Second Home in Geneva: Definition, Lex Weber, Taxes and Reform
In Geneva, the term “second home” covers two realities that do not overlap: a status under federal construction law, and a tax treatment.
On 31 March 2026, the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) published the housing inventory, which records 14.15 % of non-main residences for Geneva. The threshold beyond which the construction of new second homes is closed is set at 20 %, commune by commune.
This article covers both: what federal law still allows to be built in the canton, what distinguishes this type of property from a main residence, its annual tax cost, the federal reform of the rental value and the notification to the canton.
What is a second home in Geneva?
A second home in Geneva is any dwelling that is neither a main residence nor a dwelling treated as a main residence (art. 2 para. 4 of the Federal Act on Second Homes, LRS).
Two definitions coexist without overlapping.
Construction law, which is used to calculate each commune's share from the federal register of buildings and dwellings, treats as a main residence the dwelling where at least one occupant has their commune of settlement (art. 2 para. 2 LRS); the tax authority looks at who the property is reserved for: the Geneva tax administration taxes the rental value of properties whose owner reserves the use for themselves, or which are available to their relatives.
A single criterion separates them: construction law follows registration with the residents' register, while the tax authority follows the reservation of use, which an empty dwelling does not undo.
The diagram below lines up the three qualifications of article 2, each with its criterion and its paragraph; only the last counts in the commune's share.
In construction law, the three borderline cases are settled; the tax authority sticks to the reservation of use.
- Dwelling left empty: treated as a main residence if it remains vacant for two years at most, is habitable and is offered for long-term rental or for sale; a second home beyond that (art. 2 para. 3 let. d LRS).
- Dwelling lent to a relative: a main residence if that relative is settled in the commune, a second home otherwise.
- Pied-à-terre occupied during the week for work: treated as a main residence, as a dwelling occupied on a lasting basis for gainful activity (art. 2 para. 3 let. a LRS).
Can you still build a second home in Geneva?
Yes, you can still build a second home in Geneva: no Geneva commune is affected by the restrictive provisions of the Federal Act on Second Homes (LRS). Geneva planning rules and the building permit continue to apply.
The LRS, known as the Lex Weber, prohibits any new second home in communes where the proportion exceeds 20 %, and blocks any permit that would push a commune currently below that threshold over it (art. 6 para. 1 LRS).
What the law says (art. 75b para. 1 Cst.): “No more than 20 per cent of the total stock of residential units and the gross residential floor area in any commune may be used as second homes.”
The proportion results from the annual housing inventory that each commune draws up, a commune that fails to submit it on time being deemed to exceed 20 % (art. 4 and 5 LRS).
The chart ranks the twelve Geneva communes closest to the 20 % threshold; Céligny, at the top and the only one above it, is highlighted.
According to the ARE housing inventory published on 31 March 2026, none of the 45 Geneva communes is classified as subject to the restrictions. At 20.22 %, Céligny shows the only excess in the canton and is for that reason the subject of a verification procedure, the outcome of which is due by the end of October 2026 at the latest.
If the rate persists, the commune becomes subject to the restrictions and no new second home can be built there. Just below the limit come Jussy (19.72 %), Cologny (19.23 %) and Choulex (19.21 %).
Main or second home: what changes in Geneva?
What changes in Geneva between a main and a second home is the tax treatment on purchase, access to pension funds, the level of equity required, the resale regime and purchase by a person living abroad.
Five points separate the two statuses, the Casatax amounts used being those in force since 1 March 2026.
| What is at stake | Main residence | Second home |
|---|---|---|
| 3 % registration duties | Casatax: CHF 20,924 reduction, transaction capped at CHF 1,394,928 | No reduction |
| Pension assets as equity | Early withdrawal allowed | 2nd pillar and pillar 3a excluded |
| Equity required by banks | 10 % minimum excluding the 2nd pillar | No regulatory minimum; banks rarely go beyond 60 to 66 % of the value |
| Resale and reinvestment of the profit | Real estate profit and capital gains tax (IBGI) refunded in case of reinvestment | IBGI of 2 to 50 %, with no reinvestment possible |
| Acquisition by a person abroad | No authorisation needed | Authorisation mandatory (Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad, LFAIE) |
The equity requirement weighs the most: the exclusion of the 2nd pillar and pillar 3a (art. 4 para. 1 OEPL; art. 3 paras. 3 and 5 OPP 3) obliges the buyer of a second home to assemble all of their equity outside pension funds.
How much does a second home in Geneva cost each year?
A second home in Geneva costs its owner three taxes each year, the amount of which varies with the tax value of the property: income tax through the rental value, the supplementary property tax and wealth tax.
According to the cantonal tax administration, the rental value is added to the owner's taxable income. Even when left empty all year, a dwelling remains subject to it.
The supplementary property tax applies to the tax value of the property, with no deduction for mortgage debts. Its rate is 1 ‰ for an individual, far from the 0.2 ‰ borne by a main residence (art. 76 paras. 1 and 5 of the General Act on Public Contributions).
The person liable on 31 December is the one entered in the land register as owner or usufructuary. For a property valued at CHF 1 million, this tax alone comes to CHF 1,000 a year, against CHF 200 for a main residence.
The diagram shows the three taxes and the two bases that carry them, the supplementary property tax being the only one whose rate is displayed.
That same tax value underpins the taxable wealth, but reduced by 4 % per year of continuous occupation, up to 40 %, an allowance ignored by the supplementary property tax. The way it is set is what makes Geneva distinctive: for a villa or a condominium (PPE) that has been purchased, it is the purchase price, indexed each year by cantonal regulation, at +2.18 % for 2026.
A Geneva taxpayer who holds real estate in another canton pays tax at the location of the property, but the canton of Geneva still raises their rate, because it applies to total income and total wealth. Under the federal reform accepted in 2025, the first of these three taxes is set to disappear.
What changes with the end of the rental value
Applied to second homes, the abolition of the rental value removes the notional income, but leaves each canton free to levy in its place a specific cantonal property tax.
At its meeting of 1 April 2026, the Federal Council set 1 January 2029 as the date of entry into force of the Federal Decree on the cantonal property tax on second homes of 20 December 2024, accepted by the people and the cantons on 28 September 2025.
The timeline places this milestone within the full regime, from the 2012 vote to the 2029 deadline, the only stage still to come and shown as a dotted line.
From tax period 2029, owner-occupied dwellings are no longer taxed on their rental value, and the deduction for maintenance costs falls away unless the dwellings are let or leased.
The cantonal property tax on second homes, for its part, remains optional: article 127 paragraph 2bis of the Constitution only allows cantons to depart from the principles of taxation in order to tax second homes used essentially for personal purposes, without obliging them to, and no provision of the General Act on Public Contributions introduces it in Geneva to date.
What the second home status means in daily life
The second home status binds the owner well beyond the purchase deed. Federal law reserves a special regime for dwellings created before 11 March 2012, and the rental value is estimated by the Geneva tax administration. Any extended stay in the dwelling must be declared to the canton.
What exceptions does the law provide for existing dwellings?
The exceptions that federal law provides for existing dwellings, those under the former law, are free use of the works and the enlargement of the main usable floor area, their mode of occupation remaining free subject to the restrictions of cantonal or communal law (art. 11 para. 1 LRS).
The distinction only has an effect in a commune subject to the 20 % threshold. Inherited from the Lex Weber initiative accepted on 11 March 2012, this regime covers the dwelling created before that date or definitively authorised at that time (art. 10 LRS).
- Free use of the works: renovation, conversion, demolition and reconstruction are subject to no restriction on use (art. 11 para. 2 LRS).
- Enlargement of the main usable floor area: up to 30 % of that existing on 11 March 2012, in a building zone, combinable with demolition and reconstruction since 1 October 2024 (art. 11 para. 2 LRS).
How is the rental value of a second home set?
The rental value of a second home is set by the cantonal tax administration according to local conditions (art. 24 para. 2 of the Geneva Act on the Taxation of Individuals [LIPP]).
The theoretical rent follows the living area and the number of rooms, then the age and location of the dwelling, which the duration of continuous occupation of the property then weights, a weighting not to be confused with the allowance applied to the tax value.
The owner finds the rental value in the letter the administration sends before 31 March each year; a questionnaire intended for owners of apartments and villas updates it after an acquisition or works.
Do you have to notify the canton about a second home?
No, you do not have to notify the canton in order to hold a second home in Geneva: only the person who stays there must do so.
A Swiss citizen not domiciled in the canton must notify their arrival in order to settle, stay or take up gainful activity, with the commune or the cantonal population and migration office (OCPM) within 14 days of arrival (art. 1 para. 2 of the Geneva Act on the Residence and Settlement of Confederates, LSEC).
A stay not exceeding 3 months per calendar year exempts them (art. 2 LSEC). A foreign national notifies the OCPM, which issues the residence certificate.