With a classic bank deposit you pay up to three months' rent into a blocked account in your name that you can't touch. With a deposit guarantee without a bank deposit, Swisscautionen24 provides that security instead: we issue a deposit certificate to your landlord and guarantee the deposit amount. You pay an annual premium – your money stays with you.
Legally the certificate is deposit insurance under Art. 257e of the Swiss Code of Obligations. For the landlord it has the same function as a bank deposit.
Because moving costs enough already. Instead of blocking three months' rent – often while the old deposit hasn't been released yet – the money stays in your account. You pay a manageable annual premium and get HomeAssistance thrown in.
The law doesn't require a deposit, but almost all landlords ask for one. For residential premises it may not exceed three months' rent (Art. 257e CO). The deposit is either placed in a blocked account or provided through deposit insurance such as Swisscautionen24. In both cases the tenant remains liable for damage and unpaid rent.
- You are at least 18 years old.
- At least one tenant on the lease is a Swiss citizen or holds a B, C or F residence permit. With a G, L, N or S permit, or as an EU/EFTA citizen without a permit, you need an employment contract of at least twelve months.
- The credit check is positive.
- The lease for a home in Switzerland runs for at least three months.
Fastest online: fill in the application, upload documents, receive confirmation. Alternatively you can apply through your property manager if they are a Swisscautionen24 partner.
Once all documents are in and the first premium is paid, we usually issue the certificate within one to two working days. It goes digitally to your property manager or landlord and you receive a copy by email.
The review usually takes less than one working day. The fastest way is to upload all pages of the lease, the IDs of all tenants and – if needed – the employment contract with the application, and to pay the premium online straight away.
Yes. We check the creditworthiness of all tenants. With open debt enforcement, certificates of loss or missing documents we may decline the application. In that case we inform you by email and any premiums already paid are fully refunded.
Our certificate is equivalent to a bank deposit and most property managers accept it. If your landlord still refuses, we refund the premium you paid. We're also happy to talk to the property manager directly.
For residential premises we issue certificates up to CHF 20,000. We review higher amounts on request. By law the deposit for flats may not exceed three months' rent.
Yes. The provisional certificate is free, valid for three months and shows landlords that Swisscautionen24 will cover your deposit as soon as you've signed the lease. It doesn't replace the certificate – you submit the actual application once you have the lease.
Yes, if you can show an employment contract in Switzerland of at least twelve months. Upload the confirmation from the migration office and the employment contract. Once the permit arrives, send it on.
Yes. For residential premises rented by a company for employees, or for associations, use the business premises form. There you enter the legal form and the legal representatives.
Yes, provided there is a written sublease and the main tenant or property manager is registered as beneficiary. Upload the sublease and the landlord's consent to subletting.
The certificate is issued to the people named in the lease. If your parents are on the lease, they can be the applicants. If only you are on the lease, your parents can co-sign as jointly liable guarantors – that helps if you don't have your own credit history yet.
Yes, if the garage or parking space is in the same lease or belongs to the same landlord. Enter the total deposit from both leases and upload both.
Use the 'Continue application' link we emailed you. If you can't find it, request a new link under 'Check status'. If it still doesn't work, call us – we'll help straight away.