Buying a chalet in Gstaad or Rougemont to let it

One valley, two cantons: the first question to ask the estate agent

On a tourist map, the Saanenland and the Pays-d'Enhaut form a continuum: the same lifts, the same railway line, the same landscape of aged-timber chalets, a quarter of an hour by road between Gstaad and Rougemont. On an administrative map, there is a cantonal border down the middle. Gstaad, Saanen, Schönried and Saanenmöser belong to the municipality of Saanen, canton of Bern; Rougemont is in Vaud, in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.

For a buyer, that border is not a picturesque detail: it determines the applicable law, the competent authority, the notification duties, how tourism levies are collected and - the heaviest point of all - whether or not there is a cap on the number of nights you may let per year. Two comparable chalets, a few kilometres apart, can therefore fall under two different operating logics. The first question to ask is not "what is the price per square metre" but "which municipality and which canton does this property belong to".

Buying in Rougemont: the 90-day parameter belongs in the business plan

On the Vaud side, an investor must factor in a parameter many discover too late. Vaud law provides that beyond 90 rental days per calendar year via a platform, a change-of-use permit is required (art. 15 RLPPPL). That rule only applies, however, in districts affected by the housing shortage, listed each year by a Council of State decree. And the decree of 17 December 2025, applicable to 2026, lists the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut among the districts in shortage. In Rougemont, therefore, the 90-day rule genuinely applies this year.

This is exactly the opposite of a resort such as Villars-sur-Ollon, which belongs to the district of Aigle, not subject to Title II of the LPPPL for 2026. Two Vaud resorts, two regimes: we set out the Aigle case in our guide to regulations in Villars-sur-Ollon. For a buyer comparing several Vaud resorts, that contrast is worth more than any sales pitch: it directly changes the number of nights you can sell.

The cap is not a foregone conclusion, however, because the LPPPL provides for exceptions (art. 3 LPPPL) that fit the Rougemont housing stock remarkably well: a dwelling last occupied by the owner or by a close relative, a building with no more than two dwellings, or a net habitable area of 150 m² or more. A good-sized detached chalet, typical of the municipality, frequently falls into one of those categories. But it has to be verified before signing, not after building a forecast on high annual occupancy. The full detail is on our page on regulations in Gstaad-Rougemont.

Buying on the Bern side: a distinct framework, to be clarified with the municipality of Saanen

On the Saanen side, the reasoning must start again from scratch. The LPPPL, the LEAE and the LATC are cantonal Vaud laws: they have no effect in the canton of Bern. It would therefore be wrong to transpose the 90-day rule or the LEAE notification mechanically to a chalet in Gstaad or Schönried. Symmetrically, it would be just as wrong to conclude that no obligation exists on the Bern side: the rules applicable to short-term letting fall to the municipality of Saanen and its regulations in force, and it is with them that they must be clarified, property by property, before purchase.

What can be stated, because the canton of Bern publishes it itself, is the structure of tourism levies the buyer will have to bear. It has three tiers: the cantonal accommodation levy (Beherbergungsabgabe), one franc per night for every person over 16, expressly applicable to holiday apartments; the tourist tax (Kurtaxe), which municipalities with a high share of tourism may levy on the basis of a municipal regulation, with the option of a compulsory flat rate for holiday apartments; and the tourism promotion levy (Tourismusförderungsabgabe), which targets businesses and self-employed people deriving substantial benefit from tourism. For Gstaad, the tourist tax is levied on the basis of the regulations of the municipalities of Saanen, Lauenen, Gsteig and Zweisimmen, and Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus handles it on their behalf. We set out that mechanism on our page on the tourist tax in Gstaad-Rougemont.

Lex Weber and Lex Koller: the two federal texts to check before offering

Lex Weber is the only text genuinely common to both sides: it is federal and has, since 2013, frozen the construction of new "classic" second homes in municipalities exceeding the 20% threshold. It does not prohibit letting, but it creates two categories of property a buyer must be able to tell apart. On one hand, dwellings built or authorised before the freeze benefit from acquired rights: they can be bought, occupied, resold and let freely, including on short stays. On the other, certain more recent dwellings were authorised subject to a tourist use restriction, which on the contrary requires regular letting, sometimes under set terms. A buyer planning to occupy their chalet for several weeks each season must know which category applies before signing. That check is made at the land registry and with the relevant municipality.

The second federal text, Lex Koller, is particularly relevant here: the Saanenland has long attracted an international clientele, and a notable share of owners do not live in Switzerland. Depending on the buyer's status and the nature of the property, a permit may be required, quotas apply and restrictions on floor area or resale may exist. Since quotas and application practice are cantonal, the answer may differ between a Bernese file and a Vaud one: all the more reason to have the point clarified by a notary very early, before even the decisive viewing.

What really drives rental income in the Saanenland

The yield driver in this destination is not the volume of nights: it is positioning. The market is premium, the chalet stock is high-end, and the guests who come here weigh quality and discretion long before they weigh price. They are also remarkably loyal: many families come back every season, on the same dates, to the same chalet, and book far in advance. A property that settles into that circuit fills up by renewal rather than by prospecting - which is infinitely more profitable, and infinitely more fragile if quality drops a notch.

The second driver is the double season. Winter remains the obvious high season, but summer here has real substance - hiking, cycling, and an events programme that attracts guests who do not ski. An investor building a plan on winter alone structurally under-uses the property. A third driver, quieter but very real, is accessibility. The valley is reached by road and by rail - the MOB line serves Rougemont, Saanen, Gstaad, Schönried and Saanenmöser - which makes car-free stays credible and opens the property to an international clientele arriving by train. A useful detail for the listing: the guest card issued on the Bern side covers a public transport area which, according to Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus, extends as far as Rougemont - the cantonal border does not cut the guest experience in two, only the owner's.

Where to buy: Gstaad, Saanen, Schönried, Saanenmöser or Rougemont?

Gstaad concentrates the international profile, the shops, the luxury hotels and most of the valley's social life. It is the sector where demand is least elastic and where foreign buyers project themselves most spontaneously - but also where the entry ticket is highest and the demand for finish absolute. Saanen, close by, offers a calmer village character with the same rail service and the same municipal status. Schönried and Saanenmöser, higher up, play the ski-in card and more reliable snow, with a slightly more sporting family clientele.

Rougemont, finally, offers a wholly different story: an authentic French-speaking Vaud village, quieter, with a traditional built fabric and an atmosphere that appeals precisely to travellers put off by Gstaad's social scene - while remaining minutes from the same ski area and the same railway line. For some investors it is the most interesting trade-off in the valley: benefiting from the destination's reputation without paying its full price, provided the applicable Vaud regime has been checked in advance. The right choice does not depend on a sector's prestige, but on the fit between the type of property, the target clientele and the legal framework of the side concerned.

From viewing to first booking: how we support you

We step in at two moments. Before purchase, we analyse the property from a rental yield standpoint: side of the valley and municipality, applicable cantonal regime, Lex Weber status at the land registry, any LPPPL exceptions if the property is in Vaud, condominium constraints, and realistic potential given the number of bedrooms and the target clientele. That is the purpose of our purchase assistance, which avoids discovering after signing that a chalet cannot be operated as imagined.

After purchase, we take the property under management: compliance with the right authority - the municipality of Rougemont on the Vaud side, the municipality of Saanen and Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus on the Bern side - furnishing and staging, professional photography, creation and distribution of listings, pricing tuned to both seasons and to the valley's events, cleaning, guest welcome and maintenance. Our commission is 25% of the net amount collected after deduction of platform fees, transaction fees and cleaning - the latter being charged to the guest. It is all described on the page of our concierge service in Gstaad-Rougemont.

This information is provided for guidance and reflects the state of the legal framework at the time of writing. Cantonal legislation and municipal practice evolve - the Vaud decree on districts in shortage is notably reissued every year. For any specific situation, refer to the relevant municipality, to a notary or to legal counsel.

Further reading