For Brokers: Disclosure Duty and Property File
Anyone selling a property is liable for defects they knew about or should have known about — the disclosure duty applies to sellers and brokers alike. A source-cited property file that gathers the official register facts about a property shows early what is publicly known, and protects against a later claim that something was concealed.
This page explains publicly accessible registers and does not constitute tax, legal, construction, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for legal or tax questions.
For real-property sale contracts concluded from 1 January 2026, the five-year limitation period for defect (warranty) rights can no longer be shortened to the buyer's disadvantage. Sellers and brokers who work from an early, source-cited property file reduce the risk that a concealed defect becomes a dispute years later.
The selling party must proactively disclose known, non-obvious defects. Under Art. 219 CO, the seller of real property is liable for defects unless warranty was expressly excluded — and knowingly concealing a defect can void that exclusion.
Source: CO, Art. 219 et seq. (Fedlex)
For real-property sale contracts concluded from 1 January 2026, the five-year limitation period for defect rights can no longer be shortened to the buyer's disadvantage. An early, source-cited property file becomes more valuable for the selling side as a result.
Source: CO, Art. 219 et seq. (Fedlex)
A property file gathers the official facts about a property — RegBL building data, the PLR extract, parcel boundaries, and, where ordered, the land-register extract with its easements — each cited against its official source. It replaces neither the official land-register extract nor legal advice; it shows early what is publicly known about the property at a change of ownership.
Source: CC, Art. 942 et seq. (Fedlex) · Glossary: Change of Ownership
Every fact in an alpflo report carries exactly one of these states — so you can see at a glance what's documented and what isn't.
Confirmed in an official Swiss register. Direct source.
Register queried; nothing on this parcel. The absence is documented.
Derived from a model or an API: real, but not directly from the register. Please verify.
Hit an edge case. Stated honestly at the boundary, never silently discarded.
What happens if a defect is concealed?
Concealing a known, non-obvious defect risks a finding of fraudulent misrepresentation — an agreed warranty exclusion in the contract then no longer protects the seller, and the buyer can assert claims even after the ordinary limitation period.
Does the disclosure duty apply to brokers too?
A broker acts on the seller's behalf and must not conceal or embellish a known defect. Any information a broker states about a property should be traceable to its official register source.
What changes for contracts concluded from 2026?
For real-property sale contracts concluded from 1 January 2026, the five-year limitation period for defect rights can no longer be shortened to the buyer's disadvantage — a contractual clause providing a shorter period is no longer effective for those contracts.
Does a property file replace the land-register extract?
No. A property file gathers public register facts with their sources, but replaces neither the official, certified land-register extract nor legal advice on warranty.
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