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Request to release a rent deposit, from landlord or bank, in German (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in German · for tenants
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
Made for use in Switzerland
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For tenants in Switzerland who have moved out: the letter asking for the rent deposit back (Art. 257e of the Code of Obligations, OR). You choose the addressee: the landlord, who is asked to give the bank their consent to release it, or the bank itself once a year has passed since the lease ended without the landlord pursuing a claim through debt enforcement or a court action. It gives the bank, account, amount, your IBAN and a date for the reply. Print, sign and send by registered post. In German.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You have moved out and your landlord in Switzerland will not release your rent deposit.
- The handover of the flat is done and you want your deposit back.
- A long time has passed since you moved out and the former agency no longer answers.
- You want to ask the bank to pay out the money in your rent deposit account.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Recipient
- Recipient's address
- City
- Date
- Address of the property
- Date of the contract
- Date of termination
- Handover date
- Addressee and request: the landlord's consent, or the bank after one year
- Bank
- Number of the account or deposit holding the rent deposit
- Deposit amount
- IBAN
- Deadline
Common questions
- How long can a Swiss landlord hold on to the rent deposit?
- The bank releases the deposit only with both parties' consent, on a final payment order (one not opposed, or whose opposition has been lifted) or on a final court judgment (Art. 257e para. 3 OR). After the handover, first ask the landlord for their consent. If within one year after the lease ended the landlord has pursued no claim against you, neither through debt enforcement nor through a court action (an application to the conciliation authority is enough for that), you can ask the bank alone to pay it back; the letter's second choice does that.
- What does a tenant send the bank once the year after the lease has passed?
- This letter with the choice addressed to the bank, a copy of the lease or the deposit certificate, and proof of when the lease ended, such as the notice, the landlord's confirmation or the handover record. Ask the bank whether it uses its own form. If the landlord started debt enforcement (Betreibung) or a court action, even only by applying to the conciliation authority, within the year, the bank will not pay out on your request alone.
- Does the canton of Ticino have its own rules on the rent deposit?
- Yes. Ticino's act applying the federal tenancy rules, of 24 June 2010, adds to Art. 257e OR: a cash deposit must be paid within 10 days into a savings or deposit book in the tenant's name at a bank with its seat or a branch in Ticino (art. 6). It can be withdrawn only as Art. 257e para. 3 OR allows, and the tenant can withdraw the interest with their own signature alone (art. 8).
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
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