On 22 July the Federal Supreme Court held that a tenant cannot block a necessary repair to freeze the evidence. Article 257h sets two duties on the landlord in return.
By the Envergure editorial team
A tenant who can feel a dispute coming may be tempted to leave the damage untouched until the evidence is secured. The Federal Supreme Court has just ruled that this kind of caution does not postpone maintenance work.
FEDERALThe Federal Supreme Court issued ruling 4A_218/2025 on 22 July 2026. The September 2026 tenancy law newsletter put it back into circulation, which is how it reached letting agents and tenants.
The question behind it lands in agency inboxes every month. Does a tenant have to let the contractors in when the landlord wants to repair something? It is settled by article 257h of the Swiss Code of Obligations, which the court applied here, and whose full text is published by bail.ch.
One clarification before going further. This is federal law, so the rule applies in the same way in every canton, and no canton can soften it for its own buildings.
No, not when the work is needed to maintain the property. The tenant has to put up with it, and article 257h sets two duties against that, the landlord gives notice in advance and spares the tenant's interests while the work goes on.
The argument the court turned down is worth a pause, because it sounds reasonable. Wanting to preserve evidence for a dispute still to come is no legitimate ground for blocking necessary repairs, as the bail.ch newsletter sums it up.
The ruling closes one door and opens none in its place. What is left is practice, less dramatic than refusing entry and far sturdier in front of an authority.
The right to enter is prepared, not declared. Giving notice of the work in advance and keeping the disruption down are the two conditions article 257h attaches to the tenant's duty, and a dated letter beats a phone call on the day a conciliation board reads the file.
Yes, and the gap explains part of the friction around building work. In the second quarter of 2026 asking rents rose 2.4% over a year while rents under running leases gained 1.1%, according to figures published by Properti.
These numbers come from a commercial player rather than a statistical office, and the method behind them is not spelled out. They give the order of magnitude, not a precise measure.
A flat that changes tenant is relet for more than a lease that simply carries on. That is the backdrop to maintenance disputes, and the 22 July ruling takes one argument away from anyone hoping to buy time behind a closed door.