The dossier that wins you the apartment.
Profile, documents, affordability score, a flawless German cover letter and a print-ready PDF — assembled into the one application Zürich property managers actually want to read. Built for expats.
No account needed to start — free, and no credit card.
Marco Rossi
Software Engineer · Permit B · Italy
88 / 100 · Rent ceiling CHF 3'150/mo at 33% of income
„Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, mit grossem Interesse bewerbe ich mich um die 3.5-Zimmer-Wohnung an der Seestrasse…“
< 0.1%
Vacancy rate, city of Zürich
100+
Applications per popular listing
⅓
Of income — the Swiss rent rule
3 mo.
Max age of a Betreibungsauszug
Why your file wins the five-second skim
In Zürich, 100 people apply for the same flat and the agent reads almost none of them — they triage in seconds and shortlist the few files with no loose ends. ZüriKey makes you that file: complete, clearly affordable, and effortless to say yes to.
Survive the skim
The agent gives your file seconds before deciding which pile it lands in. ZüriKey builds the dossier that reads complete, affordable and trustworthy on sight — so you land on the shortlist, not in the bin.
Nothing left to chase
Your deposit guarantee and your liability and household insurance are already arranged and shown inside the file. The agent has nothing to follow up — that makes you the lowest-effort yes on the pile.
Your numbers do the talking
A clean affordability score proves, in black and white, that you clear the rent on the Swiss one-third rule. The question “can this tenant pay?” is answered before it is asked.
German like a local wrote it
A native-quality Bewerbungsschreiben, written the way a Swiss agent expects. The part most expats can’t do becomes the part that makes you look settled and serious.
You read as already sorted
One indexed, unmistakably-Swiss PDF, readable in under a minute. Not a hopeful applicant — a low-risk adult who has clearly already handled it.
Every ZüriKey file arrives complete and affordable on paper, with the German letter, deposit guarantee and insurance already sorted. Nothing to verify, nothing to chase — the lowest-risk tenant in the stack, ready to shortlist in seconds.
Six steps to a dossier that stands out.
No templates to wrestle, no German to second-guess. The engine turns scattered paperwork into a single, confident application.
Start building — it's free- 01
Build your profile
Who you are, your job, your income, your permit and your household — guided, one field at a time.
- 02
Gather your documents
Tick off your ID, payslips, employment contract and Betreibungsauszug. We flag exactly what's still missing.
- 03
Set your preferences
Where in Zürich, how many rooms, your budget and move-in date — so the dossier speaks to the right flat.
- 04
Get your affordability score
See your application through a landlord's eyes: a strength rating and the exact rent ceiling you qualify for.
- 05
Generate the German letter
A formal, flawless Bewerbungsschreiben written in proper Swiss German — tailored to your story.
- 06
Send it in one move
Export a print-ready PDF dossier and a ready-to-paste e-mail to the Verwaltung. Done.
Everything that makes a Swiss landlord say yes.
Each feature is built around one question a Verwaltung silently asks: can we trust this tenant?
Affordability score
See your file the way a property manager does — a strength rating and the precise monthly rent ceiling you qualify for under the one-third rule.
German cover-letter generator
A formal Bewerbungsschreiben in proper Swiss German, tailored to your profile and the flat — the part most expats can't write themselves.
„…verfüge ich über ein unbefristetes Arbeitsverhältnis und ein geregeltes Einkommen.“
One-click PDF dossier
A clean, indexed, unmistakably Swiss PDF — readable in 30 seconds.
Application tracker
Every flat you apply to: sent, viewing, shortlisted, accepted.
Document alerts
Your Betreibungsauszug expires in 3 months. We remind you before it does.
Co-tenant mode
Couples and flatshares: combine two incomes into one stronger file.
Landlord-ready format
Structured exactly the way Zürich Verwaltungen expect — same order, same fields, every time. No guessing what to attach.
Private by design
Your IDs, payslips and debt-collection extract are encrypted and visible only to you — kept in your browser until you sign in, then stored in your private EU (Frankfurt) account. Shared only with the landlords you choose.
Build for free. Pay only when you're ready to send.
No subscription. You assemble the whole dossier and see your score at no cost — you only pay, once, to export and send the finished file.
Build
The full engine. Build your entire dossier and see your score — no card needed.
- Guided multi-step builder
- Affordability score & rent ceiling
- German cover letter preview
- Watermarked dossier preview
Unlock
Everything you need to send a winning application today.
- Print-ready PDF dossier (no watermark)
- Final German cover letter
- Ready-to-paste Verwaltung e-mail
- Application tracker & document alerts
Done for you
Don't want to deal with the forms — or helping a parent who can't? We build your whole dossier with you, by phone or e-mail.
- We complete the entire dossier for you
- A personal call — we gather everything you need
- Native German cover letter, written for you
- Ideal if you're not comfortable doing it online
Concierge
We run the entire search, viewings and applications for you. Nothing upfront — just a success fee when you have the keys.
- Nothing to pay until you sign
- Off-market & Hauswart network
- Viewings + 4K video on your behalf
- We keep going until you're in
Prices in Swiss francs · One-time, per dossier · Concierge billed after a free intro call
You're handing over your most sensitive papers. We treat them that way.
IDs, payslips, a debt-collection extract — this is exactly the data Swiss law protects most strictly. Privacy isn't a footer here; it's the architecture.
Read the full privacy approachPrivate by default
Anonymous drafts stay in your browser. Once you create an account, your documents are encrypted and stored on our EU (Frankfurt) servers — accessible only to you.
Encrypted when sent
Any data you do transmit travels over encrypted connections, handled under appropriate technical safeguards.
Delete in one click
It's your data. Wipe everything from this device instantly, any time — no account, no trace left behind.
Swiss data law (nFADP)
Built around the revised Federal Act on Data Protection in force since 1 September 2023.
Straight answers.
The questions every expat asks before trusting a service with their paperwork.
Do you guarantee I'll get the apartment?
No one honestly can — the final call is the landlord's. What we guarantee is that your application is complete, correct, affordable on paper and effortless to read, which is exactly what gets you onto the shortlist instead of the reject pile.
What documents do I actually need?
Typically a passport or ID, your residence permit, your last three payslips, your employment contract, a recent Betreibungsauszug (debt-collection extract, ideally under three months old) and a reference from a previous landlord. The builder tells you exactly what's required and flags what's missing.
Is the German cover letter genuinely good?
Yes. It's written in formal, correct Swiss-standard German, structured the way property managers expect, and tailored to your profile and the flat. On Premium, a human reviews and personalises it before you send.
What happens to my personal data?
Anonymous drafts stay in your browser. When you create an account, your documents are encrypted and stored privately in the EU (Frankfurt) so you can return to them — only you can access them, and we never sell or share your data. You can delete your data, or your whole account, at any time. We build around the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP).
Can my partner and I apply together?
Yes. Co-tenant mode combines two applicants and two incomes into a single, stronger file — ideal for couples and flatshares, since two salaries lift your affordability score.
How does payment work?
Building your dossier and seeing your score is completely free. You only pay once — a one-time fee — when you're ready to export the print-ready PDF and send it. No subscription.
Which areas do you cover?
We're focused on the city of Zürich and Winterthur first, with the wider Greater Zürich area (including Zug) supported. The dossier itself works for any Swiss application.
Be the easy yes.
Build a dossier so clear and complete that choosing you is the simplest decision the landlord makes all week. Free to start.