Buying a Furnished Chalet in Switzerland

Buying a furnished chalet in Switzerland is common in Gstaad, but "furnished" means only what the contract says it means. Swiss law transfers the building, its fixed parts and its accessories with the land. Everything else, from the dining table to the art on the walls, passes only if it is listed. The cleanest sales we see attach a detailed inventory to the notarial deed, agree a realistic separate price for the movable items, and settle the practical handover points, such as heating oil, keys and service contracts, in writing.

The unclear sales end in arguments about a Kachelofen, a wine cellar or a snowplough. They are rarely about money. They are about expectations no one wrote down.

General information only. Every sale contract is drafted by a Swiss notary, who should be your first reference on these points.

What Swiss Law Transfers With the Property

The Swiss Civil Code distinguishes three categories, and the distinction drives everything else.

Component parts (Bestandteile)

Under Article 642 of the Civil Code, anything that, by local custom, is an essential part of the building and cannot be removed without destroying or altering it belongs to the property. In a chalet, that means the structure, the roof, windows, heating system, plumbing and wiring, the built-in kitchen, fitted wardrobes, panelling, the sauna if it is built in, and the tiled stove. These pass with the property automatically. They cannot be sold separately.

Accessories (Zugehör)

Under Articles 644 and 645, accessories are movable items that are intended to serve the main property permanently and are linked to it by local custom or the owner's clear intention. A sale of the property includes its accessories, unless the contract excludes them. Whether a given item counts as an accessory can be debated. Examples that are often treated this way in a chalet include the keys and access systems, a custom-made fireplace screen, or equipment installed to run the house. If an item matters to you, list it.

Movable property (Fahrnis)

Ordinary furniture, rugs, lamps, art, linen, kitchen equipment, books, wine, vehicles and garden furniture are movable property. They do not pass with the house unless the parties agree. Most "furnished" chalet sales are, legally, two transactions in one deed: the property, and a sale of movable items.

The Inventory

For any chalet sold furnished, we recommend a written inventory attached to the contract. It should be specific enough that nobody can disagree about what was meant.

A good inventory:

Goes room by room, including the ski room, cellar, garage, staff flat and outbuildings.
Uses photographs for anything of significant value or anything easily confused.
Excludes explicitly what the seller is taking. Family portraits, a particular painting, a grandmother's armoire. Writing down the exclusions removes most of the arguments.
Covers the less obvious items: snow-clearing equipment, garden machinery, outdoor furniture, the spa cover, spare parts for the heating, the hi-fi or home automation controllers, the wine (or its exclusion).
Notes condition where it matters.

If the seller has a decorator or a family office, they will often have an inventory already from the insurance file. It is a good starting point, not a finished document.

How the Furniture Is Priced

There are two common approaches.

One price, furniture included. The contract states that the sale includes the movable items on the attached inventory, without a separate value. Simple, but it means the whole price is treated as the price of the property for tax purposes.
A separate price for movable items. The contract states a price for the property and a separate, smaller price for the furniture. This reflects the economic reality, as furniture is not land.

The tax angle

Canton Bern levies a transfer tax of 1.8 percent, assessed on the consideration paid for the property. Separately priced movable furniture is, in principle, not land, so a realistic allocation is legitimate. In a 1972 decision under the former law, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld a Bern practice of including the value of accessories in the transfer tax base. That is one more reason to be precise about which items are genuinely movable.

What does not work is inflating the furniture price to reduce tax. Land registry offices and tax authorities see a great many sales. An allocation of a large share of a chalet price to sofas will be questioned, and the consequences of a false declaration are the parties' problem.

There is also a cost to the buyer that is easy to forget. The lower the price allocated to the property, the lower the buyer's acquisition cost when they sell. That increases their future property gains tax. A furniture allocation that saves 1.8 percent today can cost more than that later.

For the seller, other cantons apply their own rules on how furniture sold with a property is treated for gains tax. Graubünden, for example, accepts a deduction only if the furniture price is stated in the contract or documented in a separately signed agreement. In Bern, ask your notary and tax advisor how the allocation will be assessed before signing.

The bank's view

Banks lend on the property, not the furniture. If you are financing, the mortgage is based on the bank's valuation of the house and land, and the furniture is paid from equity. See financing property in Gstaad.

Practical Handover Points

These are the items we see most often missed in a draft contract.

Benefit and risk

The contract sets the date on which use, benefit and risk pass to the buyer, usually the completion date. From that day, the buyer carries the risk of damage, and running costs are split at that date.

Heating oil

Swiss property contracts commonly provide that the oil remaining in the tank is measured on the handover date and paid for by the buyer at the current price, or at the price documented on the last delivery invoice. In a large chalet, this can be a meaningful amount. Agree the method in the contract.

Insurance

In Canton Bern, building insurance is provided by the cantonal insurer, GVB, and it stays with the building. The buyer becomes the policyholder automatically. Household contents, liability and any fine art cover belong to the seller and do not transfer. Arrange your own from the handover date. Our guide to insuring a Gstaad property explains the layers.

Service contracts

A chalet usually comes with a web of contracts: the caretaker or property manager, heating maintenance, the alarm company, snow clearing, garden maintenance, cleaning, sometimes a chef or a driver. Decide which you want to keep. Some can be transferred with the seller's and provider's agreement; others the seller must terminate. Staff employed by the seller are the seller's employees, and any change needs careful handling under Swiss employment law.

Meters, accounts and the commune

On the handover date, read the electricity, water and any heat meters. Utility accounts, the waste fee and the tourist tax registration need to be moved to your name. Your property manager can handle most of this if you appoint one.

Keys, codes and documents

Ask for every key, the alarm and Wi-Fi codes, access to any home automation system, the plans, the building permits, the heating and electrical installation reports, and warranties for recent work. A thorough seller will have prepared these as part of getting the chalet ready for sale.

When the Seller Wants to Keep Something

It is entirely normal for a family to keep pieces with history. The point is to agree them early, ideally before the offer is accepted, and to put them in the inventory as exclusions. Where an item is built in, such as a carved panel or a tiled stove made for the house, it is a component part and belongs to the property. If the seller wants to remove it, that must be negotiated and reflected in the price, and the buyer should check whether removal requires a permit or damages the building.

Before You Sign: A Short Checklist

Is there an inventory attached to the contract, with photographs?
Are the seller's exclusions written down?
Is the furniture priced separately, and is the allocation realistic?
How is the heating oil settled?
Which service contracts continue, and which end?
When do benefit and risk pass?
Have you arranged contents and liability insurance from that date?

Your notary drafts the deed, and our guide to the Gstaad buying process explains where these points fit in the timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is furniture included when you buy a chalet in Switzerland?

Not automatically. Under Swiss law, a sale of property includes its component parts, such as the built-in kitchen and heating, and its accessories (Zugehör) unless the contract excludes them. Ordinary furniture is movable property and is only included if the contract says so. In Gstaad, chalets are often sold furnished, with an inventory attached to the deed.

Can you pay less transfer tax by allocating part of the price to furniture?

Allocating a realistic value to movable furniture is legitimate, but inflating it to reduce transfer tax is not. Tax authorities and notaries look at the allocation, and the buyer also pays later: a lower property price means a larger taxable gain when they sell. Keep the furniture price defensible and documented.

What happens to the heating oil in the tank when a chalet is sold?

In Swiss property sales, the remaining heating oil is commonly measured on the handover date and paid for separately by the buyer at the current price. The arrangement should be written into the contract.

Does building insurance transfer to the buyer in Canton Bern?

Yes. In Canton Bern every building is insured with the cantonal building insurer, GVB, and the cover follows the building. Household contents insurance does not transfer, so the buyer must arrange their own from the day they take over.

If you are buying or selling a furnished chalet in the Saanenland and want help agreeing the inventory and handover before the notary appointment, get in touch.

Sources:

For a confidential conversation about your search or sale, contact The Gstaad Collection.