Buying an apartment or chalet in Villars-sur-Ollon to rent out

A second-home market — but in a different canton

Villars-sur-Ollon is one of the few major Swiss Alpine resorts that is neither in Valais, nor in Bern, nor in Graubünden: it belongs to the municipality of Ollon, district of Aigle, canton of Vaud. For an investor, this distinction is not cosmetic: it changes the applicable legal framework, the counterparties, the reporting obligations and even the question of how many nights you may rent out per year. A buyer applying to Villars what they learned in Verbier or Crans-Montana is in the wrong canton.

The market itself shows the classic features of a second-home resort: the municipality of Ollon has a very high proportion of homes not occupied year-round, well above the 20% cap set by the Lex Weber. The stock mixes traditional chalets, contemporary chalets and condominium residences built during the resort's successive development waves, spread between the centre of Villars, Chesières, Arveyes and Gryon.

Lex Weber at purchase: the check that comes before everything else

Since 2013 the Lex Weber has frozen the construction of new "classic" second homes in municipalities exceeding the 20% cap — which is the case in Ollon. It does not prohibit renting, but it creates two categories of property that a buyer absolutely must be able to tell apart.

On one side, homes built or authorised before the freeze benefit from grandfathered rights: they can be bought, used, resold and rented out freely, including on a short-term basis. On the other, some more recent homes were authorised subject to a tourist-use designation, which on the contrary requires the property to be rented out regularly, sometimes through a specified operating structure. An investor planning to occupy the property for several months a year needs to know which category applies before signing, not after. This check is made in the land register and with the municipality; we carry it out systematically as part of our audit.

The Vaud framework: what a buyer must check in addition

Three specifically Vaud points come on top of the Lex Weber. First, the mandatory notification to the municipality: since the revision of the LEAE came into force on 1 July 2022, every host must notify the municipal authorities before the first night and keep a register of their guests. Second, the 90-day rule: beyond 90 days of rental per calendar year through a platform, a change-of-use permit may be required — but only in districts facing a housing shortage. And the Council of State's decree of 17 December 2025, applicable to 2026, does not subject the district of Aigle to Title II of the LPPPL: there is therefore no cap on nights in Villars this year, unlike the neighbouring district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut. Third, a municipal permit under art. 103 LATC may also be required.

For an investor, the first point is a competitive advantage worth knowing, but it comes with an important caveat: the decree is reissued every year and the district's status may change. A business case built on very high occupancy must therefore treat this as a risk to monitor, not as a permanent given. We set out the full framework in our guide to short-term rental regulations in Villars.

What really drives rental income in Villars

Villars' economic particularity lies in its three demand drivers, not one. The first is skiing: the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets ski area, complemented by access to Glacier 3000, secures a classic winter high season. The second is summer, which is genuinely substantial here rather than residual: an 18-hole golf course, hiking to Bretaye and Lac des Chavonnes, mountain biking, paragliding, families. The third, and the most distinctive, is the international-school clientele — Aiglon College, Collège Beau Soleil, Les Elfes — whose families return several times a year for exeats and school events, book long in advance and recommend properties to one another.

Add to that the proximity of the Lake Geneva region: Geneva and Lausanne about an hour and a half away, the Vaud Riviera just below, a road open all year and a Bex–Villars rail link. This feeds a steady flow of short stays, including outside school holidays. For an investor the conclusion is clear: in Villars, you are not buying a season, you are buying a year. A property that only works in winter is a badly chosen or badly operated property.

Where to buy: Villars centre, Chesières, Arveyes or Gryon?

The centre of Villars and the Grand Hôtel quarter offer the best year-round occupancy: shops within walking distance, the Roc d'Orsay gondola and the Bretaye train station nearby. This is the area for two- to three-room apartments aimed at Lake Geneva weekends and families on ski stays — the easiest properties to rent all year and the simplest to operate logistically.

Chesières, home of Aiglon College, is the natural area for family chalets targeting the school clientele: three- to four-bedroom properties capture recurring, relatively price-insensitive demand. Arveyes offers a balcony position and a more residential character, prized for chalets with a view. Gryon / La Barboleuse, on the other slope, generally offers more accessible entry prices and direct access to the ski area, with a slightly more family-oriented and sporty clientele. The right choice depends less on the prestige of the area than on the match between the type of property and the clientele you are targeting.

Buying as a non-resident: Lex Koller and condominium rules

Villars has long attracted an international clientele, not least through the schools. If you are not domiciled in Switzerland, the Lex Koller governs the acquisition of real estate by persons abroad: depending on your status and the property concerned, a permit may be required, cantonal quotas apply, and restrictions on floor area or resale may exist. This must be checked very early on, with a notary, as it determines the very feasibility of the project — and sometimes an obligation to rent the property out.

A second, frequently neglected check: the condominium rules. A large share of the housing stock in Villars and Chesières is held in condominium (PPE), and some rules regulate or restrict short-term rental, the installation of access devices on common parts, or the use of the ski room and parking. Reading the rules before making an offer costs an hour; discovering them after the purchase can cost a season.

From viewing to first booking: how we support you

We step in at two moments. Before the purchase, we analyse the property from a rental-yield perspective: Lex Weber status, applicable Vaud framework, condominium constraints, realistic potential given the area, the number of bedrooms and the target clientele. That is the purpose of our purchase support, which spares you from discovering after signing that a property cannot be operated the way you imagined.

After the purchase, we take the property under management: compliance and notification to the municipality of Ollon, furnishing and equipment, professional photography, listing creation and distribution, dynamic pricing aligned with school exeats and both seasons, 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. Everything is described on the page of our concierge service in Villars-sur-Ollon.

Further reading