Contract for the sale or purchase of a house: what does it include?
Whether you are planning to sell your property or fulfil the dream of owning your own home, the purchase contract is fundamental. Comparis explains what you need to consider in the purchase contract.
19.12.2025
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1. Selling or buying a house: What does the purchase contract regulate?
The purchase contract for an apartment or a house regulates the conditions, price and date on which the property changes ownership.
After the public notarisation by the notary, the seller must transfer ownership to the buyers. The buyers, in turn, are obliged to pay the purchase price in accordance with the terms of the contract.
The notary’s office usually arranges for registration with the Land Registry Office – with the signature of the selling party. Important: Without this step, no change of ownership takes place.
Do you know the value of your property?
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2. Who draws up the purchase contract for an apartment or a house?
The notary’s office draws up the purchase contract. The notary acts neutrally. She or he also points out provisions that favour or disadvantage one of the two parties too much.
Are there any ambiguities? If in doubt, consult a specialist for example, a construction lawyer or a building consultant.
Our tip
Clarify the most important points of the contract before commissioning the notary’s office with the other contracting party. This will avoid misunderstandings and you will not have to request fundamental changes to the draft purchase contract later.
3. What belongs in the house sale contract?
The purchase contract must be drawn up in writing. It is mandatory to list the contracting parties, the object of sale (property) and the purchase price. In addition, the following provisions in the contract are useful:
Comprehensive information on the contracting parties
Exact description of the property (address, cadastral number)
Precise price information
Payment terms and due dates
All relevant dates
Regulation of tax issues, especially with regard to a possible property gains tax
Condition of the property at the handover
Details of installations and building components such as lift, heating, facade, roof, etc.
Information on accrued renovation work, wear and tear and defects
For new buildings: determination of the move-in date
Deed of foundation, regulations of the condominium ownership
All burdens and obligations which are entered in the land register are registered
Building lease contracts
Development plans
Any exit clauses
If applicable Assignment of rights relating to defects to the client
Inventory: if the property is sold with inventory transferred, you should record the relevant inventory in writing in the purchase contract. This is particularly worthwhile for tax reasons: sellers can deduct the inventory from the sale price and thus reduce any property gains tax.
Bind the other party to the contract with specific and detailed promises. This is how you avoid unexpected costs when buying a house. Use carefully formulated contracts, clearly defined prices and deadlines, and planning documents. In the case of new buildings or conversions, a detailed building specification is included.
Template for the purchase contract
The drafting of the contract is the responsibility of the respective responsible notary’s office. However, it is useful to define the most important contents of the contract (contracting parties, purchase price, object of sale) already in advance.
Some cantons offer a special form, for example in Thurgau, Schaffhausen or Zurich. In this, buyers and sellers can already enter the most important contractual contents and initiate the creation of a sales contract by submitting the form.
4. Do I need a preliminary contract?
A preliminary contract legally binds the intentions of the buyer and seller. As a rule, it already lists all important contractual provisions. But: only publicly notarised preliminary contracts are valid. And a public notarisation is associated with high costs.
More cost-effective is the creation of a reservation agreement. It also records the purchase or selling intention of the potential contracting parties in writing. The difference from the preliminary contract is that no public notarisation is required. Legally, such agreements are not binding.
5. From when is the contract legally valid?
To make a house purchase or sale legally valid, a public notarisation of the purchase contract is required. Only notarisation by an authorised notary’s office obliges the buyer to pay the purchase price and the seller to transfer ownership to the buyer.
6. When is the purchase price paid?
The terms of payment can in principle be agreed by the contracting parties individually and recorded in the purchase contract. As a buyer, you must present an irrevocable promise of payment from a bank to the notary’s office at the latest when signing the purchase contract. It confirms that under the agreed conditions the payment of the agreed purchase price has actually been made.
The transfer of the agreed purchase price usually only takes place after the public notarisation and afte rthe entry in the land register. Depending on the payment agreement payment is only made in the course of the handover of the house.
Good to know
As long as not all conditions of a promise to pay are fulfilled, the notary may not yet register the transaction with the land registry.
Deposit to a dedicated account
Often, sellers already demand a deposit upon conclusion of a reservation contract. Would you, as the buyer, like to agree to this? Pay the amount into a dedicated blocked account. Should the purchase of the property fail, you as the buyer can easily secure access to the amount you have paid in.
7. Contract for the sale of a house: frequently asked questions
When it comes to the purchase contract for a property, you should be particularly careful. Small wording can have big financial and legal consequences. Our downloadable checklist gives you an overview of the most important points that belong in the purchase contract.
In addition to the actual content of the purchase contract, you should note the following points:
The purchase contract must be notarised, so that it is legally binding.
The draft contract should be available in good time before the notary appointment so that you can review it at your leisure.
Open questions or requests for changes should be clarified before notarisation.
It is important to have a clear process, so that payments, handover and registrations are coordinated.
The buyers need a binding commitment for the financing, before the contract can be signed.
The right financing
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In addition to the general points when buying a property, there are specific aspects of condominium ownership, which you should obligatorily regulate in the purchase contract. These include:
Condominium ownership share with value ratio: this quota determines your voting rights and your share of the costs.
Deed of constitution and distribution plans: these define the boundaries of special rights, communal parts and exclusive rights of use.
Condominium regulations, any usage regulations and house rules.
Contractual regulation for renewal fund: current balance and contribution obligation.
Cost distribution for communal parts (facade, roof, lift, heating, etc.).
Exclusive rights of use (e.g. garden share, terrace, outdoor parking space).
The notary fees for public certification of a house purchase are cantonal vary by canton. As a rule, you can expect costs between 0.1% and 1% of the purchase price.
Good to know: please note that when buying a house, additional incidental purchase costs are incurred, for example for the land register entry or taxes.
In the case of existing properties, the following usually applies: The selling party excludes liability for defects in the purchase contract. The buyer acquires the property in the condition in which it was at the time of the inspection. This also includes hidden defects.
If nothing is stated in the purchase contract, the Swiss Code of Obligations («Art. 197, Art. 219 para. 3») applies: For five years the selling party is liable for defects and consequential damages.
When is the seller liable?
The selling party is only liable if it has fraudulently concealed a defect. However, it is difficult to prove. A thorough examination of the property before buying is therefore very important – if possible in the presence of a building expert.
Warranty claims for new builds
For new buildings, the following applies in principle: Code of Obligations. Accordingly, craftsmen involved in a building are liable for defects for up to five years. If defects are intentionally concealed, a period of ten years applies.
For new buildings: contract with SIA standard
For new buildings, a purchase contract according to SIA standard 118 is worthwhile. It is a standard of theSwiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA). It ensures as much as possibleuniform contractual conditionsfor construction projects – taking into account the interests of both parties.
As long as the purchase contract has not yet been publicly notarised, you can in principle withdraw from the purchase or sale. However, if you have demonstrably agreed to the purchase or sale and delay the transaction unnecessarily, the other contracting party may claim any expenses incurred.
If the contract has serious defects you can usually refuse to sign it, usually without any follow-up costs. This applies, for example, if important documents are missing or if there is deception. If the purchase contract is signed by both parties and publicly notarised, only the exit clauses recorded therein apply exit clauses.
This article was first published on 21.08.2023
