Apartments for rent in Switzerland

Apartments in French-speaking Switzerland are advertised by the number of pièces (rooms), hardly ever by bedrooms, and the figure takes some getting used to before it tells you anything concrete. From a 2-room flat in Vevey to a 4.5-room family place in Yverdon-les-Bains, two lines in every listing deserve a careful read: the room count and the charges.

What a 3.5-room flat means

Each bedroom counts as a room, and so does the living room. Bathroom, toilet, hallway and storage cupboard don't. The half room is usually an eat-in kitchen open to the living area, a dining corner or a hall wide enough for a table. So a 3.5-room flat normally has two bedrooms and a roomier living space than a plain 3-room one. In Geneva, local practice also counts the kitchen as a room, which means a Geneva 4-room flat often matches a 3-room flat in Lausanne. The floor plan and the size in square metres are the safer guides.

Net rent, advance charges and the yearly statement

Listings almost always split the net rent from the charges. Charges are usually paid as monthly advances (heating, hot water, caretaker, upkeep of shared areas) and settled once a year in a statement called the décompte. Depending on what was actually used, you either get an extra bill or money back, and you're entitled to see the receipts. Only costs spelled out in the lease can be billed on top of the rent. A low advance makes a listing look cheaper, but the décompte catches up with the difference, so ask what the last statement came to before you sign.

Worth checking at the viewing

Look at which way the flat faces and how loud the street is at rush hour, the state of the windows, the shared laundry room and its booking schedule, and the cellar or attic storage. A parking space is often rented under a separate contract with its own rent.

Filter by rooms, rent and town, from Geneva to Delémont, and look for a floor plan among the photos when there is one.