SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Francis Nordmann, Johannes Bürgi, Christian Eichenberger and André Kuhn, Walder Wyss Ltd
6.18 Right to Assign a Leasehold Interest
lease, the tenant may give notice with immedi - ate effect if the landlord is notified about such a defect and fails to remedy it within an adequate period of time. In addition, both a landlord and a tenant may terminate a lease for valid reasons that make it impossible to continue the lease. 6.20 Registration Requirements There are no registration requirements and/or execution formalities. However, the parties to a lease may agree to have it entered under prior - ity notice in the land register, with the effect that every future owner must allow the property to be used in accordance with the lease. Typically, the fees relating to such registration do not exceed CHF1,000. 6.21 Forced Eviction Tenants can be forced to leave. The duration of the process to enforce this depends on court instances, but it can take several months or years. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party The government or other authorities may not terminate private leases. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach Generally, the court determines the financial consequences of early termination, taking due account of all the circumstances. Typically, a security is required by the landlord in the form of either a security deposit or a bank guarantee.
Pursuant to mandatory tenancy law, the tenant may transfer the lease or sublease all or a por - tion of the leased premises, subject to certain conditions. The landlord may withhold consent only for good cause (transfer of lease) in the fol - lowing circumstances: • if the tenant refuses to inform it of the terms of the sublease; • if the terms and conditions of the sublease are unfair in comparison to those of the prin - cipal lease; or • if the sublease gives rise to major disadvan - tages for the landlord. 6.19 Right to Terminate a Lease Unless otherwise agreed, the notice period with regard to indefinite business leases is six months. Tenants are entitled to submit a request for an extension of the lease term to a judge if the termination would cause undue hardship that cannot be justified by the landlord’s inter - ests. The maximum extension for commercial leases is six years. Default in the payment of rent entitles a landlord to terminate a lease. However, the landlord must first grant a deadline of a minimum of 30 days for payment, combined with the announcement of termination in case of further default, and may then terminate the lease with a notice period of another 30 days. The landlord may also termi - nate the lease if the tenant becomes insolvent (see 6.15 Effect of the Tenant’s Insolvency ). A tenant may terminate a lease if the landlord does not hand over the leased premises at the time agreed upon, or if, at the handover, the premises have defects that significantly impair their suitability for the intended use. During the
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