Buying property in Switzerland as a foreigner: the Lex Koller guide

By Stanislas Roux, founder of OFFER

A chalet in Verbier, an apartment in Montreux, a villa on Lake Geneva: Switzerland attracts buyers from all over the world — but access to its residential property is governed by a federal act every foreign buyer should understand before starting a search. Here is, plainly, what the Lex Koller allows, what it restricts, and how to buy by the rules.

What is the Lex Koller?

The Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (LFAIE, known as the “Lex Koller”) makes the purchase of residential property in Switzerland by persons domiciled abroad subject to authorisation. The principle is simple: without a legal exemption or a permit, no acquisition — a deal concluded in breach of the act is void. The notary systematically checks the buyer’s status before executing the deed.

Who can buy without a permit?

Far more people than commonly assumed. The following are not treated as “persons abroad”: EU and EFTA nationals domiciled in Switzerland, and holders of a C settlement permit of any nationality — all of them buy freely, exactly like Swiss citizens. Non-EU/EFTA nationals holding a B permit may acquire their primary residence without authorisation, at their actual place of residence, for their own use. This is one of the rules the revision now in consultation proposes to change (see below).

Another important exception: commercial real estate. Offices, workshops, retail, hotels — property used as a permanent business establishment can currently be acquired without authorisation, even by an investor domiciled abroad. The act mainly targets housing; the revision now in consultation would, however, reserve this exception for buyers who run the business themselves.

Holiday homes: the quota and the limits

For a person domiciled abroad without a Swiss permit, buying a holiday home remains possible — but only in tourist municipalities designated by the cantons, and within an annual federal quota. Resorts in the cantons of Vaud, Valais (Verbier, Crans-Montana…) and Bern (Gstaad…) qualify; the canton of Geneva, by contrast, issues no holiday-home authorisations.

On top of these rules sits the Lex Weber, which caps second homes at 20% of each municipality’s housing stock and sharply limits new construction in the resorts — a framework that strengthens, year after year, the value of existing properties. Dwellings predating 11 March 2012 may be extended by up to 30%, and since 1 October 2024 that margin also covers demolition and rebuilding or additional dwellings — see our Lex Weber guide.

The quota, canton by canton

The 1'500 annual permits are not a single national pool. Annex 1 of the Ordinance (OAIE) divides them among seventeen cantons, each managing its own allocation. The table below reproduces it in full: the rows add up to exactly 1'500. Cantons that do not appear — Geneva, but also Zurich, Zug or Basel — have no holiday-home quota at all.

Two little-known mechanisms change how these figures read. First, a permit is charged to the quota when it is guaranteed to the seller by the authority — the permit in principle — or, failing that, when it is issued to the buyer (art. 9(2) OAIE). For a developer in a resort, securing that guarantee early matters as much as finding the buyer.

Second, units unused in a given year are carried over to the next. If they are still unused by 31 October of that following year, the Federal Office of Justice redistributes them to cantons that have exhausted their allocation and ask for more — capped at half of their annual quota (art. 9(3)–(5)). In practice, a canton in high demand can have more units than its base figure, but never without limit.

Revision under way: what the Federal Council proposes

On 15 April 2026, the Federal Council opened a consultation on a draft revision of the Lex Koller (LFAIE); the consultation ran until 15 July 2026. It is a draft: nothing is in force, and the rules described in this guide are the ones that apply today. The Federal Council still has to decide on the next steps and, if it maintains the project, submit it to Parliament.

The main measures proposed: nationals of states that are members of neither the EU nor EFTA would need a permit to buy their main residence, and would have to resell within two years if they move away; cantonal quotas for holiday homes would be reduced, and sales between persons abroad would again require a permit and count against the quota; persons abroad could no longer buy commercial property in order to let or lease it, the exemption remaining only where the buyer runs the business himself; and the purchase of shares in listed residential property companies, real estate funds and real estate SICAVs traded regularly would no longer be generally permitted. In the other direction, the draft makes it easier for foreign-owned hotels to buy housing for their staff.

According to the draft, buying a main residence would not change for EU or EFTA nationals living in Switzerland, nor for holders of a C permit. Buyers from third states, and anyone considering a holiday home, would do well to follow the file before committing.

Sources: Federal Council press release of 15 April 2026 (in French); Federal Office of Justice, Lex Koller revision (in French).

Pitfalls to avoid

Workarounds do not work: buying through a Swiss company controlled by persons abroad remains subject to the act, and an acquisition made without a required permit is void. Cantons may also impose additional restrictions of their own — which is why your personal situation should be validated upfront, before you fall for a property. That is precisely what the first confidential conversation is for.

How OFFER assists international buyers

The Swiss high-end market is largely off-market: the finest properties are never listed. An OFFER search mandate opens access to this invisible market — with, for international buyers, a Lex Koller check of your situation from day one, in coordination with notaries and lawyers. To size up the market: our 2026 off-market report (in French).

General information based on the LFAIE and its ordinance, as of 2026. Every situation (nationality, permit, canton, acquisition structure) deserves individual analysis — this guide is no substitute for legal or notarial advice.