The builder’s lien is the sharpest weapon Swiss law gives trade businesses against non-payment on a construction site: your claim is registered as a lien in the land register, on the property you worked on. But the deadline is short, and whoever misses it loses the right for good.
The essentials at a glance
- Legal basis: Art. 837 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB).
- Who: tradespeople and contractors who supplied materials and labour, or labour alone, on a property (new build, conversion, renovation, sometimes also demolition work).
- Deadline: the entry must be made in the land register within four months of completing the work. Not just applied for, but entered: factor in the time the court process takes and act weeks before the deadline expires.
- Applies to subcontractors too: the lien exists against the property owner even if your contract partner was the general contractor. That is exactly what it was created for: if the general contractor goes bankrupt, the property is on the hook.
- Averting it: the owner can avert the entry by providing sufficient security, such as a bank guarantee. Even then you have achieved your goal: the claim is secured.
How the entry process works
- Document the claim: contract or quote, work reports, invoices. The cleaner the paperwork, the faster the process.
- Petition to the court at the location of the property for provisional entry of the lien. If the deadline is about to expire, this can be done on an ex parte basis, meaning without hearing the other side, often within days.
- Land register entry: with the court order, the lien is provisionally noted. This preserves the deadline.
- Final entry or settlement: afterwards the claim is clarified; very often payment or security is provided beforehand, because a lien in the land register is extremely unwelcome for owners and banks.
For the petition, legal support is advisable; with a clear paper trail the effort is manageable and stands in good proportion to the secured claim.
When you should think about the lien
- The general contractor pays slowly or not at all while construction continues.
- Rumours are circulating about your client’s payment difficulties.
- A large final invoice is outstanding and the payment reminders go nowhere.
- You finish the work on a property: from now on the four-month clock is running. Note the deadline date.
The builder’s lien deadline calculator works out the date for you (German).
The most common mistake is simply losing track of time: you send reminders, wait, phone around, and suddenly the four months are up. So keep your outstanding invoices organised so that age and project end date are visible at a glance. In MeisterOffice the invoice list shows at any time which invoices are open and which are overdue, so you can escalate in time rather than too late.
Frequently asked questions
When is the work considered completed? What counts is the completion of the actual contracted work on the property. Minor remaining tasks or warranty work do not push the deadline back indefinitely. When in doubt: assume the earlier date and do not push the deadline to its limit.
Does the entry cost me anything if I get paid in the end after all? Court costs and possibly legal fees apply; depending on the outcome, the other side bears them in whole or in part. Measured against the risk of a total loss, this is usually money well spent.
Can I contract the lien away in advance? A tradesperson cannot validly waive the lien in advance. So do not let anyone tell you that you “waived it in the contract”.