When one flat draws 100 or more applications, the hard part is not choosing but reading, comparing and answering everyone fairly within days, without losing a dossier or keeping data you should not keep. The pressure comes from the market: on 1 June 2026, 0.93% of all flats in Switzerland were empty, 0.11% in the city of Zurich and 0.31% in the canton of Geneva (BFS Leerwohnungszählung 1. Juni 2026). It works for a property manager (Verwaltung), an agency or a private landlord, with any tool.
1. Set the requirements before the ad goes live
Publish in the ad what the flat needs: income to rent ratio, household size for the rooms, pets, smoking and the move-in date. These become the rules you sort by later. At this stage, ask only for what the data protection authority's leaflet allows (EDÖB, Merkblatt zu Anmeldeformularen für Mietwohnungen, 15 July 2025): identity and contact details, date of birth, Swiss or foreign with the type of permit, occupation, employer and income, the number of people moving in, pets, and a copy of the Betreibungsauszug. See what you may ask tenants.
2. One standard form instead of free emails
Free emails arrive in a hundred shapes. Use one form with the same fields for everyone, and one channel, so applications become comparable. The EDÖB leaflet says proofs such as an ID copy or payslips may in principle be requested only from the applicant you select, and references only for people in serious consideration. So the form asks for the basics; the proofs come later.
3. Close or cap the application window
State in the ad until when you accept applications, or that you close after a set number of complete applications, and stick to it. Judge every complete application received in time by the same rules; the time of arrival should not decide on its own.
4. Check completeness, then fit
The opening pass asks one thing: is the form complete and the Betreibungsauszug attached? Gaps get one short reminder with a deadline, the same for everyone, or the application is set aside. The second pass checks fit with the published requirements: income against rent, household size against rooms, pets, move-in date.
5. Sort everyone by the same written rules
Rank the remaining applicants by the rules from step 1, in the same order for each person, and note one line on the reason for each placement, including how you broke a tie. Written reasons keep colleagues consistent and let you explain the choice if an applicant asks. See how to rank applicants fairly.
6. Group viewings or live video viewings for the short list
Show the flat to the short list only, in one or two group viewings or in a live video viewing for people who cannot come in person. Take references now, for these people only; the full proofs follow from the applicant you choose.
7. Decide, then decline everyone else promptly and politely
A person decides, not a spreadsheet formula. Once the chosen tenant has confirmed, send everyone else a short, polite message that the flat is taken; it spares them days of waiting. You can keep one or two reserve candidates until the lease is signed, if you tell them so.
8. Delete the other dossiers and keep a short record
After the lease is signed, the EDÖB leaflet says the forms and attachments of applicants who were not chosen must be destroyed, unless there is a specific reason such as a waiting list the person agreed to. The Data Protection Act (DSG) says personal data is destroyed or anonymised once it is no longer needed. Keep only a short record of the decision: the criteria, the date and the reason for the choice.
9. What never to use
Never sort on nationality or origin, skin colour, religion, civil or family status, pregnancy, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, health or political views. None of these says whether someone can pay the rent and look after the flat. Watch for hidden stand-ins too: a name, a mother tongue or a previous postcode can quietly replace a protected characteristic. See discrimination in tenant selection.
Which tools help
Email plus a spreadsheet. Free, but every dossier arrives in a different shape, checks and declines are manual, and deleting every attachment from inboxes and drives takes discipline.
Portal forms. Some portals offer online application forms on their own listings, which gives you the standard form from step 2. Check what each one offers for sorting, declining and deleting.
Dedicated applicant tools such as aptari. aptari's line for agencies: "Portals give you an inbox. aptari gives you a ranked shortlist: every applicant scored by the same rules, with the reasons shown. You decide." For listings you publish on aptari:
- Step 1: you set income ratio, household size, pets, smoking, parking and move-in date; a fairness check blocks filters on protected characteristics before publishing.
- Step 2: renters apply with their Tenant Passport, the dossier they prepare once, so every application has the same structure and nothing is missing.
- Steps 4 and 5: every applicant gets a Match Score from 0 to 100 with the reasons shown, and the inbox is sorted by fit. On Enterprise, Document AI checks the salary certificate, the Betreibungsauszug and the ID and flags inconsistencies with a reason; House rules checks your requirements for every applicant; the Briefing Agent sends a daily ranked shortlist per active listing.
- Step 6: Live Tours, live video viewings in the browser with no app, invitations and reminders sent automatically (Growth: 20 a month, up to 50 attendees each; Enterprise: 50 a month, up to 200).
- Step 7: on Enterprise, the Selection Bridge lets you choose the tenant and decide on everyone else, one by one or all at once; aptari then sends the acceptance and polite declines in each applicant's language. Nothing is sent without your decision, and there is a full audit trail.
- Step 8: declined, withdrawn and ended applications are deleted completely 30 days after the decision.
The score sorts; it does not decide. Plans: Starter CHF 0 (1 active listing), Growth CHF 499 a month at the launch price (regular CHF 999, 10 active listings), Enterprise from CHF 1,999 a month; no setup fee, no per-applicant fee, no commission, Swiss VAT included. No link to property-management software (ERP) yet; CSV export works today. See aptari for agencies and a comparison of tenant selection software.
General information, not legal advice.
Last checked: 15 October 2026.