Housing II, what you are signing

A Swiss lease is short, and everything it does not say is handled by the house rules and the handover protocol. Read all three before the pen moves.

The deposit is normally two to three months' rent, held in a blocked account in your name, not the landlord's. It comes back when you leave, minus anything the handover protocol proves you owe.

The handover protocol (Abnahmeprotokoll) is the document that decides your deposit two years from now. Walk the flat with the agent, write down every scratch, photograph everything, and keep your copy signed.

The Hausordnung (house rules) is binding. Quiet hours run 22:00 to 07:00 every night and all day Sunday: no drilling, no vacuuming, no laundry machine late. The Waschküche runs on a printed rota that people take seriously.

Ask the Hauswart or concierge for the Hausordnung in writing on day one. Conflicts in Swiss buildings almost always start with noise or the laundry room.