DocMuse

DocMuse is a private, paid service run by The Muse Technology EOOD (Bulgaria). It is neither a public authority nor a law firm, is not connected with the Confederation, a canton, a commune or any court, and does not give legal advice. Official forms are free from the authority concerned.

Cohabitation agreement (Switzerland)

Switzerland · in English

CHF 2.00Fill it in online free — pay only to download

18 questions · about 8 min

Made for use in Switzerland

Fill in the form

Your answers stay on this device for 7 days, or until you clear them.

0 of 0 answered
  • Instant download after payment
  • Backup link emailed to you
  • No account needed

For couples living together in Switzerland without being married: the agreement on property and inventory, the sharing of household costs, the flat, loans and gifts, and the settlement on separation. It also says what a cohabitation agreement (Konkubinatsvertrag) cannot do: it does not make the partner an heir (that needs a handwritten will, Art. 505 CC), pension fund benefits follow the fund's regulations (Art. 20a BVG), and parental authority and child maintenance are settled elsewhere. With an inventory annex. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties.

  • Last updated November 4, 2026
  • Document in English
Switzerland
Legal
English
Contract
Print & sign
3 pages

Published byDocMuse

When to use this document

  • You and your partner are moving in together in Switzerland and do not plan to marry for now.
  • Your partner is moving into your rented flat in Switzerland and you want the costs agreed.
  • You are buying expensive furniture together and want to know whose it is if you split.
  • You want your agreement in English because neither of you is fluent in German or French.

What you fill in

The details the document asks for.

  • First party
  • First party's address
  • Second party
  • Second party's address
  • Living together since
  • Address of the property
  • How household costs are shared
  • Agreed monthly contributions (amount per party, account)
  • Compensation for the one who runs the household or cares for children (if agreed)
  • Who is the tenant of the flat
  • Who keeps the flat after a separation, and by when the other moves out
  • Time to settle accounts after a separation (e.g. three months)
  • Additional terms
  • City
  • Date
  • First party's property: what it is, and when and how it was acquired
  • Second party's property: what it is, and when and how it was acquired
  • Things owned jointly when signing (and the shares, if not half each)

Common questions

Do unmarried partners in Switzerland have any claims on each other without a contract?
Very few. No statute governs cohabitation: there is no maintenance after a separation, no share in the other's assets, no splitting of old-age (AHV) or pension savings and no right of inheritance. For things bought together, courts may apply the rules on a simple partnership (Art. 530 ff. CO), but only so far as the couple pursued a common economic aim (BGE 108 II 204). A cohabitation agreement therefore records who owns what, who pays which costs and how you settle up if you part. It needs no notary; only land requires a public deed and is left out.
If one of an unmarried couple dies, does the other inherit or receive pension benefits?
Not automatically. Partners are not each other's statutory heirs; it takes a will written entirely by hand, dated and signed (Art. 505 CC), or a will or contract of succession by public deed, and compulsory shares of descendants are reserved. There is no AHV survivor's pension. A pension fund may pay a partner if its regulations provide for it (Art. 20a BVG), usually on a beneficiary declaration made in your lifetime; in pillar 3a the partner benefits with the descendants after five years' uninterrupted life together or when supporting a joint child (Art. 2 BVV 3). Whether inheritance tax is due is for the canton.
Is a cohabitation agreement in English valid in Switzerland, and does it need a notary?
It is valid between you in any language you both understand, and it needs no notary or certification: signed by both parties, it binds them. Only land requires a public deed, and the agreement transfers none. If one of you reads German, French or Italian better, use that version. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties. If a dispute reaches a conciliation authority or a court, the proceedings are in the canton's official language (Art. 129 para. 1 CPC) and a translation may be needed.
What happens to the flat and our shared things when a cohabiting couple in Switzerland splits up?
Either of you may end the cohabitation at any time by telling the other in writing; no notice period applies, as nobody can bind themselves to live together (Art. 27 CC). Each takes back their own property; things paid for together belong to you in equal shares unless you recorded otherwise (Art. 646 para. 2 CC), and one of you may take them over against the other's share of the market value, or they are sold. For the flat, the agreement records who keeps it and by when the other moves out, but towards the landlord only the lease counts: a change of tenant needs the landlord's consent.

How you can sign this document

  • Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
  • Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked

DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.

Related documents

  • Cohabitation agreement (Konkubinatsvertrag), in German (Switzerland)

    For couples living together in Switzerland without being married: the agreement on property and inventory, the sharing of household costs, the flat, loans and gifts, and the settlement on separation. It also says what a cohabitation agreement cannot do: it does not make the partner an heir (that needs a handwritten will, Art. 505 of the Civil Code, ZGB), pension fund benefits follow the fund's regulations (Art. 20a of the Occupational Pensions Act, BVG), and parental authority and child maintenance are settled elsewhere. With an inventory annex. Print two copies and both sign. In German.

  • Cohabitation agreement (contrat de concubinage), in French (Switzerland)

    For couples living together in Switzerland without being married: the agreement on property and inventory, how household costs are shared, the home, loans and gifts, and the settlement on separation. It also states what such an agreement cannot do: it does not make the partner an heir (that needs a handwritten will, Art. 505 of the Civil Code, CC), pension fund benefits follow the fund's regulations (Art. 20a of the Occupational Pensions Act, LPP), and parental authority and child maintenance are settled elsewhere. With an inventory annex. Print two copies and both sign. In French.

  • Cohabitation agreement (contratto di concubinato), in Italian (Switzerland)

    For couples living together in Switzerland without being married, in Italian: the agreement on property and inventory, the sharing of household costs, the flat, loans and gifts, and the settlement on separation. It also says what a cohabitation agreement cannot do: it does not make the partner an heir (that needs a handwritten will, Art. 505 of the Civil Code, CC), pension fund benefits follow the fund's regulations (Art. 20a of the Occupational Pensions Act), and parental authority and child maintenance are settled elsewhere. With an inventory annex. Print two copies and both sign.

  • Power of attorney for one matter (Switzerland)

    For people in Switzerland who authorise someone for one precisely described matter: collecting a parcel or documents, deregistering a vehicle, voting at a meeting, attending a flat handover (Art. 32 ff. of the Code of Obligations, CO). With an end date, without land or acts needing a public deed; settlements and gifts only if expressly described (Art. 396 para. 3 CO). Sign it and give it to the person you appoint. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties.

  • Parents' travel authorisation for a minor, in French (Switzerland)

    For parents in Switzerland whose child travels without them or with only one parent: the declaration by which the parents holding parental authority consent to the trip and authorise a companion, giving the child, the identity document, destination, dates, purpose and the parents' phone numbers, as the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE) recommends. With joint parental authority both sign (Art. 296, 301 of the Civil Code, CC). With room for certification if the destination requires it. Print, sign and hand it to the child with copies of the parents' ID. In French.

  • Consent for a child to travel (Switzerland)

    For parents in Switzerland whose child travels without them or with only one parent: the declaration by which the parents with parental authority consent to the trip and authorise a companion, giving the child, the travel document, destination, dates, purpose and the parents' phone numbers, as the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) recommends. Where parental authority is joint, both sign (Art. 296 and 301 of the Civil Code, CC). With room for certified signatures if the destination asks for it. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties.