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expat-services.ch lists 4 hand-checked English-speaking rental deposit guarantee providers in Genève: Firstcaution, goCaution, SmartCaution and SwissCaution.
Besides English, they also work in French, German and Italian. Every profile shows the services, languages and contact details, checked by hand before going live. See also Relocation agencies in Genève.
4 providers
FINMA-authorised specialist for rent guarantees without bank deposit for private and commercial leases, with flexible payment and help recovering existing deposits.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?Online rental deposit insurance replacing a cash deposit, with pre-approval certificates for applicants, commercial deposit cover and release of existing deposit accounts.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?FINMA-authorised Swiss insurer founded 2007 offering rent guarantees without bank deposit for tenants and companies.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?Pioneer of Swiss rental guarantees without bank deposit: tenant pays an annual premium instead of blocking cash; also commercial leases and provisional certificates.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?Local facts
Geneva has had its own law on tenants’ guarantees since 1975 (LGFL). A guarantee in cash or securities must sit in a blocked account at the State’s consignment office or at a recognised bank of the tenant’s choice. A landlord who receives cash has 10 days to place it, otherwise it goes back to the tenant with interest. For housing the guarantee is capped at three monthly rents, and a simple surety can replace the cash at the tenant’s request (Canton of Geneva, checked ).
Money leaves the account only with both signatures or on a court decision, or against an enforceable payment order or judgment on a claim from the lease. If no legal action follows within a year of the tenant leaving, the guarantee is released by law and its owner may take it back. The account must earn at least the Banque cantonale de Genève’s savings rate, and the bank may charge a single opening fee (Canton of Geneva, checked ).
Disputes about a rental security go to the Commission de conciliation en matière de baux et loyers, free of charge (Judiciary of Geneva, checked ). Its “consignation de loyer” is another matter: a tenant pays rent into a blocked account when a landlord is slow to repair a defect, and asks the commission to validate it within 30 days of the first deposited rent falling due (Judiciary of Geneva, checked ).
Newcomers announce their arrival to the cantonal population and migration office (OCPM), route de Chancy 88 in Onex (ge.ch OCPM, checked ). Most procedures run online through an e-démarches account on ge.ch, and the counters open by appointment only. The deadline after arrival is 14 days (2026) (ge.ch arrival, checked ), and a first B or L permit costs an EU/EFTA adult CHF 65 (Canton of Geneva, checked ). The steps are in registering at your commune.
Read more Rental deposit in Switzerland: amount, rules, refund
Checked by the expat-services.ch editorial team
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