Flat sealed by the authorities: what heirs need to know

An official seal on the door of the deceased person’s flat is a shock for relatives. You may not enter the flat, even to collect papers or photographs.

Sealing is a protective measure under inheritance law and implies neither an accusation nor suspicion. Its purpose is to preserve the estate unchanged until it is clear who owns it.

Why flats are sealed

The inheritance authority, which in the Canton of Zurich is the notary’s office at the deceased’s last place of residence, takes the necessary protective measures on its own initiative. Sealing is the most restrictive of these. Typical reasons include:

• Unclear heirs. It is not known who is entitled to inherit, or heirs cannot be found.
• Heirs abroad. If heirs cannot travel to Switzerland in time, the seal protects the contents.
• Absent heirs or heirs who require representation. This includes minors and people under a deputyship.
• A foreseeable dispute. If one heir fears that another may take items, they can apply to have the flat sealed.
• Suspected high-value assets. This applies where there are indications of cash, jewellery or collections.
• An application by a creditor. This may occur if the estate is overindebted.
• Unusual circumstances surrounding the death. In these cases, sealing often takes place in addition to police measures.

In the City of Zurich, sealing is routine when a person who lived alone dies without any known relatives.

What the seal does

The flat door is locked and fitted with an official seal. After that, nobody may enter: neither heirs nor the property management company, tradespeople or a clearance company. Even opening the door briefly is prohibited.

Breaking an official seal is a criminal offence. It also has a further consequence under inheritance law: anyone who gains unauthorised access and takes possession of items interferes in the estate and thereby loses the right to disclaim it.

The property management company or landlord may not open the flat either, even if the tenancy has been terminated and the notice period is running. Rent continues to accrue during this period and is charged to the estate.

How the seals are removed

Only the authority may remove the seal. The process is as follows:

1. The authority establishes who the heirs are. It identifies them, using a public notice to heirs (Erbenruf) in difficult cases. This step takes the longest.
2. It issues the certificate of inheritance (Erbschein or Erbbescheinigung) once it is clear who will inherit and the deadline for disclaiming the inheritance has expired.
3. It arranges a date to remove the seal and opens the flat, usually in the presence of the heirs or their representative. An inventory of the items present is often drawn up at this point.
4. It hands the flat over to the heirs. Only then is the flat available to them and may it be cleared.

Where the heirs are known and the situation is straightforward, a few weeks is realistic. A public notice to heirs, an international connection or a dispute can extend this to many months. Do not rely on any estimate before the authority has given you a date.

What you can do in the meantime

Apply to the notary’s office for access to specific documents. If you urgently need documents such as an insurance policy, will or contractual paperwork, the authority may grant supervised access. Ask before attempting anything yourself.

Terminate the tenancy. You can do this regardless of the sealing, and it stops the rental debt from continuing to increase. Tell the property management company that the flat has been sealed. This explains why the handover cannot take place and helps them understand why a later date is needed.

Inform the property management company. In our experience, property managers are cooperative when they know the reason for the delay. Without this information, they send payment reminders.

Prepare for the clearance. We do not inspect sealed flats because this is simply not possible. What we can do is clarify the basic details, such as the floor, lift, access and size, and reserve a provisional time slot. We provide the fixed price after the inspection, which can take place on the date the seal is removed or immediately afterwards.

In practice, this saves two to three weeks, particularly if the flat must be handed over shortly after the seal is removed.

The most common mistake

Relatives clear the flat before the authority has had an opportunity to learn of the situation and seal it, for example because they had the key and wanted to act quickly. This is legally problematic if the heirs have not been clearly identified or other heirs knew nothing about it.

If you are the only known heir, deliberately allowed the deadline for disclaiming the inheritance to expire and have the certificate of inheritance, you do not need permission to clear the flat. Sealing concerns only cases in which the authority has actually sealed it.

For property managers and landlords

If a tenant dies and the heirs cannot be found, report the case to the notary’s office at the deceased’s last place of residence. Opening and clearing the flat without authority is not permitted, even if rent has accrued, and may lead to claims for damages from heirs identified later.

We only carry out clearances for property managers if they provide evidence of their authority to dispose of the contents: a certificate of inheritance, executor’s certificate, instruction from the bankruptcy office or an official decision. This is required to ensure that nobody is ultimately held liable.