Swiss landlords and agencies ask for the same five core documents almost everywhere. Here is what each one is, where to get it, what landlords look at first and what to leave out.
The five core documents
1. Lohnausweis (salary certificate)
- Issued by your employer, summarises annual income + deductions
- Most agencies want the last 12 months (sometimes 3 months of payslips supplement)
- Self-employed: provide the most recent annual tax return + AHV confirmation
2. Personalausweis or passport + residence permit
- Swiss citizens: passport or ID card
- EU/EFTA citizens: ID card + permit B (valid five years with a job of at least one year) or permit C (settlement)
- Non-EU: passport + permit L (short-term) or B
- Provisionally admitted persons, including provisionally admitted refugees: F permit
3. Betreibungsauszug
- Debt-collection extract from your canton's Betreibungsamt
- Costs CHF 17 by federal law, CHF 18 if it is sent to you by post or electronically; most landlords want it less than 3 months old
- Must be clean (no open Betreibungen) · otherwise landlords will reject
4. References
- Most agencies require at least 1 prior landlord reference (letter or contact info)
- If you've never rented in Switzerland: employer HR letter on company stationery confirming employment + role + start date
- Family references generally not accepted
5. Haftpflichtversicherung proof
- Expected in most Swiss rentals · landlord wants confirmation you have coverage
- Offered by many Swiss insurers; compare the annual premiums
- If you don't have one: get it before applying (often possible online)
Optional but helpful
- Photo (passport-style): agencies in smaller cities sometimes ask
- Mieterspiegel form: the agency's standardised application form
- Cover letter: in the listing's language, personalised to the listing
- Zivilstandsbescheinigung: for families · cantonal authority issues
How aptari makes this easy
Your Tenant Passport on aptari stores all five core documents in one place. aptari checks them so your dossier looks complete and credible, then you apply to any aptari-partner listing with one click (5 a month on Basic, unlimited on Pro and Ultra, which also draft a cover letter in the listing's language), as soon as partner agencies list on aptari; none have yet. On listings from other Swiss portals and from cooperatives, Apply with Aptari prepares your message wherever the button shows, and you send it there. No more filling the same forms for every agency. See what the Tenant Passport is.
What landlords look at first
- The Betreibungsauszug. A clean, recent extract gets you past the first filter; open entries often end an application.
- Income. Agencies compare your gross monthly income with the rent and like to see about three times as much.
- ID and permit. Valid, and the name matches the other documents.
- The cover letter. Short, in the language of the listing: who you are, why this flat, how long you plan to stay.
What to leave out
Selfies, photos of your family or pets (unless the listing asks about pets), your CV and anything else a landlord does not need to assess you as a tenant. A bank statement is rarely asked for; send it only if requested.
Common mistakes
- Sending a Betreibungsauszug older than 3 months · landlords treat it as stale.
- Sending a self-edited PDF instead of the official Lohnausweis.
- Forgetting the Haftpflichtversicherung proof · an easy thing to miss.
- Using a friend or family member as a reference instead of a landlord or employer.
See how to get a Betreibungsauszug and how to rent an apartment in Switzerland.