Mietrecht für Mieterinnen und Mieter

In your hands, you hold our guidebook for tenants – we hope it will help you understand and assert your rights as a tenant. Swiss tenancy law includes provisions to protect tenants, but enforcing these rights must always be actively pursued. In practice, this means that tenants have a "duty to collect" their rights.

This situation arises because tenancy law is the result of political negotiation processes. In Parliament, the lobby of property owners and landlords is significantly stronger than that of tenants. Tenancy law exists in a tension between various interest groups. Owners want to maximize rental income, while we, from the tenants' association, fight for the right of every person to live in affordable housing.

In spring 2018, when this book is published, the property owners' lobby is attempting to undermine tenancy law with numerous initiatives. Their goal is maximum profits during a time of continued housing shortages and skyrocketing rents in urban centers. The tenants' association is countering this with a campaign and aims to enshrine in the constitution through its initiative "More Affordable Housing" that the share of non-profit and affordable housing must significantly increase in the coming years.

Beyond the hard legal facts, renting and living involve more: How do we coexist well in our neighborhoods? How do we live in our diverse new forms of life in a society that values flexibility and mobility? And how do we achieve this in an energetically and ecologically sensible and affordable way? Our book also provides information and tips on these topics. In 25 chapters, you will learn everything you need to know before, during, and at the end of a tenancy – as well as what is important if you want or need to pursue legal action. With our glossary.