
Subletting Switzerland: How a fair shared room price is calculated

Jens Herbst
CEO BoVita
Read time
14 min
Published
Feb 26, 2026
Updated
May 24, 2026
Quality
Verified
A fair shared room price in Switzerland consists of the proportional main rent, a furnishing surcharge, internet, cleaning, administration and other actual costs. For furnished subletting, a surcharge of up to 20% on the proportional base rent is recognised for furnishing. Additional services may be charged as actual costs. According to the Federal Supreme Court, the key factor is that the total price is traceable and justified by genuine services.
Key Takeaways
- 01The largest component in a room price is the proportional main rent, not the landlord's margin
- 02For furnished subletting, a surcharge of up to 20% on the proportional rent is recognised for furnishing
- 03Services like internet, cleaning and administration may be charged as actual costs on top
- 04According to BGE 119 II 353 (bger.ch): the surcharge must be justified by genuine services
- 05A transparent breakdown protects both sides, tenant and landlord
- 06With BoVita your rent is fixed, even if rooms in the flat are vacant, your price stays the same
- 07As a tenant always check: inventory list, utility cost rules and an openly communicated breakdown of the gross rent
01
Why flat-rate room prices are hard to assess
When you're looking for a furnished shared room in Switzerland, you usually see one number: the gross rent. Maybe CHF 900, maybe CHF 1,100. But you don't know what's behind it.
Without a breakdown, it cannot be judged whether a price is reasonable in relation to the actual service provided.
Why flat-rate prices are hard to assess:
- Most providers show only a flat price without a breakdown
- The amount of the actual base rent is not visible
- It is unclear whether utilities, internet or cleaning are included
- The reasonableness of a furnishing surcharge cannot be judged
- An inventory list and a transparent calculation are often missing
A reasonable price can only be recognised as such when its composition is openly disclosed.
BoVita therefore discloses the calculation in full in this article, using a real example, with all cost components, and with guidance on how an offer can be structurally assessed.
02
What a gross rent really contains, the real example
To make it concrete, we calculate with a real example. No fantasy numbers, no simplified models.
Starting point: 8.5-room apartment in Aarau
- Main rent for the entire apartment: approximately CHF 5,000 per month (gross rent = net rent + utility advance)
- of which net cold rent: approximately CHF 4,460
- of which utility advance (Nebenkosten Akonto): CHF 540 (heating, hot water, water, caretaker, communal electricity, lift service, fire protection etc., the exact breakdown follows in the next section)
- Layout of the 8.5 rooms: 7 rented bedrooms + 1 living room (separately furnished, used communally) + 0.5 for the kitchen (Swiss counting convention, a kitchen by default counts as half a room). Only the 7 bedrooms are rented out, the living room and kitchen are communal areas and cannot be additionally let. That is why the main rent is divided by 7 for the per-room calculation, not by 8.5.
- Total furnishing: approximately CHF 35,000 (acquisition cost)
- Monthly cleaning of communal areas, internet, administration and emergency service included
- Marketing and finding replacement tenants is handled by BoVita as the main leaseholder
The simple calculation:
- Proportional main rent per room: CHF 5,000 divided by 7 = approximately CHF 714 (of which approx. CHF 77 proportional utility advance)
- Gross rent per room: CHF 950
- Difference: CHF 236 per room as the calculated remainder, from this, the furnishing surcharge, cleaning, internet, administration, emergency service, marketing and the vacancy risk provision must be financed. The detailed breakdown of these components follows further down in the section "The 7 building blocks of a fair room rent".
7 rooms times CHF 950 equals CHF 6,650 total income. Minus CHF 5,000 main rent leaves CHF 1,650 for the entire apartment, from which furnishing, cleaning, internet, administration, marketing and provisions for vacancy must be financed.
What this means for you as a subtenant, planning security:
In a classical shared flat, the total rent is split proportionally among all residents. If a room stands empty after a move-out, the share of the remaining tenants increases, or the residents have to organise a replacement themselves. This means a financial and organisational risk on the tenant side.
With BoVita, you don't have this risk. Your rent is fixed by contract and stays the same, regardless of whether 7 people or only 4 are currently living in the flat. The vacancy risk is carried by BoVita as the main leaseholder, not by you. You always pay only the agreed subletting rent and have full planning security.
How tightly this is calculated is shown in the next section.

03
What is included in the CHF 540 utility advance, and what is not
When a listing states "incl. utilities", it is important to define what is included, and what is not. The following breakdown sets this out in detail.
Breakdown of the CHF 5,000 main rent:
- Net cold rent: approx. CHF 4,460, this goes to the property management as pure rental cost for the apartment
- Utility advance (Nebenkosten Akonto): CHF 540, these are the monthly advance payments for the operation of the property
The CHF 540 is an advance payment (Akonto), meaning a prepayment on actual consumption. Once a year, the property management issues a heating and utility statement (HK/NK-Abrechnung). If the actual consumption was lower than the advance payments made, there is a credit. If it was higher, an additional payment is due.
Important, who legally bears these CHF 540?
The utility advance runs between BoVita as the main tenant and the property management, not between BoVita and the subtenants. The CHF 540 is priced into the gross rent of CHF 950 per room; a credit or additional payment from the annual HK/NK statement therefore legally affects BoVita. There is consequently no separate utility settlement issued to subtenants, and this is also fair, because tenants have no direct influence on the level of the utility advance or on the overall consumption of the property.
How BoVita passes credits on to tenants:
If BoVita actually receives a credit from the annual HK/NK statement, this credit is offset against the ongoing Solar21/ZEV invoices of the subtenants. As long as the credit lasts, no Solar21 amount is charged to tenants and they don't receive a quarterly statement during this period. Only once the credit has been used up does consumption-based billing resume as normal. This way, tenants directly benefit from frugal overall consumption of the property.
This pass-through is not expressly regulated in the rental contract, BoVita handles it this way of its own accord, because it follows the general tenancy-law principle that no profit may be made from utilities (Art. 257b OR; applied by analogy to the sublease, as otherwise the abuse prohibition of Art. 262 OR would also be triggered).
What is included in the CHF 540 utility advance:
| Area | Included services | |
|---|---|---|
| Heating and hot water | Heating, hot water, boiler, cooling system, ventilation, heat pump electricity, cleaning, operation, emission measurements, repair subscriptions, operational optimisation | |
| Water and waste disposal | Water, sewage, sewerage, refuse collection, underground containers, green maintenance, waste services, special disposal fees | |
| Caretaker services | Caretaker work, consumables, tools, small equipment, exterior maintenance, winter service, snow removal, garden care, cleaning of common areas | |
| Communal costs | Communal electricity, lift service, lift emergency phone, fire protection systems, sprinklers, sewage systems, emergency power, security systems, security locking, emergency lighting | |
| Site utility costs | Maintenance and operation of communal facilities and surroundings, waste management, permits, energy, surface cleaning, caretaker, lighting, administrative costs for site and operation |
What is NOT included in the CHF 540, and why this is important:
The following costs are billed separately based on actual consumption and are not part of the CHF 950 gross rent:
- Individual electricity consumption in the room via the PV system / ZEV (Solar21): light in the room, sockets, your own devices (laptop, console, mini-fridge, etc.)
- Share of the apartment's general consumption: kitchen appliances (refrigerator, oven, hob, dishwasher), washing machine, WiFi router, lighting in communal areas, boiler share (if separately metered electrically)
- TV reception and Serafe fee (radio and TV fee): billed by Serafe directly to the resident, not via the landlord
- Personal insurance (household contents, liability): see our article on insurance requirements as a subtenant
How the Solar21 / ZEV electricity billing works in practice:
In modern properties with a photovoltaic system and ZEV (Zusammenschluss zum Eigenverbrauch, community for self-consumption), electricity is billed based on actual consumption, not as a flat rate. This corresponds to the consumption principle provided for in Swiss energy law (EnG / Art. 16 EnV) for ZEV properties.
- Solar21 (or another ZEV operator) measures electricity consumption per apartment
- Solar21 issues a monthly invoice per housing unit to BoVita
- BoVita distributes this consumption proportionally among the shared-flat residents, based on the individual rental duration within the billing month. *Example:* If a flatmate has only been in the flat for 15 of 30 days in the billing month, they count as half a share, the others carry correspondingly more.
- Each tenant receives a quarterly statement of the ZEV electricity billing from BoVita (exception: in quarters where an HK/NK credit is being offset, Solar21 amounts are then not charged until the credit is used up; details in the section "Who legally bears these CHF 540?" above)
- Important to understand: There are no per-room submeters within a shared flat, Solar21 only measures the total apartment consumption. The internal split among flatmates by rental duration is therefore pragmatic, because the consumption of an individual room cannot be technically separated. Between flat and landlord, however, the billing remains strictly consumption-based, frugal flats pay less, heavy-consuming flats pay more.
Concrete example, Solar21 tariffs (as of 2026, Buchserstrasse 9 property, Aarau):
| Item | Tariff | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar electricity from the roof (high tariff) | 26.59 Rp/kWh | PV electricity, own production | |
| Solar electricity from the roof (low tariff) | 21.17 Rp/kWh | PV electricity, own production | |
| Grid electricity ECO (high tariff, total incl. grid use/levies) | 27.68 Rp/kWh | when PV electricity is insufficient | |
| Grid electricity ECO (low tariff, total incl. grid use/levies) | 22.08 Rp/kWh | when PV electricity is insufficient | |
| Base fee | CHF 5.00 / month | per housing unit | |
| Metering costs | CHF 6.20 / month | per housing unit | |
| VAT | 8.1% | added on top of everything |
What this means in practice: An 8.5-room apartment with around 190 kWh consumption per month is billed at approximately CHF 73 incl. VAT. With full occupancy of 7 flatmates, that works out to around CHF 10 to CHF 15 per flatmate per month, depending on the actual consumption and the individual rental duration in that month. Important: If fewer than 7 rooms are occupied, BoVita as the main leaseholder covers the share of the vacant rooms, the per-head amount for the active flatmates does not increase. The vacancy risk is borne entirely by BoVita.
Important: The CHF 540 advance payment in the gross rent covers the communal electricity of the property (staircase, laundry room, heating, boiler etc.), the consumption billed via Solar21 is the apartment consumption (kitchen, living room, tenants' rooms). There is no double charging, because two separate metering circuits are measured.
Why this separation is in your rental contract (clause 4):
In every BoVita rental contract, you find under clause 4 the exact wording. Reading aid: The term "electricity" in the first part refers to heating and communal electricity of the property (staircase, laundry room, heating, lift); the second part explicitly excludes the individual electricity consumption inside the room, these two types of electricity are technically captured by two separate meters:
> *"The utility costs include monthly cleaning, heating costs, heating operation, heating electricity, electricity, water, sewage, boiler descaling, caretaker, expenses and consumables, exterior work, snow removal, administrative costs for preparing the heating/utility statement. Not included in the utility costs is the individual electricity consumption inside the room, including household appliances, lighting and entertainment electronics. Likewise not included are the costs for TV and the statutory Serafe broadcasting fee for radio and television."*
This is deliberately and transparently regulated this way, and corresponds to the standard of professional Swiss property management. If we were to flat-rate individual electricity consumption via the gross rent, the frugal tenant would subsidise the heavy user, which would neither be fair nor would it comply with the ZEV law.
What happens at the end of the year with the CHF 540 advance payment?
- The property management prepares the annual heating/utility statement, the legal addressee is BoVita as the main tenant, not the subtenants
- If actual consumption was lower than the advance payments → a credit is created, which BoVita passes on to the tenants of its own accord, in line with the no-profit principle under Art. 257b OR
- Concretely, the pass-through works via offset against the ongoing Solar21/ZEV electricity invoices, as long as the credit lasts, no Solar21 amount is charged to tenants and the quarterly statement is paused
- If the credit lasts longer than the ongoing Solar21 invoices, the surplus remains as a balance for future ZEV invoices
- If actual consumption was higher than the advance payments → an additional payment is due; this is borne by BoVita as the main tenant and is not passed on to subtenants, because tenants have no direct influence on the level of the utility advance or on the overall consumption of the property (which is also why there is no separate utility settlement issued to subtenants)
The principle in one sentence: What everyone consumes together (heating, lift, caretaker, communal electricity) runs via the gross rent as an advance. What you consume individually (own devices, own light in the room) runs via the separate electricity bill, so everyone pays exactly what they actually use.
04
The 7 building blocks of a fair room rent
Here are the individual cost components as they arise for an 8.5-room apartment with 7 rented rooms:
1. Proportional base rent and utilities
- Base: CHF 5,000 main rent (CHF 4,460 net cold rent + CHF 540 utility advance)
- Per room with 7 rooms: approximately CHF 714 (of which approx. CHF 637 net rent + CHF 77 utility advance)
- The utility advance includes: heating, hot water, water/sewage, caretaker, communal electricity, lift service, fire protection and site utility costs, the full breakdown is in the previous section
- Not included and billed separately based on consumption: individual electricity in the room (Solar21/ZEV, monthly invoice from Solar21 to BoVita, proportionally distributed among flatmates), TV and Serafe
- This is by far the largest item and cannot be influenced
2. Furnishing surcharge
- Furniture acquisition costs: approximately CHF 35,000
- Depreciation over 5 years: CHF 583 per month for the entire apartment
- Per room: approximately CHF 80 to 100 (depending on room size and furnishing intensity)
- Includes: bed, mattress, desk, chair, wardrobe, bedside table, lamps, plus proportional costs for living room and kitchen
3. Cleaning of communal areas
- Bathroom, WC, kitchen, hallway, based on effort
- Example: 3 hours per month at CHF 30 per hour = CHF 90 for the apartment
- Per room: approximately CHF 13 to 15
4. Internet
- Depending on provider, CHF 50 to 80 per month for the apartment
- Per room: approximately CHF 8 to 12
5. Administration and operations
- Move-in, move-out, key handover, coordination, communication, contract management
- These are the things nobody likes to do but everyone expects
- Per room: approximately CHF 10 to 30
6. Emergency service and coordination
- Availability for urgent problems (heating failure, water damage, lock replacement)
- Not handyman services but organisation and coordination
- Per room: approximately CHF 5 to 15
7. Marketing and re-letting
- Creating listings, screening, viewing appointments, handover
- Provision for vacancy risk (if a room stands empty for one month, CHF 950 is missing)
- Per room: approximately CHF 10 to 30
Added together:
| Building block | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Base rent (share of main rent) | CHF 714 | |
| Furnishing & wear | CHF 80-100 | |
| Cleaning of communal areas | CHF 13-15 | |
| Internet, WiFi, TV if applicable | CHF 8-12 | |
| Administration & billing | CHF 10-30 | |
| Emergency service & on-call | CHF 5-15 | |
| Marketing & placement | CHF 10-30 | |
| Total cost basis | CHF 840-916 |
Calculation chain for the margin:
Gross rent CHF 950 − cost basis CHF 840-916 = operating margin CHF 34-110 per room and month.
This margin is immediately eaten up by any room that stands empty for even one month. An empty room means CHF 950 in lost income, while the proportional main rent and ongoing service costs keep running.
Looking for a furnished shared room in Aarau, Wohlen or St. Gallen with a transparent calculation and fixed rent? Check out our current room listings or submit an enquiry directly.
05
What is actually included in the room
A room price can only be fairly assessed if you know what you get for it. So here is specifically what is included in the price at a professionally run shared flat.
Each room contains:
- Bed (140 cm or 160 cm) with quality mattress
- Desk with sufficient workspace
- Office chair or desk chair
- Wardrobe (at least 2-door)
- Bedside table with lamp
- Ceiling light or floor lamp
- Curtains or blackout blinds
- Bed linen set for move-in
Communal kitchen, fully equipped:
- Refrigerator, oven, hob
- Coffee machine, kettle, toaster
- Microwave
- Pots, pans, baking trays
- Plates, cutlery, glasses for all residents
- Chopping boards, kitchen utensils, can opener
- Waste separation (general waste, cardboard, PET, aluminium)
Living room, separately furnished:
- Sofa or seating group
- Coffee table
- TV (in some apartments)
- Shelves or sideboard
General equipment:
- Washing machine (in the apartment or building)
- Vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies
- Ironing board and iron
- Clothes drying rack
- WiFi router (internet included)
Why this makes the difference:
If you rent an empty room and have to buy everything yourself, expect CHF 3,000 to 5,000 for basic equipment (bed, mattress, desk, chair, wardrobe, kitchen utensils). Then there's the effort: ordering, delivery, assembly, selling or disposing when you move out.
With a furnished room, you save this investment and can start productively on the day you move in, with everything you need.
How the move-in at BoVita works, including deposit, handover protocol and checklist, you can find in our separate article. What rights and obligations apply to subletting we have also covered in detail.
06
Is a surcharge on subletting allowed? The legal position
Art. 262 OR, the basic rule
Swiss contract law regulates subletting in Art. 262 OR. The central statement: the conditions of the sublease must not be abusive compared to the main lease. In concrete terms: the main tenant may not make an unjustified profit from subletting.
The 20% rule, what it really means
In practice and in legal literature (including SVIT commentary, lexwiki.ch, Beobachter), the following guideline is often discussed: for furnished subletting, a furnishing surcharge of around 20% on the proportional rent is regarded as a typical benchmark; for unfurnished subletting, rather around 10%. These are not rigid statutory limits, what matters is always the case-by-case abuse review, i.e. whether the surcharge is objectively justified by actual services and costs and is proportionate.
Important: The 20% refers to the pure furnishing surcharge, meaning depreciation and amortisation of the furniture. Actual additional costs such as internet, cleaning, administration and emergency service come on top and may be passed on separately, provided they actually occur and are demonstrable.
Federal Supreme Court case law on subletting
According to prevailing legal opinion, the Federal Supreme Court's case law on Art. 262 OR (see, among others, BGE 119 II 353) follows the principle: a surcharge on the subletting rent is not abusive if it is objectively justified by actual services and costs of the sublessor. What is examined is not whether the price is exactly appropriate, but whether abuse exists. The decisive factors are traceability and proportionality.
What this means in practice:
- Proportional main rent + furnishing surcharge (benchmark ca. 20%) + actual additional costs = generally permissible, provided the surcharges are objectively justified
- No unjustified profit, total income must not significantly exceed actual costs
- Transparency protects: those who can disclose the calculation are in a better position than those who remain silent
- The landlord (property owner) must consent to the subletting and know the conditions
Concrete worked example, the BoVita gross rent of CHF 950 against these rules
Anyone who knows the headline figures can do a quick mental check: CHF 6,650 in rental income (7 × CHF 950) versus CHF 5,000 main rent leaves a difference of CHF 1,650, roughly a 33% surcharge. At first glance, this looks like more than the often-cited 20%. However, this rough calculation conflates two things that are legally distinct: the furnishing surcharge (to which the 20% benchmark applies) and the actual additional services (internet, cleaning, administration, emergency service, marketing/vacancy provision), which may be passed on separately, provided they actually occur and are demonstrable.
Step 1, furnishing surcharge in relation to the proportional base rent:
- Proportional gross rent (CHF 5,000 / 7): approx. CHF 714, of which approx. CHF 77 utility advance → proportional net base rent: approx. CHF 637
- 20% benchmark of CHF 637 → up to approx. CHF 127 furnishing surcharge would fall within the customary range
- BoVita furnishing surcharge per the building-blocks table: CHF 80-100 per room/month → at approx. 13-16%, clearly below the benchmark
Step 2, actual service costs (added on top, not part of the 20%):
| Building block | Per room/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning of communal areas | CHF 13-15 | |
| Internet, Wi-Fi, possibly TV | CHF 8-12 | |
| Administration & billing | CHF 10-30 | |
| Emergency service & on-call | CHF 5-15 | |
| Marketing & vacancy provision | CHF 10-30 | |
| Total services | CHF 46-102 |
Step 3, operating margin after deducting all actual costs:
- Proportional main rent CHF 714 + furnishing surcharge CHF 80-100 + services CHF 46-102 = cost base CHF 840-916
- Gross rent CHF 950 minus cost base = operating margin CHF 34-110 per room and month
- This margin is immediately consumed by any vacant room (CHF 950 in lost income per month); the vacancy risk is borne entirely by BoVita as the main tenant
Legal assessment of this calculation:
Under the Federal Supreme Court's case law on Art. 262 OR (see, among others, BGE 119 II 353), the court examines on a case-by-case basis whether a surcharge is objectively justified by actual services and is proportionate, not whether a rigid percentage threshold has been observed. In the BoVita model, the furnishing surcharge at approx. 13-16% is clearly below the 20% benchmark, and the remaining surcharges correspond to actual, demonstrable services (an internet contract with a provider, cleaning assignments, administrative effort, on-call service, marketing and vacancy provision). The operating margin of CHF 34-110 per room and month covers the main tenant's vacancy risk and does not constitute an unjustified profit within the meaning of Art. 257b OR.
No fixed limits, but clear guidelines:
There is no law that says "exactly 20% and not a cent more." Case law works with the concept of abusiveness. In practice this means: as long as the price is covered by actual costs and services and is communicated transparently, it is within the permissible framework.
BoVita's calculations for every subletting arrangement follow the benchmarks recognised in practice and current case law. When in doubt, both tenants and subtenants are encouraged to seek independent advice, for example from the Swiss Tenants' Association or a tenancy lawyer.
---
Is it legal to advertise "incl. utilities" while billing individual room electricity separately? The legal context.
We get this question often. Under current Swiss tenancy law and the ZEV rules, the answer can be summarised as follows: Yes, this is permissible, provided it is expressly regulated in the rental contract, and for individual electricity consumption in a ZEV property, the relevant energy regulations require consumption-based metering anyway.
1. Utilities have a clearly defined scope (Art. 257a/b OR + Art. 5 VMWG)
Under Swiss tenancy law, only costs that are related to the actual use of the rented property and are expressly agreed in the rental contract may be charged as "utilities" (Art. 257a para. 2 OR). The Ordinance on the Lease and Tenancy of Residential and Commercial Premises (VMWG, SR 221.213.11) regulates in detail in Art. 5 which items are permissible: heating, hot water, water/sewage, caretaker services, communal electricity (staircase, laundry room), lift service, refuse collection, garden maintenance, fire protection etc.
Individual electricity consumption in the room, meaning light, sockets, your own devices, is generally not passed on as a flat-rate utility item under Swiss tenancy law, because it does not concern the communal operation of the property but rather the personal consumption of a single tenant. The Swiss Tenants' Association also points out in its guide on heating and utilities that only costs that relate to the communal use of the property and are expressly agreed may be passed on.
2. ZEV electricity is billed by consumption (Energy Act / Art. 16 EnV)
Where a property participates in a ZEV (Zusammenschluss zum Eigenverbrauch, community for self-consumption), as with BoVita where Solar21 acts as the ZEV operator, the Energy Act (EnG) and the Energy Ordinance (Art. 16 EnV) provide for a consumption-based billing of electricity costs: consumption is recorded with calibrated meters per consumption unit and billed to end users according to their actual consumption. A complete flat-rate inclusion in the gross rent would run counter to this consumption principle and would also be problematic under tenancy law (no profit from utilities under Art. 257b OR, only actual costs may be passed on). Communal electricity (staircase, laundry room) remains part of utilities under Art. 5 VMWG and is therefore included in the CHF 540 utility advance, how the billing works in practice is explained in the section «How the Solar21 / ZEV electricity billing works in practice».
3. The argument "not predictable", exactly why the separation is permissible
The most common objection is: "If room electricity consumption can't be predicted in advance, all the more reason it shouldn't be in the flat rate." Exactly. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised in its case law on Art. 257b OR that the landlord may not profit from utilities and may only pass on the actual costs. Anyone who packs unpredictable, individually highly variable consumption into a flat rate subsidises the heavy user at the expense of the frugal one, and that would be precisely abusive. The separate billing therefore protects the fair tenant who consumes little.
Concretely: if a flatmate runs a server, crypto miner or a large aquarium light in the room, it is neither fair nor legally sound that the other flatmates have to bear this excess consumption via a flat-rate "incl. utilities" rent.
4. Transparent contractual basis, the key point
For the separation to hold legally, it must be expressly regulated in the rental contract (Art. 257a para. 2 OR). Clause 4 in the BoVita rental contract implements this: it lists in detail what is included in the utilities and explicitly excludes "individual electricity consumption inside the room, including household appliances, lighting and entertainment electronics" as well as TV and Serafe. This means the constellation "gross rent incl. utilities + separate ZEV electricity invoice" is contractually clearly regulated and corresponds in substance to the customary practice for ZEV properties, provided the consumption-based billing is actually implemented.
5. The subletting context (Art. 262 OR) does not change this
In a sublease relationship, the main tenant may pass on actual additional costs (internet, cleaning, furnishing, electricity by consumption) to the subtenant, provided they actually occur and are transparently disclosed. For the furnishing surcharge, practice cites a benchmark of around 20% of the proportional base rent; consumption-based costs such as ZEV electricity are separate from this and are added based on actual consumption. This practice is discussed in detail in the legal literature (SVIT commentary, lexwiki.ch).
Bottom line in one sentence: The notice "incl. utilities" refers to the utility items defined in Art. 5 VMWG; individual electricity consumption in the room is billed separately and based on consumption in a ZEV property, at BoVita, both are transparently documented in the rental contract.
07
Checklist: How to recognise a fair room price
If you want to know whether a shared room price is fair, these specific checkpoints will help:
1. Is there a transparent breakdown?
- Is it clear how the gross rent is composed?
- Is there an openly communicated cost calculation or an explanation on request?
- Are base rent, utilities, furnishing and services listed separately?
2. Is the furniture actually present and in good condition?
- Is there an inventory list for your room?
- Does the list match the actual furnishings?
- What condition are the bed, mattress, desk and wardrobe in?
3. Are utility costs clearly regulated?
- Does the contract state what is included in the gross rent?
- Or does it just say "all inclusive" without explanation?
- Will you face additional costs (electricity, heating, water)?
4. What exactly is included in the service?
- Is internet included and how fast is the connection?
- Are communal areas cleaned regularly?
- Is there a contact person for problems?
5. Is the deposit properly arranged?
- Is the deposit in a blocked account or is there a deposit insurance?
- Is the amount reasonable (maximum 3 months' rent, in practice often 1 to 2)?
- More on this in our article about deposits in Switzerland
6. How does it compare to the market?
- Compare the price with similar offers on Flatfox, Tutti or WG-Zimmer.ch
- Pay attention to: location, room size, furnishing, included services
- A furnished room with services is naturally more expensive than an empty room without extras
7. Who carries the vacancy risk?
- In a regular shared flat, your share of the rent increases when someone moves out and the room stands empty
- You then either have to pay more or find a replacement tenant yourself
- With professional providers like BoVita, your rent is fixed by contract, regardless of whether all rooms are occupied or not
- The vacancy risk lies with the main leaseholder, not with you, this gives you genuine planning security
Rule of thumb: If the provider can explain on request how the price is composed, and the explanation is plausible, that's a strong signal of seriousness.
08
Transparency as a standard
> The key takeaways in three sentences:
> 1. A gross rent of CHF 950 for a furnished shared room in a ZEV property is plausible when it's derived from base rent, a furnishing surcharge and real service costs, the operating margin remains narrow at CHF 34-110 per room and is immediately consumed by any vacancy.
> 2. The CHF 540 utility advance is BoVita's contractual relationship with the property management, priced into the gross rent; individual room electricity is billed separately based on consumption via Solar21/ZEV, both points are expressly regulated in the rental contract.
> 3. Any HK/NK credit that BoVita receives from the annual statement is, of BoVita's own accord, in line with the no-profit principle under Art. 257b OR, offset against the ongoing Solar21 invoices of the tenants; as long as the credit lasts, no Solar21 amounts are charged and the quarterly statement is paused.
Questions about room prices typically arise not because the price is too high, but because its composition is not openly communicated.
Every tenant can transparently request from us:
- An openly communicated breakdown of the gross rent into its components (in this article and on request)
- A complete inventory list for the respective room
- Clear information about included services (internet, cleaning, support)
What you as a tenant can do:
- Actively ask for a breakdown if it's not offered
- Compare not just the price but also the included services
- Check the inventory list at handover and report discrepancies promptly
- Read our article about subletting rules in Switzerland for the legal framework
- Find out about the insurance requirement as a subtenant
A transparent breakdown isn't the unique selling point of any single provider, it's the basic requirement for a tenancy you can actually understand. A provider who can't disclose the calculation on request usually has a reason for it.
Want to see for yourself? Here you can find our available rooms in Aarau, Wohlen and St. Gallen, with full details on price, furnishing and included services.
Frequently Asked Questions
11 questions answered
Yes. For furnished subletting, a surcharge of up to 20% on the proportional base rent is recognised as a furnishing surcharge. Additionally, actual costs such as internet, cleaning and administration may be passed on. The key factor is that the total price is justified by genuine services and is traceable (Art. 262 OR, BGE 119 II 353).
Sources & Methodology
9 verified sources
- 01Swiss Code of Obligations (OR), Art. 262, Sublettingfedlex.admin.ch
- 02
- 03VMWG Art. 5, Ordinance on Lease (Fedlex)fedlex.admin.ch
- 04Swiss Tenants' Association, Heating and utility costsmieterverband.ch
- 05Energy Act (EnG) Art. 16-18, Self-consumption (Fedlex)fedlex.admin.ch
- 06Energy Ordinance (EnV) Art. 14-18, ZEV regulations (Fedlex)fedlex.admin.ch
- 07Swiss Tenants Association, subletting and shared living (German)mieterverband.ch
- 08lexwiki.ch, Subletting: Rent amountlexwiki.ch
- 09Zurich Courts, Subletting requirementsgerichte-zh.ch
Related Articles
You might also like
Available furnished rooms in Aarau
Central location in Aeschbach quarter, right by the train station and cantonal hospital. Perfect for professionals and students.
Other locations:

