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expat-services.ch lists 4 hand-checked English-speaking rental deposit guarantee providers in Lugano: 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 Lugano.
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
The federal cap is three months' rent, held on a bank account in the tenant's name that pays out only on both parties' consent or a final decision (Fedlex, checked ). At the canton's average rent of CHF 1,249 a month (2024) (Ustat, checked ), three months comes to CHF 3,747.
A dispute over claiming or releasing the deposit starts at the conciliation office, reachable on +41 58 866 69 01 (ti.ch, checked ). Conciliation in residential tenancy cases carries no court costs, and the parties appear in person, with a lawyer or a person of trust if they wish (Fedlex, checked ) (ti.ch, checked ). If no agreement is reached, the office issues an authorisation to sue and the case must reach the Pretore within 30 days; at the claimant's request it can itself decide money disputes up to CHF 2,000 (ti.ch, checked ).
The enforcement office for Lugano is at Via Bossi 2A, with counters open on weekdays from 08:45 to 11:45 and from 14:00 to 16:00 (ti.ch, checked ), and enforcement applications can also be filed online through the federal EasyGov platform (ti.ch, checked ).
New arrivals report to a Puntocittà counter in person or through a proxy; the deadline is 8 days (2026) (lugano.ch, checked ), and one adult can register a whole family. Foreign nationals show their permit or, while it is pending, a copy of the application (lugano.ch, checked ). The certificate of the arrival notice costs CHF 15 a copy (lugano.ch, checked ). More in registering at your commune.
Read more Rental deposit in Switzerland: amount, rules, refund
Checked by the expat-services.ch editorial team