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Most owners meet this question at the wrong moment: after a season that disappointed, holding a contract signed three years earlier and never re-read. The reassuring part is that Swiss law gives the owner the right to leave. The expensive part is not that right — it is the timing, and the clauses that keep working after the contract ends.
This guide covers what a management mandate actually is in Swiss law, the five clauses that decide what an exit costs, how notice works in practice for short-term rentals in the Montreux–Lausanne corridor, and what a clean handover looks like. It is the counterpart to our market guides: those tell you what an apartment should earn; this one is for the moment the numbers are not arriving.
What Swiss law says about ending a mandate
A property management agreement for a furnished, short-let apartment is, in Swiss law, a mandate (Auftrag / mandat) under art. 394 ff. of the Code of Obligations, usually mixed with elements of an agency contract for the letting itself. That classification matters more than the title on the cover page.
The provision that decides most exits is art. 404 CO. It lets either party revoke or terminate the mandate at any time, and it declares void any advance waiver of that right. A clause stating that « this agreement runs for three years and cannot be ended before then » therefore does not do what it says: the owner can still walk out. What the same article adds is the sting — the party who terminates at an inopportune moment must compensate the other for the loss caused. In practice that is what a manager’s claim on an early exit is built on: not a contractual penalty, but the commission the manager would have earned during the notice they needed to replace the apartment.
Two consequences follow. First, negotiate the notice period and the exit timing as commercial terms, because that is where the money sits. Second, document the exit: a termination that is not sent in writing, and not confirmed by the manager, is exactly how disputes about the final statement start.
The one-line version: you can always end a management mandate in Switzerland. What your contract can make expensive is when you do it — and what happens to the guests who come back afterwards.
Five clauses that decide what your exit costs
Read these before you sign, and again before you leave. In an exit negotiation they are the only clauses that carry money.
| Clause | What it usually says | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Notice period | 30 to 90 days, in writing | Whether notice only runs from the end of a month or quarter, and whether it can only be given inside a window (for example after the first 12 months). |
| Term & renewal | 12 months, tacitly renewed | Whether each renewal starts a fresh minimum term. Art. 404 still lets you out — but the notice you need may not be the notice you assumed. |
| Post-termination commission | « Guests introduced by the manager who return within 12–24 months » | The most litigated clause in the file. Ask for the list of repeat guests in writing at handover, otherwise the clause is unenforceable in practice — and also unarguable. |
| Exclusivity | « The owner shall not let the property directly during the term » | The date the exclusivity actually ends, and whether you may take bookings for arrival dates after the end date while the notice runs. |
| Accounts, listings, data | Usually silent | Who owns the Airbnb / Booking.com host account, the listing text, the photographs, the message history and the reviews. Silence here costs you a month of bookings. |
Notice periods in practice
In Swiss short-term rental mandates, 30 to 90 days is the normal band; 30 days is common for a flat-fee or percentage manager, 90 days for full-service hotel-style operation. Our own terms are a flat 20 % of net booked revenue with 30 days’ notice on either side, no lock-in and no fee on nights that do not sell — useful as a calibration point when you compare what you were offered.
In a seasonal business, however, the calendar matters more than the number of days. Give notice so that the mandate ends at the end of a low-season month — in the Montreux–Vevey corridor that usually means December to February — never in the middle of a high-season stay. Ending a mandate with a guest arriving in eight days transfers the operational risk to you, not to the manager, whatever the contract says.
If your manager refuses to accept notice, do not argue on the phone. Send the termination in writing (registered letter or an email you can prove), keep the proof of delivery, and ask in the same letter for the date of the final statement.
The money question: what you still owe when you leave
Three amounts are legitimate, and one is where owners lose money.
Commission on bookings confirmed before the end date is normally owed, including stays that take place after the exit: that is revenue already earned, not a penalty. Deposits and cleaning fees held by the manager must be returned or accounted for in the final statement, with the nights already paid by guests listed one by one. And the tourist tax (taxe de séjour) must be reconciled for the nights actually let: the commune will come back to the owner if the declaration is short, whoever held the mandate at the time — so ask for the tax statement with the final accounts, not three months later.
The usual leak is the post-termination clause. Three ways to close it:
- Set a date for the final statement in the termination letter — 30 days after the end date is reasonable — and make the balance payable then.
- Ask for the repeat-guest list, with names and dates, before the keys change hands.
- Put the number on it: a clause that claims commission on returning guests for 24 months is worth nothing without a documented list, and plenty without one.
The handover checklist
Run this in writing, item by item. It is the difference between leaving at the end of a month and leaving with a dispute that outlasts the season.
- Termination letter, dated, with proof of delivery, and the manager’s written confirmation.
- End date and the agreed date of the final statement and settlement.
- Keys, badges and codes returned against a signed receipt (including the mailbox and any cellar).
- Inventory and linen count, with photographs of the condition on the day of handover.
- OTA accounts: who keeps the Airbnb and Booking.com host account, and the handover of logins and two-factor access.
- Listing content: what the owner may keep and reuse — licensed photographs belong to their photographer, not to the previous manager.
- Reviews and status: reviews, Superhost and Guest Favourite follow the host account, not the apartment.
- Bookings after the end date, and the guest list covered by any post-termination clause.
- Deposits, cleaning fees and tourist-tax reconciliation, nights by nights.
- Documents: the register of guests where the canton requires one, the communal registration, and the insurance updated to the new operator or to you.
Get the repeat-guest list in writing before the keys change hands. A post-termination commission clause can only be applied to guests somebody can name — and after the handover, nobody has an incentive to go back through the booking history for you.
Switching without losing a season
Assume two to four weeks of real work: photographs, listing text, pricing history, calendars, guest messages, the tax file. Ask the new operator for a written onboarding date before you terminate the old mandate, and keep the overlap as short as the contract allows. If the listing stays in your own Airbnb account, you keep the reviews and the profile when the manager changes — which is one reason to insist, at signature, that the host account is yours.
Do it in the low season and the change costs you nothing but paperwork. Do it in July and you will pay for the same mistakes twice.
What should your apartment actually earn?
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10+ years in hospitality. BBA Hospitality (Glion), MSc Tourism (FHGR), MSc Data Science (HSLU).
Frequently asked questions
Can I end a property manager’s mandate at any time?
In principle, yes. Under art. 404 al. 3 of the Swiss Code of Obligations a mandate can be revoked at any time, and any clause in which you waive that right in advance is null. A long notice period does not remove your right to exit — it defines your liability: leaving at an awkward moment can expose you to a damages claim for the loss the manager suffers, typically the commission on bookings already confirmed.
What notice period applies to a management contract?
Whatever the contract states, commonly 30 to 90 days to the end of a month, often after an initial lock-in of 6 to 12 months. Our own owner contracts use 30 days on either side. If nothing is written, the manager must be given notice at the moment that good faith and the nature of the business require — for a seasonal short-term-rental portfolio that is best read as at least one full booking cycle.
Do I still owe commission on bookings already made?
Usually yes for stays confirmed before the mandate ends, and often for repeat guests who rebook inside a defined window afterwards. Read how your contract defines business the manager “procured”: some claim commission for 6 to 12 months on any guest they introduced, even if the guest books directly with you.
What happens if the manager stops trading or goes bankrupt?
The mandate ends by operation of law — no termination letter is needed — when the manager dies, loses the capacity of judgement or is declared bankrupt (art. 404 al. 1 CO). What you must do immediately is practical: recover keys and the guest ledger, take control of the platform accounts, and switch the Airbnb and Booking.com payout details to yourself before the next payouts leave.
How do I make the handover clean?
Put the termination in writing with a date, then work the checklist: key and smart-lock transfer, ownership of the platform listings, deposit and float reconciliation, a final statement within 30 days, the guest history and rate calendar, linen and cleaning supplies, and any tourist-tax registration or communal authorisation held in the manager’s name. Anything not handed over in writing is a dispute waiting to happen.
If you are still weighing the decision, the numbers matter more than the contract: our 2026 occupancy read for Montreux and Vevey shows where revenue is really lost, and the owner guides hub collects the market, tax and regulation side in one place.
Sources: Swiss Code of Obligations (SR 220), art. 394 ff. and art. 404 CO — revocation at any time, anticipatory waiver void, damages for untimely termination; RivieraHost owner-contract terms (flat 20 % commission on net booked revenue, 30 days’ notice either side); communal tourist-tax practice for the Montreux–Vevey region. Retrieved 19 September 2026. General information, not legal advice — for a specific dispute, consult a Swiss lawyer.
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