Commercial & industrial spaces for rent in Switzerland

A workshop, a studio or a shop to rent: with this kind of space, check that the zoning lets you work there at all before you compare rents. You'll find workshops, ateliers, shops and industrial units from all over Switzerland here, from a courtyard studio in Basel's Gundeldingen to a hall on the industrial estate in Schlieren.

Check the zone first

Each commune sets what's allowed where in its zoning plan and building regulations, including a noise sensitivity level for each zone. As a rule, residential zones (level II) only take businesses that cause no disturbance, mixed and commercial zones (level III) allow moderately disturbing ones, and industrial zones (level IV) also allow heavily disturbing ones. A joinery with a circular saw belongs on an industrial estate rather than below someone's flat. Changing the use of a unit, say from office to workshop or restaurant, often needs a building permit. Ask the commune's building office before you sign.

Viewing a workshop

1. Access and door: can you drive a van right up to the door, and how high and wide is the opening?
2. Power: is there a 400-volt three-phase supply with enough capacity for your machines?
3. Floor: what load can it take? If you run heavy machines, get the figure in kilograms per square metre into the lease.
4. Ventilation, water and drainage, which matter for paint shops, food production and car repair.
5. Parking for customers and staff, and whether it's included in the rent.

Shops: think about the exit

On business premises you can transfer the lease to a successor with the landlord's written consent, and the landlord can only refuse for good reason. That's separate from the usual right to leave early by proposing a suitable replacement tenant, and it makes selling a going business easier later. If you take over an existing shop, the outgoing tenant may ask for a payment for fittings or goodwill; that amount is freely negotiated.