Commercial spaces for rent in Switzerland

Commercial space to rent in Switzerland comes in every shape: a two-room office above a bakery in Zug, a ground-floor shop in Lausanne's old town, a workshop bay outside St. Gallen, a dry storage room off a Basel courtyard. This board lists rentals only, across every canton, and only for business use: offices, shops, workshops, storage and mixed-use buildings.

Business leases leave more on the table

Swiss tenancy law covers business premises too, but a commercial lease is far more negotiable than a flat. Fixed terms of five years are common, often with one or two options to extend. A lease of at least five years may tie the rent to the national consumer price index (Landesindex der Konsumentenpreise), so it moves with inflation. Where no fixed term applies, notice on business premises is at least six months. That's why the headline rent is only one of the things worth negotiating. Ask about the extension options, a rent-free period while you fit out, and what happens if you need to leave early.

Reading a commercial listing

• Rents are usually quoted in francs per square metre per year. Multiply by the floor area and divide by twelve to get the monthly figure.
• Service charges (Nebenkosten) usually come on top, often as a monthly advance settled once a year.
• The fit-out level tells you what you'll spend before opening: bare shell, basic finish or fully fitted.
• "Plus VAT" means the landlord has opted to charge VAT on the rent. A VAT-registered business can normally reclaim it as input tax; a business that isn't registered, or whose own services are exempt, carries it as a real cost.

Filter by place, type and size. You contact whoever posted the listing directly, and imported offers link back to their source. Letting space yourself? Posting is free and needs no account.