How do I rent an apartment as an expat in Zurich?

As an expat in Zurich you rent by making up for two hurdles: the tight market (vacancy 0.11% in the city, BFS vacancy count, 1 June 2026) and no Swiss rental history. Send a complete dossier in English or German, income of 3 to 4 times the rent, an employer letter confirming your contract and a bank statement showing a few months of rent in reserve. If you arrived recently, a home-country credit report stands in for the Betreibungsauszug. Many employers run relocation programmes, so ask HR first. aptari works in English, and wherever the button shows, Apply with Aptari writes your message in the listing's language; you send it.

Zurich is the hardest Swiss market, and expats start without local rental history. Here's how to close the gap.

The two expat hurdles

A very tight market · vacancy 0.11% in the city (BFS Leerwohnungszählung 1. Juni 2026), so good flats go fast (see why it's so hard)
No Swiss rental track record · no previous-landlord reference, and maybe no Betreibungsauszug yet

How to compensate

Complete dossier in English or German: ID and permit, employment contract, last three payslips, bank statement
Income at 3 to 4 times the rent, stated up front
Employer letter confirming your role, salary and contract length, on letterhead
Liquidity reserve: a bank statement showing a few months of rent
A credit report from your home country (Schufa in Germany, and similar) in place of a Swiss Betreibungsauszug if you have been here under six months
A guarantor with a Swiss B or C permit (Solidarbürgschaft) if you can get one

Permit-specific notes

Permit B or C: treated like residents, strong position
Permit L (short-stay): landlords are cautious · see renting with Permit L
Permit G (cross-border): you cannot rent a main home in Switzerland · see cross-border worker

The fastest way to win a flat

Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox: three places to look. aptari shows them all in one feed, scores your fit and keeps your dossier ready.

Browse Zurich in one feed on aptari · the listings of Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox and the cooperatives' own websites in a single place, in English
Build your Tenant Passport once · upload your documents one time; on listings from aptari partner agencies they go out in one tap, for all other listings you have them in one place
Apply the moment a listing drops: wherever the button shows, Apply with Aptari writes your message in the listing's language, and you paste and send it
Aim where you fit · your Match Score (0 to 100) tells you which flats you fit
Let it apply for you (Ultra) · the Apply Agent applies for you in the background to partner listings you fit, as soon as partner agencies list on aptari; none have yet

Two more tactics that work: ask HR about a corporate relocation programme (UBS, Google, Roche and others run them), and take a furnished short-stay for your first month or two while you hunt.

See can foreigners rent in Switzerland and which canton is easiest for expats.

Apply with one dossier

Build your Tenant Passport in 10 minutes. On listings from other Swiss portals and from cooperatives, Apply with Aptari writes your message with a private link to your dossier, and you send it. On listings from aptari partner agencies one tap is enough, as soon as they list. Free to start.

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