“Which services help me rent an apartment in Zurich?”

For a long-term apartment in Zurich, start with these:

• Homegate and ImmoScout24 — major Swiss rental-listing portals; set up alerts for your budget, area, and apartment size. (zuerich.ch)
• Flatfox — another popular option, with listings and application messaging on the platform. (movu.ch)
• Comparis — aggregates rental listings from multiple sources, so it can help you broaden your search. (comparis.ch)

Other options, depending on what you need:

• WGZimmer.ch for a room in a shared apartment.
• University of Zurich housing resources if you’re a student or university employee; UZH also points to temporary sublets. (prof.uzh.ch)
• Relocation services if you want someone to help with the search and application process; the Canton of Zurich publishes a list of providers. (zh.ch)

A practical approach is to use several portals at once, turn on alerts, and have your application documents ready. If you tell me your budget and whether you want a room, furnished short-term place, or long-term apartment, I can narrow the list.

I'll search for rental platforms and relocation services that can help you find an apartment in Zurich.

I've identified the main listing platforms and support options. Now I'll open detailed pages to verify specifics.

Let me gather information on student housing, cooperatives, and temporary rental options.

I have the key details. Now I'll open one more source to complete the picture before answering.

In Zurich you need to combine several services - the market is extremely tight:

the vacancy rate was only 0.58% in 2024, and Switzerland-wide vacant units fell to 51,974 with a 1.08% vacancy rate, its lowest since 2014.

1. DIY listing portals - start here

Large portals such as Homegate, ImmoScout24, newhome and Flatfox carry many professional and private listings.

Most-used in Zurich specifically are listed as:

• Homegate.ch
• Immoscout24.ch
• Newhome.ch
• Urbanhome.ch

Add to those:

• Comparis can aggregate property advertisements and help widen discovery
• WGZimmer and university housing channels can be useful for rooms and shared homes
• tutti.ch, ronorp.net, flatfox.ch for rooms, shared flats and sublets - e.g. RonOrp described as city-specific community portals with classifieds

Practical tip from Zurich guides:

Most of these platforms allow you to create a profile, so you’re immediately notified by email when a listing that matches your preferences is posted.

Set filters for geographic area, price, and apartment size, and set saved searches on two or three platforms using the same criteria because no portal contains the whole market.

For viewings, agencies commonly ask for application form, passport/ID, residence permit, salary slips or employment contract, debt-register extract, and previous landlord reference.

2. Relocation / home-search services - if you are abroad, busy, or keep losing

a) HouseScout - Zurich & Geneva

We help you find a flat in Zurich and Geneva. Radar emails you every new flat that fits your brief, a Scout Visit sends someone to view a flat for you, and a Full Search runs your whole search, from shortlist to signed lease.

Pricing listed:

Radar is CHF 19 for 30 days, with no subscription. A Scout Visit is CHF 100 per property. A Full Search is from CHF 390.

Details:

• Radar: Searching yourself? Radar emails you the new flats that fit your brief, the best ones within minutes, so you can apply early. CHF 19 for 30 days.
• Scout Visit: Your best matches arrive within minutes [...] Contact the advertiser fast, or book a Scout Visit in one click.
• Full Search: We search, visit, prepare your application and guide you until you sign the lease.
• Coverage: The whole canton of Zurich and the whole canton of Geneva.

Built for:

Expats relocating to Switzerland, professionals based abroad who can't attend viewings, and busy professionals with no time.

b) SwissNest Relocation - Zurich

Apartment Search offer is:

Apartment selection, viewings, applications and communication with property managers.

Also lists:

Find temporary accommodation and compare furnished and unfurnished rental options.

After move, they list registration & permits, home & utilities setup, handover attendance, and help find and secure your next rental.

c) Larger / corporate agencies

• Prime Relocation: Housing, permits, schools, and settling-in support for individuals, families, and HR teams moving to Zurich, Through our exclusive landlord network built over 20+ years, we provide off-market housing access.
• Packimpex: In major cities like Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Zug or Bern, competition is cut-throat, Packimpex will help you get the home you want.
• ReloFinder / Touchdown Relocation Services, Swiss Expat Realtor, Relocation+: directory describes Touchdown founded in 1997 as one of Zurich's longest-standing agencies with Temporary Housing and Home Search for permanent rentals, and Swiss Expat Realtor focus areas are Zurich, Zug, and Basel.

No one can honestly promise that [finding a flat]. We give you speed, viewings and well-prepared applications, which improve your chances in a tight market.

3. Temporary / furnished / sublet - bridge solution

UMS - Untermietservice Schweiz:

UMS is a custom service and internet portal for renting out apartments that are temporarily not in use.

We have been specialising in the target group of private-apartment providers and subletters in Switzerland for more than 30 years.

Also listed as:

UMS (Untermietservice): Well-known platform specializing in mediating temporary furnished apartments and sublets across Switzerland.

University sources also point to UMS for temporary furnished apartments.

4. If you are a student, or looking for non-profit / city housing

ETH / UZH Housing Office + WOKO:

The Housing Office of University and ETH Zurich helps students and employees at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich to find accommodation.

The external page Student Housing Cooperative (Studentische Wohngenossenschaft, Woko) has around 2,000 rooms to let throughout the city of Zurich.

Those are available exclusively to students and doctoral students at ETH Zurich and University of Zurich - examples list rents e.g. CHF 465.- up to CHF 680.- per month for houses near ETH Hönggerberg.

Cooperatives and City of Zurich:

Zurich nurtures nonprofit co-ops, with the goal discussed as making one-third of all apartments available long-term at favorable conditions through cooperatives and municipal housing developers.

Example cited:

ABZ (Allg. Baugenossenschaft Zürich) | 1916 | over 5,000 | City of Zurich and Agglomeration | Largest and oldest.

City supply includes:

Subsidised Family Unit | Stadt Zurich Liegenschaften | 1100 to 1600 CHF monthly.

And canton/city programs:

The canton funds non-profit construction with zero-interest loans (with municipal co-funding). The City of Zurich also runs a Municipal Housing Fund to expand non-profit supply.

Check Liegenschaften Stadt Zürich and the major cooperatives directly - they advertise on their own sites, as local property managers and housing cooperatives may advertise on their own sites.

What to do next:

• 1.Create alerts on Homegate + ImmoScout24 + Flatfox/Comparis.
• 2.If you cannot attend viewings or need speed, buy Radar alerts or book a Scout Visit / Full Search, or hire SwissNest / Prime / Packimpex.
• 3.Book temporary housing via UMS while you search long-term.
• 4.If student, apply via Housing Office ETH/UZH + WOKO in parallel.

Zurich’s rental market is extremely tight, so most people combine several listing sites and, if they need hands-on help, a relocation or home-search service.

Main listing platforms

These are where most long-term apartments appear:

• Homegate and ImmoScout24 — the two largest Swiss portals. Search both and set instant email alerts.
• Flatfox — strong for rentals, applications, and messaging landlords.
• Comparis Immobilien — aggregator across portals.
• Newhome and home.ch — additional Swiss portals.

Listings often disappear within days, so speed and a complete application dossier matter more than which single site you use.

Extra sources that often have less competition

• Cooperative (Genossenschaft) listings — many Zurich co-ops only post on their own sites. Aggregators such as GnossiZH and genossenschaffen.ch collect them (paid subscriptions, roughly CHF 4.50–5/month).
• Immomailing — paid daily alerts for listings that may not appear on the big portals.
• Private and community boards — Anibis, Tutti, Ricardo, Ron Orp, and Facebook groups such as “Zurich Expats Housing” or “Zurich Apartments.”
• Property managers — apply directly on sites of large managers (for example Wincasa, Swiss Life, GBMZ), not only via open ads.

Shared flats and temporary housing

• WGZimmer — main site for rooms in shared flats (WGs).
• Furnished / short- to mid-term — useful while you search for a permanent lease: PABS, apartments.zuerich, Spotahome, and other “Wohnen auf Zeit” providers. Expect higher monthly costs than a normal lease.

Paid help finding an apartment

If you want someone to monitor the market, attend viewings, and prepare applications:

• Relocation / home-search agencies in Zurich commonly charge about CHF 2,500–5,000, or roughly one month’s rent as a success fee. Examples mentioned in local comparisons include Auris Relocation, Prime Relocation, Welcome Service, SwissNest, AM Relocation, and Silver Nest. Directories such as ReloFinder compare agencies by reviews and services.
• Local home finders — networks such as Remoters connect you with someone who searches and views on your behalf.

Agencies are most useful if you are new to Switzerland, do not speak German, or have a fixed move-in date. They do not guarantee a flat; the vacancy rate in the city is on the order of 0.1%.

Related services

• Rental deposit (Mietkaution) — usually up to three months’ rent in a blocked bank account, or a deposit guarantee (for example SwissCaution) so you do not lock the cash.
• Tenant advice — the Mieterinnen- und Mieterverband (MV) can help with rent levels, increases, and tenant rights.

What landlords usually want

Have a Bewerbungsdossier ready before you apply: ID/permit, recent payslips, employer confirmation, debt-enforcement extract (Betreibungsregisterauszug, ideally under three months old), and a short cover letter. German helps; English-only applications are harder in the open market.

Start with Homegate, ImmoScout24, and Flatfox alerts the same day, add cooperative and private sources, and only then decide whether a paid search service is worth the fee for your timeline and budget.

Here are the main services that can help you rent an apartment in Zurich, grouped by purpose:

For standard (unfurnished, long-term) rentals

Homegate.ch – Founded in 2001, Homegate is often the first port of call for those searching for real estate, with the largest inventory of rental and purchase properties, a sophisticated interface, and search functions based on commuting times or tax rates.

ImmoScout24.ch – The other heavyweight in the Swiss market, with listing volume comparable to Homegate's and many properties appearing on both; it has invested heavily in visual presentation with high-quality photos, virtual tours, and floor plans. Note that both portals now belong to the same parent company, the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group.

Comparis.ch – Best known as a price comparison site, but its property section aggregates listings from multiple sources, including Homegate and ImmoScout24, making it useful as a one-stop search interface, though the data is sometimes delayed compared to the original portals.

Flatfox – A reputable option, along with Newhome, that has become indispensable for the commission-free and private market.

Practical tip: The practical approach is to set up saved searches with email alerts on Homegate and ImmoScout24 simultaneously, since in a tight market properties can be under offer within days, so being notified quickly matters more than browsing once a week. This is especially true in Zurich, since Zurich is consistently ranked among the most expensive cities in the world to live in, with one of Europe's tightest rental markets, and vacancy rates have sat well below one percent for years.

For furnished / temporary / mid-term rentals (useful if relocating before you have a Swiss employment contract)

• Wunderflats – Lets you rent fully furnished apartments for 30+ days, move-in ready, with flexible stays and secure booking in Zurich, ideal for work, relocation or long stays. This can bypass a common hurdle, since landlords typically require a Swiss employment contract, a debt-collection extract and a three-month deposit, which is difficult to produce before you have arrived — a furnished mid-term rental removes that ordering problem.
• Nestpick – Lets you find a furnished apartment in Zurich and book it monthly online with a flexible lease.
• UMS Temporary Housing – Describes itself as the leading portal for furnished apartments and subletting in Switzerland, assisting before, during and after your temporary lease.
• ZR Zurich Relocation AG – A relocation agency providing high-end furnished apartments for people needing temporary accommodation in central Zurich for short, long or unlimited stays.
• Blueground – Serviced apartments with a minimum stay of 30 days, making it a turnkey solution for seamless long-term living.

For short vacation stays

Airbnb and Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals also list many Zurich apartments, though these are oriented toward tourists rather than long-term tenants.

Quick recommendation

For a standard lease, start with Homegate and ImmoScout24 (set up alerts on both), use Comparis as a secondary aggregator, and check Flatfox for private/commission-free listings. If you need a place immediately while sorting out paperwork (employment contract, deposit, etc.), a furnished mid-term option like Wunderflats or Nestpick can bridge the gap.

Three relocation services showed up in the search results, and they differ mainly in how they charge. Here's how they compare.

SwissNest Relocation — success-fee model

swissnest-relocation.ch

A personal, founder-led service (Anna and Andy) with 15+ years of Zurich experience. Mandates generally start at a monthly rental budget of CHF 2k.

• Initial consultation: free (WhatsApp video call)
• Viewings: free if you attend yourself; CHF 99 when they attend within 20 km of their Stallikon office, CHF 149 beyond
• Success fee: one month's rent, minimum CHF 2,490 — only payable once you sign for an apartment they introduced or facilitated
• Extras: optional handover CHF 299; additional relocation support CHF 99/h
• They claim typically 2–3 viewings to secure a home within 1–4 weeks, with WhatsApp support in evenings and weekends.

They cover the full chain: consultation → application preparation → search → viewings → apply and follow up → contract and move-in. Their FAQ notes Swiss landlords generally expect gross household income of at least 3× the rent, plus a debt enforcement extract (Betreibungsregisterauszug).

HouseScout — pay-per-piece, cheapest entry point

housescout.ch

Covers the whole canton of Zurich and Geneva. Three modular options:

• Radar: CHF 19 for 30 days, no subscription — emails you only new flats matching your brief, "within minutes"
• Scout Visit: CHF 100 per property — a scout views it, asks your questions, sends photos, video and a written report the same day
• Full Search: from CHF 390 — runs the whole search from shortlist to signed lease

They reply 24/7 and check major portals, agency sites and local groups. Notably honest: they explicitly state no one can guarantee you'll find a flat.

Remoters — full-service with a local home finder

remoters.io

Matches you with an English-speaking home finder living in Zurich who speaks your language. Free first call and a free written quote; a Zurich rental search typically costs CHF 750–1,300, based on searches they've run since February 2025. You pay through the platform, never directly to the home finder.

Their scope runs from defining a realistic search strategy through preparing a Bewerbungsdossier, attending viewings, reviewing the German Mietvertrag for unusual clauses, and guiding you through the deposit, Einwohnerkontrolle registration and Wohnungsübergabe inspection. They report 5,000+ clients and 4.8/5 on Google.

Which fits you

The free route worth knowing

Remoters notes that the main platforms in Zurich are Homegate and ImmoScout24, but that many apartments — especially in sought-after districts — are let through property management companies (Verwaltungen) or by word of mouth before ever appearing online. Registering directly with major managers such as Livit, Wincasa or Privera can give you access to more listings at no cost. The paid services above are essentially buying you speed, viewings and a better-prepared dossier — not access to secret inventory.

Finding an apartment in Zurich is notoriously competitive (vacancy rates are often well below 1%), so using the right combination of platforms and tools is essential.

Here are the best services and platforms categorized by what you might need:

1. Major Property Portals (Permanent Rentals)

These are the most widely used platforms across Switzerland. Most real estate management companies (Liegenschaftsverwaltungen) post listings here:

• Homegate: The largest and most popular real estate platform in Switzerland. Setting up instant alerts here is essential.
• ImmoScout24: Another major portal with high overlap with Homegate (both are owned by the Swiss Marketplace Group), but occasionally has exclusive agency listings.
• Flatfox: Very popular in Zurich because outgoing tenants frequently use it to find a Nachmieter (replacement tenant). It features a built-in chat system to communicate directly with current tenants or landlords, often leading to faster viewing appointments.
• Newhome.ch: Backed by Swiss cantonal banks and real estate agencies. Less cluttered than Homegate, with quality listings.
• Comparis Immobilien: A meta-search engine that aggregates listings from Homegate, ImmoScout24, Newhome, and others into a single feed. It also assigns an "efficiency/fairness" score to prices.

2. Flatshares & Sublets (WG & Temporary Housing)

If you are moving to Zurich for the first time, starting with a room in a shared apartment (Wohngemeinschaft / WG) or a temporary sublet (Zwischenmiete) is often the easiest entry point:

• WG-Zimmer.ch: The standard portal for finding rooms in shared flats in Switzerland.
• Ron Orp Zurich: A local cultural newsletter and classifieds platform. Zurich locals heavily rely on Ron Orp to find flatmates or sublet their apartments during work trips or sabbaticals.
• UMS / Temporary Housing: A verified platform specializing in furnished temporary sublets (usually 1 to 12 months) handled directly between private individuals with contract support.

3. Furnished / Serviced Apartments (Landing Pads)

If you need an address immediately upon arrival (especially for registering with the municipal authorities, Kreisbüro):

• City Pop: Furnished micro-apartments in Zurich booked via an app (flexible lease terms from 4 to 52 weeks).
• Visionapartments: Offers fully serviced, furnished apartments throughout Zurich.
• Homelike & Blueground: International portals providing monthly mid-to-long-term corporate and furnished rentals.

4. Professional Relocation & Search Agencies (Paid)

If you have a relocation budget or want someone to find, inspect, and apply for apartments on your behalf:

• Packimpex: Switzerland’s largest relocation consultancy, helping expats with home-finding tours, lease negotiations, and registrations.
• Prime Relocation & Welcome Service Zurich: Boutique relocation agencies dedicated specifically to the Zurich and Lake Zurich markets.

5. Essential Supporting Services (Required for Applications)

When you apply for an apartment in Zurich, you will almost always need the following documents ready:

• Betreibungsauszug (Debt Register Extract): Proof that you have no unpaid debt in Switzerland. You can order it online via the official Canton of Zurich portal or through post offices. If you are newly arriving, a credit report from your previous country is often requested instead.
• Deposit Guarantees (Mietkautionsversicherung): Swiss leases typically require a deposit equal to 2–3 months of rent held in a blocked bank account (Mietkautionskonto). If you prefer not to tie up cash, services like SwissCaution or FirstCaution act as guarantors for an annual fee.

Strategy Tip for Zurich

• 1.Set push notifications on Flatfox, Homegate, and Comparis. Listings often receive 50+ applications within hours, and viewings are capped quickly.
• 2.Prepare a complete application dossier in PDF format: application form, copy of your ID/permit, employment contract, recent salary slips, cover/introduction letter, and Betreibungsauszug. Hand it in or email it the very day you view the flat.

If you want help renting an apartment in Zurich, the most relevant services in these results are search/relocation assistants and serviced-apartment providers.¹²³⁴

• SwissNest Relocation: offers apartment search support in Zurich, including shortlisting apartments, attending viewings on your behalf, preparing German rental applications, and follow-up with property managers.[user-provided search result]
• HouseScout: helps with Zurich apartment searches through alerting you to matching flats, attending viewings for you, and running a full search from shortlist to lease.[user-provided search result]
• Remoters: connects you with a local home finder in Zurich who searches listings, visits properties, backs your application, and helps through lease signing and move-in.[user-provided search result]
• expat-services.ch providers: lists several English-speaking serviced-apartment options in Zurich, including Book a home, Comfort Apartments, City Pop, and AAS Apartment Service.⁴⁷⁸¹¹
• CITY STAY: offers furnished apartments and serviced apartments in Zurich and Zug with personalized service and weekly cleaning.¹⁵
• Blueground: offers furnished apartments in Zurich with online booking, cleaning or maintenance support, and stays starting at 30 days.³
• GLANDON Apartments: offers furnished apartments in Zurich with flexible stays and included services like cleaning, linens, utilities, and Wi‑Fi.⁶¹⁰
• Spotahome and Apartool: provide furnished rental listings and monthly/corporate housing options in Zurich.¹²¹³

If you mean traditional long-term rental help rather than furnished serviced apartments, the strongest matches here are SwissNest Relocation, HouseScout, and Remoters, because they explicitly handle the search, viewings, dossier/application, and lease process.[user-provided search result]