Concluding a tenancy agreement online or by email – is this possible and valid?

In theory, concluding contracts online has many advantages for both tenants and landlords, as both sides can save a lot of time and money.

This is indeed possible – but with a few special features, which we summarise for you here.

Rental agreements and freedom of contract

In Germany and Switzerland, there is freedom of contract. This means that people are free to determine the structure of contracts themselves.

This also applies to the medium of the contract, which is why even a verbal commitment can be deemed to be the conclusion of a contract – although proving this often causes problems.

However, there are exceptions to the freedom of contract. There is a clearly defined formal requirement for certain contracts, compliance with which is mandatory for legal validity.

There are no such formal requirements for rental agreements in Switzerland. This means that a contract can also be concluded online by e-mail. This is also possible in Germany, but there are special features here.

In Germany, it depends on the type of tenancy agreement

There is no formal requirement in Germany for open-ended rental agreements with a fixed rent and no minimum rental period, i.e. such agreements can be concluded informally online by email, WhatsApp or even verbally – unless the written form is explicitly agreed (which is at the discretion of the contracting parties).

However, if the tenancy agreement is for a fixed term, if a minimum rental period of at least one year is agreed or if a graduated or index-linked rent is provided for, this must be regulated in a written tenancy agreement; mere online transmission, e.g. by email, is not permitted here.

A scanned contract is NOT sufficient for a formal requirement

It is also not sufficient to simply return a signed contract in scanned form for it to be valid. This is because both contracting parties must sign a single contractual document, which means that the original signature of both parties must be on the contractual document.

This can be achieved by printing out two copies, one of which is first sent to the tenant and one to the landlord, and then the original is sent to the other party.

Please note: Special formal requirements apply to cancellation

In contrast to the rental agreement, the cancellation of a residential lease must always be in writing in both Germany and Switzerland. Only in the case of commercial rental properties is there no formal requirement in Germany, whereas in Switzerland there is.

Formal requirements also exist for other aspects closely related to letting, such as in Germany for significant changes to fixed-term tenancy agreements or the exercise of a statutory right of first refusal.

The solution: Electronic signatures are legally valid in all cases

Do all these different regulations and special cases seem confusing to you? Fortunately, there is a solution that simplifies everything for you and also saves you time and money: electronic signatures.

Thanks to framework regulations such as eIDAS in the EU and ZertES in Switzerland, electronic signatures are now equivalent to handwritten signatures in most countries around the world and are fully legally valid.

In cases where there is a formal requirement, you only need to use a so-called Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), in which all signatories are unambiguously identified via a legally prescribed system. In other cases, a simple electronic signature (EES or SES) is also sufficient, in which only the e-mail address is used for verification.

Find out more about signing rental agreements digitally in the linked blog article.

How can a tenancy agreement be concluded online?

The quickest, safest and cheapest way to conclude a rental agreement online is with the help of an electronic signature, such as those offered by Certifaction specifically for the property sector.

This means you don’t have to print, scan or send it by post, as the rental agreement is legally signed online in the digital world with an electronic signature.

All you need to do is upload the rental agreement to the app and invite the signatories to sign it. With a PES or QES, all signatories must also identify themselves, which is done online within a few minutes, and sign. That’s it!

You can then print out the rental agreement again as a digital twin, which can be verified beyond doubt even when printed out using an attached QR code.
All steps including images describing the digital signing of contracts with Certifaction can also be found in the linked article.

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DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is for general information purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. If you have specific legal questions, you should consult a licensed attorney in your area.