Subletting in Switzerland: when your landlord must say yes

Going abroad for six months, or renting out a spare room? Swiss law allows subletting, but with the landlord’s consent — and it limits the reasons a landlord may give for saying no. The cleanest way is a short written request that states the terms. Draft yours below.

[Your name]

[Landlord / agency]

[Place], 29.10.2026

Request for consent to sublet — [flat address]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Under Art. 262 CO, I ask for your consent to sublet one room ([which room]). The terms:
– Subtenant: [name]
– Period: from [start] to [end]
– Sub-rent: CHF [amount] per month including a share of ancillary costs (main rent: CHF [amount])

I remain liable to you for the subtenant using the flat in line with the lease (Art. 262 para. 3 CO). Thank you for your written reply.

Yours faithfully,

[Your name]

The rule: consent, with limited refusal

You may sublet all or part of the flat with the landlord’s consent (Art. 262 CO). The landlord may refuse only if:

1. you refuse to disclose the terms of the sublease;
2. the terms are abusive compared with your own lease — for example a sub-rent well above what you pay for the share you sublet;
3. the sublease would cause the landlord substantial disadvantages.

That is why the request letter states the subtenant, the period and the sub-rent next to your own rent: it answers the first ground in advance and lets the landlord check the second.

Your liability

You remain the tenant. You are liable to the landlord for the subtenant using the flat only as you yourself may, and the landlord may also require the subtenant directly to comply (Art. 262 para. 3 CO). Damage, noise or rule-breaking by your subtenant is your problem in your relationship with the landlord.

The subtenant’s position

A sublease depends on your lease. The tenancy protection rules apply to the sublease only while the main lease runs, and a sublease can be extended only for as long as the main lease lasts (Art. 273b CO). If you are the subtenant, ask whether the landlord has consented, and how long the main lease runs.

Subletting in Vaud

Vaud’s generally binding tenancy rules add a procedure (RULV Art. 21):

• ask for the landlord’s written consent in advance, stating the terms of the sublease;
• the landlord must answer within 30 days of receiving the request;
• you may sublet the whole flat only if you make it credible that you intend to move back in within the foreseeable future;
• if you sublet without consent, the landlord can ask you to disclose the terms within at least 30 days and, if they do not comply with the law, require you to end the sublease.

The letter above includes the line about moving back in when you choose “the whole flat”.