Updated August 2026
A village house to renovate often looks like a bargain: until you discover it is listed, that the windows must stay timber, and that the heat pump cannot go on the façade. None of this is fatal, but all of it is checked before the offer, not after the deed.
1. What requires a permit
As a rule, anything affecting the envelope or the volume: façades, roof, windows, new openings, conservatories, solar panels, outdoor heat pumps. Conversely, what stays inside without touching the structure, kitchen, bathrooms, finishes, usually needs no formality. In between, municipal rules vary: a call to the municipal technical office costs ten minutes and saves months.
2. The architectural survey rating
The canton assigns every older building a survey rating. The higher ratings carry protection, and works then go through the competent cantonal office, with precise requirements on materials, colours and proportions. That rating can be checked before buying: it radically changes the budget for a façade or window renovation.
3. The timeline to expect
A permit application goes to public enquiry, generally thirty days, during which neighbours may object. Without objections, allow a few months between filing and permit. With objections, the duration becomes unpredictable. A project involving heavy works must build that calendar into its financing: interest runs while you wait.
4. Energy subsidies
The canton supports insulation, replacing fossil-fuel heating and installing heat pumps or solar thermal systems. Amounts and conditions change from year to year, but one principle holds: the application is filed BEFORE work starts. An invoice paid before approval earns nothing, however good the project.
5. What counts on resale
Value-adding work: that which improves the property beyond its original state, is deducted from the taxable gain on a future sale. Routine maintenance is not. The distinction rests on the invoices: keep every one, filed and itemised. It is the least glamorous part of a renovation and the one that pays best, sometimes years later.
Frequently asked questions
- Can work start as soon as the deed is signed?
- Only work that needs no permit. Starting permit-bound work without one exposes you to a stop-work order, restoration at your expense and a fine. An architect or the municipality will tell you in a single visit which is which.
- Can a protected building be insulated?
- Often yes, but from the inside rather than the outside, which costs more and reduces floor area. Some solutions: insulating under the roof, replacing glazing within retained frames, are generally accepted. The cantonal office rules case by case, and a preliminary opinion avoids drawing up an inadmissible project.
- Do you need an architect?
- The law does not require one in every case, but a badly assembled application produces back-and-forth that costs more than the fee. For a listed building or work touching the structure, it is unavoidable in practice.
A question about your own situation?
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