Selling an inherited house when heirs disagree

Yes. A community of heirs acts unanimously – for selling, taking over and renting out. That is exactly why we start with individual conversations and one figure everyone can accept, not with a mandate.

First, decide whether to accept the inheritance at all. You can renounce it within three months, for example if debts are a concern (Swiss Civil Code, Articles 566 and 567). For statutory heirs, the deadline starts when they learn of the death; for heirs named in a will, on official notice of it. If you let the deadline pass, the inheritance usually counts as accepted, including any debts of the estate (Article 571). After that comes the certificate of inheritance, then registration in the land register – more in the next question.

As a rule, once two conditions are met: all heirs agree, and all are listed in the land register (Grundbuch), the official record of ownership. For that you need a certificate of inheritance (Erbbescheinigung), an official document showing who inherits. You own the house from the day of death. But you can transfer it to a buyer only after your own registration (Swiss Civil Code, Articles 560 and 656(2)).

Usually someone blocks because they feel passed over or have a different figure in mind. A neutral, written valuation solves the second point; the individual conversation often solves the first. If that is not enough, we recommend mediation – and we say so openly.

A genuine block on selling is the exception. A will can attach burdens or conditions, which anyone with an interest may require to be carried out (Swiss Civil Code, Article 482). It can also leave a person a right of residence or a usufruct (Articles 484, 745 and 776). That is the right to live in the house or draw its income. A registered right remains after a sale until it is deleted, for example after a waiver or the holder’s death (Article 748). If the will names an executor, that person carries out the division (Article 518). If only a single co-heir objects instead, the division remains enforceable.

Based on the market value, minus the outstanding mortgage and any latent taxes, divided by inheritance share. Our valuation delivers exactly this figure – derived in writing, as the basis for the conversation with the bank.

Usually through a higher mortgage on the house you take over, topped up with your own savings. Without the bank’s consent, paid-out siblings stay liable for the mortgage, usually up to five years after the division (Swiss Civil Code, Article 639). For how the payout per sibling is calculated in Switzerland, see our page Taking over the parents’ house, paying out siblings.

Not the inheritance itself – the tax is deferred. It falls due when the community sells, on the gain since the parents bought, with their holding period. That is usually favourable.

With a neutral figure and individual conversations, agreement is often a matter of weeks, not years. We give you the realistic timeframe for your situation after the first conversations – in writing.

Yes: your enquiry commits nobody to anything, and the valuation remains free of charge, even if you keep the house in the end. We first check with you whom we may contact; Dominik Devaja, managing director of Immosmile in Zurich, then speaks with each heir individually, in confidence. On request, everyone receives the written valuation at the same time, nobody first. We take no side, not even yours.