Apartments for rent in Zürich

Most people renting in Zürich are renting an apartment, not a house, and the twelve Kreise offer very different flats: compact studios carved out of old factory buildings in the Industriequartier, three-and-a-half-room family flats in Wipkingen, five-room apartments with lake glimpses in Seefeld.

Matching flat type to Kreis

Kreis 5, the former Industriequartier around Escher-Wyss-Platz, has been rebuilt around lofts and new-build blocks near the Prime Tower, popular with people who want exposed concrete and open floor plans over a garden. Kreis 6, covering Unterstrass and Oberstrass, sits near the university and ETH and suits students or academics who want to walk to campus. Seefeld, in Kreis 8, commands some of the highest rents in the city for its lakeside position and cafe-lined streets. Families with a bit more budget often look at Kreis 10 (Höngg, Wipkingen) or Kreis 9 (Altstetten, Albisrieden) for three- or four-room flats with better value per square metre and solid tram and S-Bahn connections into the centre.

What to weigh before signing

• Room count in Switzerland includes the living room, so a "3.5-room" flat usually means two bedrooms plus a living room and a half-room, often a small study or nursery.
• Ground-floor and top-floor flats vary a lot on noise and heat: check which side of the building faces the street.
• Ask whether the price includes Nebenkosten (utilities and building costs) or whether they're billed separately; it changes the real monthly cost.
• Look at what's nearby: a tram stop a few minutes away matters more in Zürich than a parking spot, since car ownership in the city is low.
• If the flat is sublet or shared, ask about the notice period, since it affects when you can actually move in.

Filter by rooms, size and price above, look through the photos on each listing, and contact the lister directly. Posting a rental here is free, needs no account, and the site works in German, English, French and Italian.