Guide for owners
Renting an apartment or rooms to a company: the owner guide
More and more companies rent housing for their employees, from construction firms with project teams to businesses bringing in specialists from abroad. For owners this is an attractive tenant group: verifiable creditworthiness, longer terms, often several units at once. This guide shows the models, how to set up the contract properly, how to check a company as tenant and where the risks lie. From the practice of a property manager with its own corporate demand channel.
By Jens Herbst, Founder of BoVita Property ManagementUpdated on 3 July 20269 min. read
Topics
Contents
- 1.Why companies are attractive tenants
- 2.The three models at a glance
- 3.Setting up the contract properly
- 4.Assignment, registration and distinctions
- 5.How to check a company as tenant
- 6.Opportunities and risks weighed honestly
- 7.Checklist: renting to a company
- 8.The most convenient route: furnished and professionally operated
- 9.Frequently asked questions
- 10.Sources
Why companies are attractive tenants
Housing is scarce: The vacancy rate stood at 1.0 percent on 1 June 2025 (FSO). At the same time construction, industrial, care and hospitality businesses recruit ever more regionally and internationally, and whoever brings in staff has to house them. Companies therefore increasingly act as tenants themselves.
For owners this tenant group has tangible advantages: Creditworthiness can be verified, the rent comes from a business account instead of changing private individuals, terms are plannable and often several rooms or apartments are rented together. A single contracting party can fill several units and prevent vacancy for years.
DEMAND CONTEXT
1.0 %
Vacancy rate in Switzerland on 1 June 2025 (FSO). Housing is scarce, and companies recruiting staff increasingly act as tenants themselves.
The three models at a glance
Three models have become established in practice, with different distributions of effort and responsibility.
| Model | Who is the tenant? | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Company as main tenant | The business; it assigns the rooms to its employees | Owners who want a single solid contracting party |
| Employees rent directly | The individual; the company partly covers costs or guarantees | Classic letting with additional security |
| Room-by-room via an operator | The operator lets furnished rooms flexibly, including to companies | Owners who want to maximise income and hand over the work |
In the third model the owner remains the landlord; a specialised manager such as BoVita operates the rooms on the owner’s behalf and serves corporate demand as well.
Setting up the contract properly
The key difference to private letting: The rooms will not be occupied by the tenant itself but by its employees. Exactly that belongs explicitly in the contract: the purpose of use (residential use by the tenant’s employees), the maximum occupancy per room or apartment and the company’s right to assign the rooms to changing employees. Without this clause you are in subletting territory, and that requires the landlord’s consent.
Also into the contract: rental term and extension options matching the project duration, the deposit in a blocked account (Art. 257e CO), clear rules on return and wear with changing occupancy, and a contact person on the company side. The clearer the contract, the smoother the tenancy.
Assignment, registration and distinctions
Legal guardrails
The assignment to employees should be expressly permitted in the contract, then it is not a point of dispute. Independently of this, the residents must register with the municipality, usually within 14 days of moving in. Two distinctions matter: The classic service apartment that an employer allocates to staff from its own portfolio partly follows its own rules and is not meant here. And whether the protective provisions for residential premises apply in a specific case depends on the agreed purpose of use; for larger contingents a review by a specialist is worthwhile.
The tenant may sublet the property in whole or in part with the landlord’s consent.
Not legal advice: This guide classifies the most important rules from practice. Binding are the law, the contract and, in case of doubt, the assessment of a specialist.
How to check a company as tenant
The big advantage over private individuals: Companies are transparent. Three checks are enough in most cases.
- Commercial register (zefix.ch): Does the company exist, since when, with what purpose, and who has signatory power? The contract must be signed by an authorised signatory.
- Debt collection register extract of the company at its seat (right of inspection under Art. 8a DEBA): ongoing debt enforcement and loss certificates are the clearest warning signs.
- For large contingents: references from previous landlords and a look at the size and age of the business. A company that has been in the market for years carries different weight than one founded last year.
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Opportunities and risks weighed honestly
Like every letting strategy, renting to companies has two sides. The good news: The risks can be managed with simple means.
What speaks for it
- Verifiable creditworthiness and payment from a business account
- Several units to one contracting party, less vacancy
- Plannable terms, often with extension
- Professional communication with one contact person
What you should keep under control
- Cluster risk: If the company terminates, several units become vacant
- Higher wear with changing occupancy
- Dependence on the construction cycle with building and assembly firms
- House rules and neighbourhood need clear governance
Remedies: define occupancy and return precisely in the contract, take the deposit consistently, and ideally spread across several smaller companies instead of relying on one large one.
Checklist: renting to a company
With these points the most common sources of dispute are settled from the start.
Before the contract
- Check the commercial register extract (zefix.ch): purpose, age, signatory power
- Request the company’s debt collection register extract (Art. 8a DEBA)
- Clarify the usage concept: how many people, what rotation, for how long
In the contract
- Purpose of use: residential use by the tenant’s employees
- Expressly permit assignment to changing employees
- Fix the maximum occupancy per unit
- Deposit in a blocked account (Art. 257e CO), amount negotiable with companies
- Regulate return, cleaning and wear clearly
During operation
- Agree on one fixed contact person on the company side
- Ensure residents register with the municipality
- Raise extensions and occupancy changes early
The most convenient route: furnished and professionally operated
Corporate demand concentrates on furnished, ready-to-move-in rooms with all-in rent, exactly what a site manager has to organise for his team within a week. For owners this means: Whoever has their property furnished and operated room by room taps corporate demand without handling contracts, occupancy and care themselves. BoVita operates its own room houses, serves corporate enquiries through its own demand channel and takes over the same operation on behalf of owners, with a transparent fee structure instead of a master lease.
How large the demand side is can be seen in our guide for companies on staff housing: Businesses compare hotels, serviced apartments and furnished rooms, and on value for money they almost always end up with the professionally operated room.
More on this in the related guide: Staff housing in Switzerland: the guide for companies (the demand side)
Frequently asked questions
Are companies better tenants than private individuals?
Does the company need my consent to assign the rooms to employees?
How do I check the creditworthiness of a company?
Does residential or commercial tenancy law apply?
Can I request a deposit from a company?
What happens if the company goes bankrupt?
Rent furnished or unfurnished to companies?
About BoVita
BoVita is a property management company from Switzerland with a rare specialisation in furnished rooms, flatshares and co-living. We take over the full management of properties, from rent collection and utility-cost statements to tenant changes, and add depth where conventional management firms reach their limits. This guide bundles our hands-on knowledge for owners and management companies.
Sources
This overview is based on the following sources and legal foundations. All information without guarantee.
- 1.Fedlex, Swiss Code of Obligations, subletting (Art. 262 CO)
- 2.Fedlex, Swiss Code of Obligations, security deposit (Art. 257e CO)
- 3.Fedlex, Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy, right of inspection (Art. 8a DEBA)
- 4.Zefix, central business name index of the Swiss Confederation (commercial register search)
- 5.Federal Statistical Office FSO, vacancy rate (1.0 percent on 1 June 2025)
- 6.HEV Switzerland, association of homeowners, tenancy law for landlords
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