How does selling a house in Switzerland work? The 8 steps

Which eight steps make up a house sale?

Eight steps lead from the valuation to the entry in the land register, and their order is the same throughout Switzerland; what differs from canton to canton is who is responsible, which charges apply and which deadlines run. In the canton of Zug these are above all the notary – here the municipal clerk’s office –, the deposit for the property gains tax at notarisation (§ 202 of the Zug Tax Act, StG ZG) and the 60-day deadline for the tax return (§ 200 StG ZG).

Steps 1 to 4 determine the price; steps 5 to 8 secure it.

Steps 1 and 2: how do you find the price, and which documents do you need?

The asking price rests on the market value, not the other way round. The market value is the price the property can achieve today; the asking price is the figure in the listing – with room for negotiation, but not so high that serious buyers never enquire in the first place.

Rudat AG values with the IAZI/CIFI models used by Swiss banks; the buyer’s bank later checks the purchase price with the same tools (more under Property valuation). In parallel you put the file together: buyers, banks and the notary all ask for the same documents.

Steps 3 and 4: how is the property marketed?

Marketing starts only once the presentation is complete. A listing that is later touched up with better photographs has already wasted its first contact with the people searching.

• Professional photographs in good light; home staging for empty or very personally furnished properties.
• Drone footage for location, plot and view – for detached houses and building land the decisive perspective.
• 360° tour, so that prospective buyers walk through the property virtually before the viewing and only prepared buyers come to the appointment (example: 360° tour (in German)).
• Sales brochure with key figures, floor plans, cadastral plan and asking price – the document the buyer’s bank later receives with the loan application.

Then come the listings on the major portals and the direct approach to registered buyers. Both channels are needed: between June and mid-September 2026, Rudat AG received a total of 170 enquiries from prospective buyers; from its own buyer network come the prospects who have already settled their financing.

Step 5: how do you check whether a buyer can really pay?

With a written financing confirmation from the bank, before you enter the negotiation. A spoken ‘financing is no problem’ is no basis for turning other prospective buyers away.

The bank checks against the minimum requirements of the Swiss Bankers Association: at least 10% of the lending value must come from the buyer’s own funds that do not stem from the second pillar (occupational pension), and the mortgage must be amortised to two thirds of the lending value within 15 years at most. Whatever lies above the lending value has to be paid entirely from own funds – a buyer with tight equity cannot pay a price above the bank’s value, even if he or she offers it.

Step 6: what applies to the reservation and the negotiation?

A reservation agreement without notarisation obliges nobody to buy. Under Art. 216 para. 2 OR, preliminary contracts for land also require notarisation (a public deed); otherwise they are invalid. The same applies to a written reservation with a deposit that is meant to bind the buyer to complete or to forfeit the deposit on withdrawal: it is invalid for want of form and creates no obligation to buy; whether a deposit already paid can be reclaimed depends on the individual case.

What a reservation still achieves: it records in writing the price, the notarisation date, the handover date and the items sold with the property. Anyone who wants a genuine commitment has a preliminary contract notarised – or, usually simpler, the purchase contract itself as quickly as possible. What is negotiated is not only the price but also the handover date, furniture and fixtures, how an existing fixed-rate mortgage is dealt with, and who bears the notarisation fee.

Step 7: who notarises in the canton of Zug, and what is the tax deposit?

In the canton of Zug the purchase contract for land is notarised by the municipal clerk’s office (Gemeindeschreiberei) of the municipality in which the property lies. For contracts on rights in rem, the municipal clerk – or an authorised deputy – is competent only for land in his or her own municipality (§ 1 para. 1 and § 4 para. 2 of the Zug Notarisation Act, BGS 223.1). Authorised lawyers may not notarise land purchase contracts (§ 7 para. 2), and the land registry may do so only by way of exception, with written authorisation from the municipal president (§ 6 para. 2). For a property in Baar the Gemeindeschreiberei Baar is therefore responsible; the notarising officials may use the title of notary (§ 1 para. 2). Without notarisation the land purchase is invalid (Art. 216 para. 1 OR, Art. 657 para. 1 ZGB).

The deposit for the property gains tax is the Zug particularity at this appointment. The buyer is jointly and severally liable for the seller’s property gains tax (§ 202 para. 1 StG ZG). At notarisation, therefore, a deposit in the amount of the presumed tax must be paid or equivalent security provided (§ 202 para. 2); how the deposit is handled is set out in the purchase contract.

A worked example with round numbers, not a real case: purchase 15 years ago for CHF 1,000,000, sale for CHF 1,300,000. The gain of CHF 300,000 equals 30% of the investment costs, or 2% per year of ownership; the minimum rate of 10% therefore applies (§ 199 StG ZG), the presumed tax is CHF 30,000, and this amount is lodged as the deposit. Value-adding investments, the agent’s commission and advertising costs reduce the gain (§ 196 para. 1 lit. a and f); details in the guide to property gains tax in the canton of Zug.

The appointment incurs the notarisation fee and the land registry fee. The notarisation fee is CHF 300 to 4,000, with a surcharge of 10 to 50% where the work takes more than one hour (BGS 641.1, nos. 89 and 92); who bears it is governed by the purchase contract. The land registry fee is CHF 180 per hour (charged per quarter hour started); on a transfer of ownership it is multiplied by a factor of 4 up to a fee of CHF 6,000, and anything above that is charged by time without the factor (BGS 215.35, § 13 para. 2, § 14 paras. 1 and 3). Seller and buyer each bear half of the land registry fee unless the law or the contract provides otherwise (§ 4 para. 1). The canton of Zug has no transfer tax. All cost items: What does it cost to sell a house in the canton of Zug?.

Step 8: when do you stop being the owner, and which deadlines then run?

You remain the owner until the entry in the land register, not until the signature. Acquiring ownership of land requires entry in the land register (Art. 656 para. 1 ZGB); the effect dates back to the moment the application was recorded in the journal of the land registry (Art. 972 para. 2 ZGB). As a rule the notary files the application after the appointment – and with that the deadlines begin.

A short handover report with photographs and meter readings spares later arguments. The tax return goes to the municipality in which the property lies; the municipality assesses the tax (§ 187 para. 2 StG ZG).

How long does selling a house really take?

In four documented sales by Rudat AG, marketing took between 4 and 12 weeks; building land in Wettswil am Albis and a house in Uster found a buyer within 12 and 48 hours respectively. These are not averages from a statistic but individual mandates with location and property type, listed under References (in German).

Preparation and notarisation come on top. Preparation takes as long as the documents take; notarisation depends on the notary’s diary and on the financing confirmation from the buyer’s bank. Completing steps 1 and 2 before publication shortens both.

In the neighbouring cantons the procedure is the same, the charges are not: Zurich has had no transfer tax since 1 January 2005, Lucerne levies 1.5% of the transfer value from the acquirer (§§ 4 and 6 HStG LU), and Aargau levies a land registry charge instead of a classic transfer tax. Details by canton: Zug, Zurich (in German), Schwyz (in German), Lucerne (in German), Aargau (in German).

What this means for your sale

In a Rudat AG mandate the eight steps run like this: we value with the IAZI/CIFI models (step 1) and obtain the documents from the land registry, the municipality and the property management. We prepare the presentation – professional photographs, drone footage, 360° tour, sales brochure – before the listing appears.

We conduct viewings with pre-qualified prospective buyers and ask for the financing confirmation before the negotiation. We accompany the reservation, the draft contract, the appointment with the notary and the tax deposit through to notarisation; afterwards we remind you of the 60-day deadline for the tax return. Your contact throughout the sale is Conrad Rudat. More under Selling property in Zug; a first conversation can be arranged via About us.

This guide does not replace tax or legal advice. The assessment by your municipality is decisive.

Sources

This guide does not replace tax or legal advice. The assessment of your municipality is decisive.