Things to do before leaving your apartment in Switzerland?

Right, the Swiss are anal (er, I mean obsessed with order), so naturally, your apartment needs to be spic-n-span when you hand it back to the agent you rented from, or the landlord you rented from. If you don't feel like toothbursh scrubbing the floors on your hands and knees, it's best to hire a cleaning service to do your dirty work. There's plenty available in a place like Switzerland, but be warned, they're expensive. Get a few quotes for comparison and then decide which conforms with your budget best. Be sure to carefully inspect your apartment before they come, you don't want to be held liable for any mishap or damage they cause.

After this, you fill out a form that releases your deposit money to an agent so that they can deduct any charges for damages. It obviously helps if you can remain in the country during this process to make sure they're being fair about everything. If there are damage that need to be paid for it will take longer for you to get the money back, as they'll need to get quotes on the cost to fix it, etc...

Needless to say, it's not a process that happens overnight. So if you're counting on using your deposit for something in the near future, don't.