Facility management & building maintenance services in Zurich

Owning or managing a commercial property in Switzerland carries legal obligations that go beyond keeping the building presentable. Several building systems are subject to mandatory periodic inspection, and responsibility sits with the owner or operator — not with the contractor who installed them.

An important note before the detail below. Switzerland is a federal country. Building, fire and safety regulation is set at federal level, then implemented and often tightened at cantonal level, and in some areas refined again by individual communes. Requirements, inspection intervals and how strictly they are enforced can differ from one canton to the next, and sometimes from one commune to its neighbour. What follows is the general national framework. Your actual obligations depend on your building’s use, its canton and commune, and your insurer.

Electrical installations (NIV)

The Low Voltage Installation Ordinance sets inspection intervals according to how a building is used and the hazard it presents. The higher the risk, the shorter the interval.

• Every 20 years — residential buildings
• Every 10 years — offices, workshops, smaller shops, agricultural premises
• Every 5 years — retail stores, restaurants, hotels, schools, care homes, medical practices
• Every 3 years — premises with explosion risk, such as fuel stations, chemical storage and mills

Most commercial offices therefore sit on a ten-year cycle, and hospitality or retail sites on five. Owners are notified by the network operator when an inspection falls due and must arrange it themselves — the deadline does not extend if the notice is ignored.

Fire safety systems (VKF/AEAI)

The Swiss fire safety regulations issued by the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurers have been legally binding since 2015. Owners and users of a building are responsible for keeping fire protection equipment, technical installations and building services operational and ready for use at all times. Buildings with elevated fire risk are additionally subject to periodic prescribed inspections. In practice this covers alarm and detection systems, extinguishers, emergency lighting, escape route integrity and fire doors. Because fire insurance is organised cantonally, the detail of what is inspected and how often varies noticeably between cantons.

Lifts and passenger transport systems

The owner is responsible for the operational safety of a lift. Obligations derive from the Lifts Ordinance, from cantonal building law, and from owner liability under Article 58 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. Servicing intervals are set out in the maintenance instructions the installer is required to supply. For existing lifts, safety is assessed against SIA 370.080, the Swiss implementation of the European SNEL standard. Several cantons make regular professional maintenance an explicit legal duty rather than leaving it to owner discretion.

Drinking water hygiene and Legionella (SVGW)

SVGW Guideline W3 governs the construction, operation and maintenance of building drinking water installations, and W3/E4 sets out the self-monitoring regime operators are required to run. Swiss law treats drinking water as a foodstuff and shower water as a commodity, which is why hot water systems and showers attract particular attention. A maximum value of 1,000 CFU/l applies to Legionella spp. in shower water. Regular sampling and documentation form part of the operator’s self-monitoring duty, and cantonal food safety authorities are responsible for enforcement.

Why this matters for your maintenance contract

These obligations do not pause because a building changed hands or changed managing agent. When we take on a property we establish which inspections apply in that canton and commune, when each was last carried out, and where the documentation sits. Anything overdue is flagged within the first 30 days. Statutory inspections are then built into your planned maintenance calendar so certificates stay current and you can produce them on request.

Because requirements vary between cantons and communes, we confirm your property’s actual obligations during the site assessment rather than assuming a national standard applies.