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Early return of a rented flat with a replacement tenant, in German (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in German · for tenants
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Made for use in Switzerland
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For tenants in Switzerland who move out before the termination date: the letter to the landlord announcing the early return of the flat and proposing a replacement tenant who is solvent and willing to take over the lease on the same terms (Art. 264 of the Code of Obligations, OR). It gives the return date and the candidates, sets a date for the landlord's answer and lists the documents enclosed. Print, have every tenant 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 want to move out of your flat in Switzerland before the notice date and propose a replacement tenant.
- You have found someone who wants to take over your flat, and the agency should check them.
- Your new job starts soon and you do not want to pay rent on two flats for months.
- You want to move out between the usual termination dates and put forward a Nachmieter to your landlord in writing.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- City
- Date
- Address of the property
- Date of the contract
- Date of the early return of the flat
- Replacement tenant: name, current address, telephone, occupation (each person)
- Deadline
- Contact phone
- Correspondence address
Common questions
- When is a replacement tenant acceptable to a Swiss landlord?
- When the person is solvent and willing to take over the lease on the same terms — the same rent and the same duration (Art. 264 para. 1 OR) — and there is no objective reason against them. The landlord may check them like any applicant and needs reasonable time to do so. Enclose straight away what agencies usually ask for: the application form, a recent extract from the debt enforcement register (Betreibungsregisterauszug) and proof of income.
- What does a tenant in Switzerland owe after leaving early without an acceptable replacement?
- The rent until the lease ends, or could be ended, under the lease or the law (Art. 264 para. 2 OR). The landlord must credit what they save in expenses and what they earn, or deliberately fail to earn, by letting the flat to someone else (Art. 264 para. 3 OR). If you did propose an acceptable replacement, you are released even if the landlord does not take them, from the day they could take over, once the landlord has had reasonable time to check them; the rent runs until then.
- Should a tenant leaving early with a replacement also give ordinary notice?
- The law does not require it, but it gives certainty: if nobody takes over the lease, ordinary notice ends it on the next termination date at the latest, and the rent owed stops there. Send the tenant's notice ending the lease with this letter, by registered post and signed by every tenant, and keep copies of both letters and the posting receipts.
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.
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