Ideally, send your landlord the sub-lease contract

You are obliged to inform and seek the consent of your landlord (or the building management) regarding a sub-lease. Ideally, you should send a copy of the contract with a request for approval.

The sub-lease contract contains all relevant information: rent, rental period, details of the sub-tenant, etc.

By clicking this link you can find free sample templates for obtaining the permission.

If the landlord rejects the sub-lease, you may ask for a written explanation. In many cases, none of the rejection reasons stipulated in law (Art. OR 262) apply, in which case the sub-lease must be approved.

Make use of the UMS online contract tool

If you create your sub-lease contract via the UMS online contract tool and then send it to the landlord, he or she will see that you are sub-letting your apartment through us in a legally proper manner, which will generate confidence and goodwill.

What do I risk if I don't inform my landlord?

If you comply with the legal requirements that apply to sub-letting, the risk from a legal standpoint is not high. The landlord is obliged to grant approval even after the fact.

In the Western part of Switzerland there are special regulations saying that the approval has to be given in wirtten form.

But we recommend that you inform your landlord in any case, in order to prevent any bad feeling and to avoid any awkward meetings between the sub-tenant and landlord.

If, on the other hand, you're not sure whether you fulfill the legal requirements, you risk quite a lot. If the landlord finds out about the sub-lease later, he or she can, first, terminate your contract (in as little as 30 days depending on the gravity of the violation), and second, demand payment of all the profit.

No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information.

Useful templates

[Link] Free sample templates for obtaining the permission to sublease