Can I rent out my second home under the Second Homes Act?

Where does the Second Homes Act apply?

The Second Homes Act (SHA) applies in municipalities where the share of second homes is over 20 per cent (Art. 1 and 6 SHA). The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) determines the share every year by 31 March, based on the municipality’s housing inventory (Art. 4 and 5 SHA, Art. 2 SHO). In March 2026, 331 municipalities were over the threshold, compared with 337 a year earlier. If a municipality does not submit its inventory on time, it is treated as a municipality with over 20 per cent second homes (Art. 5 para. 2 SHA).

The Act mainly affects mountain resorts, such as Adelboden (66.3%), Grindelwald (62.8%), Andermatt (61.6%) and Engelberg (55.9%). The Act has no bearing on cities such as Zürich, Basel, Geneva or Lucerne. A primary residence is a home where at least one person lives who is registered in the municipality (Art. 2 para. 2 SHA). Every other home counts as a second home, including a rented holiday home.

Pre-existing homes: what rules apply to homes from before 11 March 2012?

A home is considered pre-existing if it was legally in existence or had received final planning permission on 11 March 2012 (Art. 10 SHA). On that day, the people and the cantons accepted the Second Homes initiative. Pre-existing homes are free to use as any type of accommodation (Art. 11 para. 1 SHA): you can use them yourself, rent them out long-term or offer them as holiday homes. Stricter cantonal and municipal rules still apply (Art. 3 para. 2 and Art. 12 SHA).

Since 1 October 2024, you can renovate, convert, demolish and rebuild a pre-existing home. Within the building zone, you can increase the main usable floor area by no more than 30 per cent of the area it had on 11 March 2012, and you can create additional homes within this limit (Art. 11 para. 2 SHA). You can only go beyond this if you designate the home as a primary residence or a tourist accommodation unit (Art. 11 para. 3 SHA). According to a specialist report, a Federal Supreme Court ruling in August 2026 also counted shared spaces such as saunas, pools and fitness rooms towards this 30 per cent (1C_317/2025, Val de Bagnes).

What is a tourist accommodation unit?

In municipalities with over 20 per cent second homes, the authorities only approve new homes as primary residences or tourist accommodation units (Art. 7 para. 1 SHA). This means the home is offered permanently for guests to use for short stays only, at market rates and under customary local conditions (Art. 7 para. 2 SHA), in one of two forms:

• Self-contained flat: The flat is in the same building as your main residence (Art. 7 para. 2 let. a SHA).
• Structured accommodation business: The home is not tailored to your needs and is rented out through a business that provides hotel-style services, follows a hotel-like concept and is managed as a single operation (Art. 7 para. 2 let. b SHA, Art. 4 SHO).

The building authority specifies the permitted use in the planning approval, and the land registry records it (Art. 7 paras. 3 and 4 SHA). You can also use such a home as your primary residence, but you must notify the authorities within 30 days (Art. 7 SHO). Federal law does not set out in detail how a municipality checks whether a home is «offered permanently». To suspend a primary-residence requirement, the ordinance requires regular adverts at market rates and under customary local conditions (Art. 9 para. 2 SHO). So keep your adverts, occupancy records and tourist tax statements organised.

Primary-residence requirement: can I rent the home to holiday guests?

No. If your home is subject to a «primary residence» requirement (Art. 7 para. 1 let. a SHA), someone registered in the municipality must live there. If you use it as a holiday home, the authorities will set you a deadline to stop. After that, they can prohibit its use, seal the home and rent it out themselves (Art. 17 and 18 SHA). A deliberate breach can lead to imprisonment for up to three years or a fine; a negligent breach can lead to a fine of up to 180 daily penalty units (Art. 21 SHA).

If you cannot temporarily meet the requirement because of a death, change of residence or divorce, or you cannot find anyone despite advertising the home publicly, the building authority will suspend the requirement on request, for up to two years at a time (Art. 14 SHA, Art. 8 and 9 SHO). The home must remain ready for occupation by prospective residents at all times (Art. 9 para. 2 let. c SHO). The authority’s decision will say whether you can rent it out for short stays during this time. If your municipality’s share falls to 20 per cent or less, the authority will remove the requirement on request (Art. 25 para. 3 SHA).

What does this mean for you as a host?

1. Check the ARE list to see whether your municipality is over the 20 per cent threshold.
2. Request an extract from the land registry office and check whether a restriction on use is recorded.
3. Check with the building authority whether the dwelling existed on 11 March 2012 and whether the municipality has its own primary-residence rules.

What differs between the cantons?

Cantons and municipalities may impose stricter rules than the SHA (Art. 3 para. 2 and Art. 12 SHA). Examples:

• Grisons: Flims makes old-law primary residences subject to a primary-residence requirement; Davos will vote on primary-residence quotas for major renovations on 29 November 2026.
• Valais: The major holiday resorts are well above 20%, and you register as a landlord with the municipality.
• Bern: 43 municipalities are above 20%. Since 11 March 2026, any change of use to short-term letting in residential, mixed-use and central zones in Interlaken requires a building permit.
• Ticino: Many municipalities are above 20%, and the Hospitality Act also sets a 90-day limit.
• Geneva, Vaud, Zurich, Lucerne: In the cities, housing protection and limits on the number of nights apply, not the SHA.

A short summary, not legal advice. The linked official source and your municipality’s rules prevail.