Terminating a lease for non-payment of rent (art. 257d CO)
In Switzerland, unpaid rent is governed by art. 257d CO, not by French law: no three-month notice period, no court bailiff, no winter moratorium. The procedure is in fact one of the few fast-track terminations in tenancy law, but also one of the easiest to invalidate through a formal defect. This page sets out the exact steps to follow, the deadlines to the day with their reference in the Code of Obligations, and the mistakes that render the termination void. It is addressed to the private landlord who wants to act correctly, without waiting for a quarterly term that does not apply here.
Updated 07.2026
The procedure in four steps
- 1Establish the arrears that have fallen due
The procedure can only cover amounts that have already fallen due, that is, rent or ancillary costs whose contractual due date has passed (art. 257d para. 1 CO). Draw up the exact statement, item by item: net rent outstanding and, where applicable, ancillary costs validly agreed as separately chargeable. You never include future rent or an item that is not yet payable. Also check that no valid rent deposit covers the period claimed, since rent placed in deposit is deemed paid (art. 259g para. 2 CO).
- 2Give notice of default with a grace period
Send the tenant a written notice of default stating three cumulative elements: the exact amount outstanding, a payment period of at least 30 days for a dwelling or commercial premises, and the express warning that, failing payment within that period, the lease will be terminated (art. 257d para. 1 CO). The period runs from the tenant's receipt of the notice, never from dispatch. Frame it as a rolling period, for example a period of 30 days from receipt of this letter, rather than a fixed calendar date: since the date of receipt is unknown at the time of dispatch, a fixed deadline calculated from posting will in practice give less than 30 days if the item is collected later, which is enough to vitiate the act. If a date must nonetheless appear, calculate it from the dispatch plus the postal collection period and then the 30 days, never from dispatch plus 30 days. Keep proof of receipt. For a family dwelling, the notice of default carrying this warning must already be served separately on each spouse or registered partner (art. 266n CO).
- 3Serve the termination on the official form
Only after the period has fully expired without result, and a mere partial payment does not interrupt it, may the termination be served. For a dwelling or commercial premises, it must be served using the official form approved by the canton where the property is located, drawn up in the language of the canton (art. 266l para. 2 CO): termination by ordinary letter is void (art. 266o CO). The notice period is 30 days for the end of a month (art. 257d para. 2 CO), not the ordinary quarterly term. A separate item, with its own form, goes to each spouse or registered partner.
- 4Obtain eviction under the clear case procedure
The end of the lease gives no right to retake the premises by one's own means: no changing the locks, no cutting off utilities. If the tenant does not leave at the term, the landlord applies for eviction. Where the 257d termination is beyond reproach, the situation is clear-cut and the clear case procedure allows swift eviction (art. 257 CPC), without going through conciliation (art. 198 let. a CPC). A termination for default opens no extension of the lease (art. 272a para. 1 let. a CO), which closes the tenant's main delaying lever.
1.The grace period: 30 days from receipt
art. 257d para. 1 COFor a residential or commercial lease, the payment period set in the notice of default is at least 30 days. The reduced period of 10 days applies only to premises that are neither a dwelling nor commercial premises, such as a standalone parking space or a storage locker. A storeroom or warehouse for business use generally falls under commercial premises and remains subject to the 30-day period: where the classification is in doubt, use 30 days, because too short a period vitiates the entire procedure. This period runs as soon as the notice reaches the tenant, and the day of receipt does not count: the count starts the following day.
Two miscalculations are fatal. Counting the 30 days from posting rather than from receipt almost always shortens the period by a day or two, which is enough to vitiate the act. Relying on the notification fiction alone, where a registered item is not collected, is risky: keep the postal tracking and preferably send by both registered and ordinary mail.
2.The official form and separate service
art. 266l para. 2 CO, art. 266n COThe termination of a dwelling or commercial premises must be served using the official form approved by the canton, in the language of the canton (art. 266l para. 2 CO). Termination by a simple letter, however well reasoned, is void (art. 266o CO). Take care not to reverse this: it is the termination that requires the form, while the notice of default need only be in writing.
For the family dwelling, art. 266n CO requires separate service on the tenant and on their spouse or registered partner, including where only one of the two signed the lease. Two separate mailings are needed, each with its own form: a single item addressed to the couple is not enough and results in nullity.
3.Partial payment and the arrears due
art. 257d para. 1 COOnly payment of the entire arrears covered by the notice, within the grace period, defeats the termination. A partial payment is not enough: the landlord is not bound to accept it as clearing the default and may terminate. The amount must be available to the landlord before the deadline; a payment that arrives only afterwards does not save the situation.
The corollary lies in the accuracy of the statement. The notice of default may cover only amounts that have already fallen due and are genuinely owed. If the landlord claims more than is owed, the notice is not invalidated on that ground alone: the tenant acknowledges the amount actually payable and is discharged by paying it. Nullity arises only in the borderline case where the error makes the sum owed impossible to determine, the tenant then no longer being able to know what to pay in order to clear the default.
4.After termination: eviction and challenge
art. 257 CPC, art. 273 COA termination for default opens no extension (art. 272a para. 1 let. a CO) and escapes the enhanced protections against abusive terminations (art. 271a para. 3 let. b CO). The tenant may challenge the termination before the conciliation authority within 30 days of receiving it (art. 273 CO), but a formally flawless 257d is hard to challenge: little remains to attack other than the amount, its being due, the form of the notice of default, the period, the form or the separate service.
Where the file is clear, the clear case procedure allows the court to find that the lease has ended and to order eviction in the same decision (art. 257 CPC). Everything therefore turns on the upstream stage, on the formal rigour of the acts.
What makes the termination void
Setting 10 or 20 days for a dwelling, or counting the 30 days from the date of dispatch instead of the date of receipt, shortens the period below the legal minimum. The period is at least 30 days and runs from receipt, the day of receipt not counting (art. 257d para. 1 CO). A period calculated from posting is almost always one or two days too short, which invalidates the entire procedure. Where the classification of the premises is in doubt, use the 30-day period rather than the 10-day one.
For the family dwelling, the notice of default carrying the threat of termination, and then the termination itself, must be served separately on each spouse or registered partner, even if only one signed the lease (art. 266n CO). A single item addressed to the couple, or forgetting one of the two as early as the notice of default stage, results in nullity (art. 266o CO). This is the most frequent cause of a termination being set aside.
Terminating by ordinary letter, on an unapproved form, or in a language other than that of the canton renders the termination void (art. 266l para. 2 and 266o CO). Applying the contractual three-month notice or a quarterly term, instead of the 30 days for the end of a month under art. 257d para. 2 CO, produces an incorrect term and a termination that is irregular as to its effective date.
Believing that a good-faith instalment blocks the termination is a mistake: only settlement of the entire arrears covered, within the period, defeats the termination. Conversely, wrongly allocating a payment, for example to the current month rather than to the arrears covered, may lead to termination when the debt had in fact been cleared. The allocation must target precisely the items set out in the notice of default.
Prepare the 257d notice of default and termination
imoz produces the written notice of default (arrears quantified, a 30-day grace period expressed as a rolling period from receipt of the notice, express warning of termination), then the 257d termination with a term of 30 days for the end of a month, and a separate item for each spouse or registered partner. The termination is filled in on the canton's official form where imoz includes it (see your canton's page); elsewhere it must be served on the canton's approved form, failing which it is void.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the exact deadline to pay before termination?+
For a residential or commercial lease, the landlord sets a period of at least 30 days in the notice of default (art. 257d para. 1 CO). This period runs from the tenant's receipt of the notice, the day of receipt not counting: the count starts the following day. For other leases, a storage space that is neither a dwelling nor commercial premises, or a standalone parking space, the minimum period is 10 days; where the classification is in doubt, use 30 days.
Is the canton's official form really mandatory?+
Yes. The termination of a dwelling or commercial premises must be served using the official form approved by the canton where the property is located, in the language of the canton (art. 266l para. 2 CO). Termination by a simple letter, however well reasoned, is void (art. 266o CO). The notice of default, for its part, need only be in writing: it does not require an official form.
What is the effective term of a termination for unpaid rent?+
The notice period is 30 days for the end of a month (art. 257d para. 2 CO), not the ordinary quarterly term of the lease. In concrete terms, a termination received on 5 March, plus 30 days, leads to 4 April, hence an effect on 30 April. If receipt slips to 5 April, the effect can no longer fall at the end of April and applies to the end of May.
Is a partial payment enough to prevent the termination?+
No. Only payment of the entire arrears covered by the notice of default, within the grace period, defeats the termination. A partial payment is not enough and the landlord may terminate. The amount must also be available to the landlord before the deadline: a payment that arrives only afterwards does not count.
How do I obtain eviction if the tenant stays?+
The landlord may never retake the premises by their own means. They apply for eviction to the court. Where the 257d termination is formally beyond reproach, the situation is clear and the clear case procedure allows swift eviction (art. 257 CPC), without going through conciliation. A termination for default also opens no extension of the lease (art. 272a para. 1 let. a CO).
This page provides general legal information on Swiss tenancy law and does not constitute individual legal advice. imoz is a tool for generating documents, not a legal representative: for a disputed or atypical case, the opinion of a legal professional remains necessary.