Staff housing in Switzerland: the guide for companies

Which companies face this question

Housing in Switzerland is scarce: The vacancy rate stood at 1.0 percent on 1 June 2025 (Federal Statistical Office). If you bring a specialist from abroad, send a construction or assembly team to a region for months or employ seasonal staff, you cannot wait for each person to find a flat on their own. In practice this mainly concerns construction and trade businesses with out-of-town projects, industrial and care companies recruiting internationally, and employers organising a first home for expats starting a new job.

The good news: Companies neither need hotel budgets nor have to furnish and manage flats themselves. Furnished rooms with all-in rent close exactly this gap.

Hotel, serviced apartment or furnished room?

Four models have become established for housing employees. They differ mainly in cost, flexibility and how much administration remains with your company.

What staff housing really costs

With furnished all-in rooms the price is a single, plannable figure: At BoVita rooms start at CHF 720 per month, including furniture, utilities, electricity, wifi and professional management. There are no furnishing costs, no separate electricity contracts and no utility statements for your company. For comparison: Even a budget hotel room costs a multiple of that per month, without a kitchen and without a homelike feel.

For budgeting this means: One team member lives for a fixed three-digit amount per month, terminable after the agreed minimum rental period. That keeps project calculations simple and avoids surprises in expense reports.

Double occupancy: it pays off twice for teams

For larger rooms from around 11 square metres we offer double occupancy on request: two employees share a room with two beds. The room then costs up to 20 percent more, because utilities and furnishing for the second person are added. Per person, however, the price drops by around 40 percent compared to single occupancy.

For construction and assembly teams this is often the most economical solution of all: The team lives together in the same building, close to the site, and housing costs per head stay clearly below any alternative. For taxes, shared accommodation is a standard case too: The Swiss tax authorities’ guidance sheet N2 explicitly states that multiple occupancy of the room is already reflected in the flat rate.

Contract models: company as tenant or employees directly

There are two proven contract models. Either your company rents the rooms as the contracting party and assigns them flexibly to its own people, the room simply stays when staff change. Or the employees sign the rental contract directly, then the responsibility lies with them. For furnished rooms the short statutory notice period of two weeks applies (Art. 266e Swiss Code of Obligations), unless the contract provides otherwise; in practice it is managed via a minimum rental period. The deposit belongs in a blocked account in the tenant’s name (Art. 257e CO).

Registration and posted workers: the legal guard rails

Taxes and salary certificate: if the company pays for housing

If your company covers the housing costs, this is a fringe benefit and belongs in the salary certificate. The flat rates in the tax authorities’ guidance sheet N2 serve as orientation: CHF 345 per month for a room, CHF 990 per month for full board and lodging. If the company provides an entire flat instead of a room, the local market rent applies. Your fiduciary will clarify the details; the key point is to declare it properly, then staff housing remains an uncomplicated instrument for tax purposes as well.

More on this in the related guide: Renting rooms and co-living: is it worth it for property owners?

Checklist: how to organise housing for your team

With these points you clarify your needs in half an hour and avoid the typical pitfalls.

How it works at BoVita: the Brugg example

Our houses are curated flatshares, oriented towards young professionals, students and expats. In selected properties we deliberately rent mixed and also to companies for their employees. The best example is Rathausplatz 6 in Brugg: 19 freshly renovated units, 17 furnished rooms, a studio and a 3.5-room flat, ready to move in from September 2026, a few minutes’ walk from Brugg railway station. Rooms from CHF 720 all-in, with double occupancy for teams in large rooms, the flat for up to three people.

For companies this means concretely: one enquiry, one contact person, digital contracts, and your team has a home. We handle care, cleaning organisation of the shared areas and communication with the residents, on request via WhatsApp. And if you own a property yourself that is suitable as staff housing: These are exactly the properties we set up and operate on behalf of owners.