Finding a home despite debt enforcement proceedings: How to improve your chances

Why debt enforcement entries make the search harder

In many Swiss regions there are substantially more applicants than available homes. The national vacancy rate was 1.0% in 2025 and considerably lower in some tight cantons. Property managers can therefore often choose between several otherwise suitable households.^[7]

An entry does not create a general statutory ban on renting. Landlords may, however, assess solvency and select tenants using objective criteria. The FDPIC expressly permits financial information that is genuinely necessary to assess the ability to pay rent.^[1][2]

The aim is not to conceal the entry, but to explain the actual risk: Was the claim paid, disputed, unjustified, covered by an instalment plan or still open?

What does the register extract show?

An extract shows proceedings registered in a particular enforcement district. For a complete picture, extracts may be needed from every district in which you lived during the previous five years.^[3]

A payment order is issued on the creditor’s information; at that stage the office does not examine whether the claim actually exists. Disputed or unjustified claims can therefore appear in the register.^[4]

The extract nevertheless remains an important credit document. Do not omit requested former addresses or alter documents. A manipulated file usually causes more concern than an openly explained entry.

Step 1: Review your own extract

1. Order your own extract early.
2. Check names, amounts, creditor, status, date and underlying issue.
3. Where you moved, obtain extracts from all relevant districts if necessary.
4. Collect payment receipts, withdrawal confirmations, decisions, objections and payment agreements.
5. Ask the office which correction or non-disclosure route applies to the specific entry.
6. Only then finalise the application and explanation.

Which type of proceeding is involved?

Clean up entries: withdrawal, correction or non-disclosure

• Creditor withdrawal: After payment or settlement, ask for written withdrawal.
• Correction by the office: Submit evidence of an objective register error.
• Court clarification: Judicial remedies may exist depending on the case and should be legally assessed.
• Non-disclosure: This is not a general deletion of paid debt. It concerns proceedings objected to and requires the statutory conditions.
• ch.ch also describes an application to the office not to show a proceeding in the extract; the office provides the conditions and costs.^[3]

Non-disclosure since 1 January 2026

The revised Article 8a(3)(d) DEBA entered into force on 1 January 2026. After an objection, an application may be filed after three months from service of the payment order and generally until the third-party inspection right expires.^[4][5]

The office gives the creditor 20 days to prove that proceedings to remove the objection were initiated in time. If proof is not provided, the enforcement is not disclosed to third parties. It may reappear after later proof or continuation, subject to the revised rule on definitively unsuccessful applications.^[5]

The flat fee is CHF 40 regardless of the outcome.^[6]

The competent enforcement office, not the property manager, determines whether the conditions are met.

Improve your chances step by step

1. Choose a home whose total rent is clearly affordable on current income.
2. Submit a complete and readable file through the requested channel.
3. Include a current extract and only evidence needed to explain it.
4. Explain the entry in three to five sentences: cause, current status, evidence and current stability.
5. Show stable income and punctual current payments.
6. Request a factual reference from the current landlord where available.
7. Offer a guarantee or joint tenant only where it is genuine and financially sustainable.
8. Act quickly without sending unnecessary sensitive records.
9. Widen the search radius, size and move-in date in a very tight market.
10. Continue debt resolution in parallel and document progress.

Template: explain entries in your application

Subject: Additional explanation of debt enforcement extract – application for [address]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for showing me the home at [address]. I would like to apply
for the tenancy from [date].

My debt enforcement extract contains [number] entry/entries. The entry
from [creditor / year] relates to [brief factual reason]. The claim is
now [fully paid / disputed / covered by a written instalment agreement].
I enclose [confirmation, receipt, agreement or decision] as evidence.

I have paid my current obligations punctually for [period]. My present
monthly income is [amount / income category], and the rent is sustainably
included in my budget. If required, [current landlord / employer /
guarantor] can confirm the stated facts.

I hope that you will consider my current, documented situation. I am
available for any questions.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Telephone]
[Email]

Tipps / Tips

• Keep the explanation factual and short.
• Explain only relevant facts and attach matching evidence.
• Do not call an entry “deleted” if it was merely paid or objected to.
• Do not promise payments your budget cannot support.
• Documented recent progress is stronger than a general apology.

Which additional security may help?

Adjust the search strategy

Do not search only in neighbourhoods with extremely low vacancy. A wider radius and good public transport can create realistic options.

Private landlords, cooperatives, municipalities, non-profit providers and major managers use different processes. Apply broadly without concealing your situation.

A smaller, cheaper or temporary home may bridge the period while entries are resolved and stability is documented.

Save several UrbanHome searches with different places, sizes and price limits.

Data protection in the application

Landlords may request data genuinely necessary and proportionate for the lease and solvency assessment. Secret references and excessive data collection conflict with transparency and proportionality.^[1][2]

Do not send entire creditor correspondence if a short confirmation is enough. Redact irrelevant account numbers, health information and third-party data.

After selection, unsuccessful applicants’ records should generally be destroyed unless there is a special justification such as a voluntary waiting list.^[1]

Mistakes that reduce your chances

1. Concealing entries when a complete extract is requested.
2. Altering documents or deliberately omitting former addresses.
3. Calling a paid entry automatically deleted.
4. Sending a long emotional justification without evidence.
5. Choosing rent that is clearly unaffordable.
6. Naming an uninformed or insolvent guarantor.
7. Relying on one dream home without alternatives.
8. Allowing new bills to enter enforcement during the search.
9. Paying unknown providers before verifying home, contract and counterparty.
10. Giving notice on the old home before the new lease is binding.

When debt counselling is useful

Several open proceedings, loss certificates, wage attachment or inability to pay current bills are reasons to seek professional advice early.

Debt Counselling Switzerland is the umbrella organisation of non-profit specialist services and refers people to the competent cantonal office.^[8]

Counselling can structure the budget, priorities and negotiations. It cannot guarantee a home but can prevent new proceedings and produce credible documentation.

Checklist

Sources and information date

1. EDÖB: Anmeldeformulare für Mietwohnungen
2. EDÖB: Merkblatt zu Anmeldeformularen für Mietwohnungen, 15. Juli 2025
3. ch.ch: Betreibungsregisterauszug bestellen und Einträge bereinigen
4. Bundesgesetz über Schuldbetreibung und Konkurs, insbesondere Art. 8a SchKG
5. Bundesamt für Justiz: Weisung zu Art. 8a Abs. 3 Bst. d SchKG, geändert am 17. Dezember 2025
6. Behörden Basel-Stadt: Gesuch um Nichtbekanntgabe und Gebühr ab 1. Januar 2026
7. Bundesamt für Statistik: Leerwohnungszählung 2025
8. Schuldenberatung Schweiz: kantonale Fachstellen

Stand / Current as of: 2. August 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Debt enforcement entries make the search harder, but not hopeless. Review the extract, use the legally appropriate clean-up route, give a short evidenced explanation and choose sustainably affordable housing. Use the rules in force since 1 January 2026 only where their conditions are met and seek debt counselling early where several cases remain open.