Andermatt and Lex Koller: the one exception to Switzerland’s foreign-buyer rules, and how it works

Switzerland is the most closed of the markets we cover: a foreigner's purchase of a home is restricted by a federal law known as Lex Koller, and permits are issued by the cantons under an annual quota. There is exactly one notable exception worth knowing about — the Andermatt resort in the canton of Uri.

What the exception is

Andermatt is an old military garrison village in the central Alps that by the early 2000s was losing both population and economy. The state took an unusual step: the integrated resort development was granted a special regime that lifts the usual restrictions on foreign purchase for homes inside the project. The logic was simple — a resort of that scale could not be built in a declining valley without foreign capital.

• Homes inside the project are sold to non-residents with no cantonal quota and no ordinary permit.
• The exception attaches to the project, not the region: the neighbouring village lives under the general rules.
• It covers acquisition only. Other restrictions — on use, letting and upkeep — are set by the project's own terms and by Swiss law.

What stands behind it

The resort was built as a single master plan: hotels, apartments, a golf course, ski lifts and a ski area linked with the neighbouring valley. Rail connections and tunnels make the valley accessible all year round, not just in season. For a buyer this means the property is acquired not simply "in the mountains" but inside a managed environment with shared infrastructure and shared rules.

What it changes for a foreign buyer

• Access. It is effectively the only way to buy a Swiss home without going through the quota and cantonal approval.
• Liquidity within a narrow circle. Buyers of Alpine property are few, and you will be selling to another foreigner or to a Swiss buyer.
• Letting. The general Swiss principle is that a non-resident buys a home for their own holidays, not as an income property; the specific letting terms inside the project are governed by its rules and by the contract with the management company.
• Running costs. Upkeep in a closed resort master plan is high and is paid all year round.

How to see it

Andermatt is not a loophole in the law but an exception the state created deliberately, for a specific regional development goal. It suits someone who wants a Swiss address and an Alpine home for the family and is prepared to treat it as a place rather than an income instrument. Switzerland does not work for a rental model at all — neither here nor anywhere else in the country.

Based on the Swiss federal law on the acquisition of real estate by persons abroad and the terms of the special development regime for the Andermatt resort.