Buying a chalet in Switzerland: quotas and Lex Weber

A foreigner living abroad can buy a chalet or apartment in the Swiss Alps, but only with a Lex Koller permit, within a limited annual quota, and only in resorts where the canton allows it. A second federal law, often called Lex Weber, then blocks new second homes in communes where they already exceed 20% of housing. Together, the two rules explain why good resort property changes hands carefully and slowly.

Key facts (as of September 2026)

Two laws, two questions

When families talk to us about a chalet, it helps to separate two questions:

1. Can I, as a buyer, acquire a holiday home? That is Lex Koller, the federal law on property purchases by persons abroad. It depends on your nationality and where you live.
2. Can this property be used as a second home? That is the second-home act (Zweitwohnungsgesetz, ZWG), known as Lex Weber. It depends on the commune and the property, and it applies to everyone, Swiss or foreign.

Both answers need to be "yes".

Lex Koller: who needs a quota

If you are an EU/EFTA national with lawful, actual domicile in Switzerland, or a non-EU national with a C permit living here, you are not subject to Lex Koller. You can buy a holiday home like a Swiss resident, subject to Lex Weber.

Other foreign nationals count as "persons abroad" under art. 5 BewG. That includes those living outside Switzerland, whatever their nationality, and non-EU nationals living here with a B permit. For them, a holiday home needs a permit, and the permit draws on the canton's quota. The main-residence exception that lets a non-EU B-permit holder buy their own home does not extend to a second property.

Our main guide to buying property as a foreigner explains these categories in more detail.

How the quota system works

The rules come from art. 11 BewG and art. 9 BewV:

• The Federal Council sets a national maximum of 1,500 quota units a year and splits it into cantonal quotas.
• Each canton allocates its units and may add its own restrictions, for example by limiting sales to certain communes or setting priorities.
• Unused units carry over for one year.
• Holiday homes can only be sold to persons abroad where cantonal law provides for it, which in practice means designated tourist places.

The per-canton figures are set in an annex to the ordinance and cantonal practice varies, so we check them for each case rather than quoting a number here. In popular resorts, availability can be the deciding factor, and timing matters.

Size and use conditions

Once you have a permit, the property itself must meet certain conditions (art. 10 and 11 BewV):

• Net living area is normally limited to 200 m².
• For a house that is not a condominium, land is limited to 1,000 m².
• Only one holiday or second home per family, where the family means the buyer, their spouse and children under 18.
• A holiday home may not be rented out year-round.
• A second home must be sold within two years once it is no longer used as such.

They continue to apply after the purchase, so it is worth going through them carefully with your notary.

Lex Weber: the 20% second-home cap

The second-home act (ZWG) is short, and its core rule in art. 6 is simple:

• In a commune where second homes already make up more than 20% of housing, no new second homes may be approved.
• The same applies if a new permit would push the commune over 20%.

If the commune you like is above the threshold, that does not automatically rule out a chalet there, but it changes what you can buy. The law contains exceptions (in art. 7–9, 26 and 27 ZWG), and whether a particular property falls under one of them is a question for the commune and your notary.

Before making an offer, ask the commune or your notary to confirm how the property is registered: as a main residence, a freely usable second home, or with a restriction. A chalet restricted to main-residence use cannot simply become a holiday home.

Choosing a resort

Families usually start from lifestyle: the ski area, the summer, how far it is from an airport or their main home, and which language they are comfortable with. Switzerland's Alpine resorts are spread across several cantons with quite different traditions:

• Valais in the south-west, largely French-speaking in its lower part and German-speaking higher up the Rhône valley.
• Vaud, whose Alpine resorts sit above Lake Geneva.
• Bern, including the Bernese Oberland.
• Graubünden in the east, with German, Romansh and Italian spoken.
• Ticino in the south, Italian-speaking.

Our Valais canton page is a good place to start.

Holiday home or main home?

Some families start with a chalet and later decide to make Switzerland their main home. The rules then change:

• A holiday home does not give you a right to a residence permit. The Federal Office of Justice says so clearly. The permit route is separate.
• If you later become resident and qualify, your mountain property could become your main residence, but it must then genuinely be where you live. Authorities look at where your family lives, where you are fully taxed and where your car is registered.
• If you plan to be taxed on a lump sum, the rent or rental value of your home feeds into your tax base (at least seven times the annual rent or rental value at federal level). Our guide to how the lump sum is calculated explains the tests.

Tax changes to keep in mind

Two developments are worth watching:

• Imputed rental value (Eigenmietwert) is to be abolished from 1 January 2029 for both primary and secondary homes, following a Federal Council decision of 1 April 2026. Property maintenance deductions go too, and cantons may introduce a special property tax on secondary homes.
• The Lex Koller proposal opened for consultation on 15 April 2026 would tighten holiday-home quotas and would count resales from one foreign owner to another towards the quotas. It is a proposal, not law, and may change. See the 2026 Lex Koller reform.

How we help

We help families find the right resort and the right property, then check the Lex Koller permit, the canton's quota position and the property's second-home status before anyone signs. If you are also thinking about living in Switzerland, we look at the whole picture together. Start with our property search and purchase service or get in touch.

This guide is general information as of 30 September 2026 and is not legal or tax advice; a specific purchase needs advice from a notary and, where relevant, the canton.