checked 20 Oct 2026). Look operators up in the commercial register through Zefix (opens in a new tab), and pay against an invoice.

If the contract is in your employer’s name, ask how you will register and who holds the deposit. An agent’s fee is a separate contract, so get the scope and price in writing. Compare apartment-search specialists, home-search services and relocation agencies in Zurich, or see our Zurich city page.