Co-Working Series
BLOG SERIES PART 1
Renting vs Co-Working in Switzerland: Why Chair Rental Creates Risk — but Co-Working is Fully Legal and Widely Accepted.
In Switzerland, “chair rental” (Stuhlmiete) and “co-working” are often confused, especially in the hair and beauty world. Many stylists search for Stuhlmiete Zürich or “renting a chair” without realising that the traditional rental model can lead to compliance issues with SVA, Steueramt, and MWST.
Meanwhile, across Zürich, hundreds of self-employed people work inside co-working spaces every day — earning money, running their own businesses, invoicing their own clients — and not paying the co-working owner a percentage of their revenue or contributing MWST on the money they earn.
Why?
Because co-working is a legally recognised structure in Switzerland, and has been for over a decade.
The beauty industry is not an exception.
It simply hasn’t caught up to what every other sector already understands.
This article explains the difference between renting and co-working, and why co-working is the compliance-safe pathway for independent providers in hair, beauty, tattoo, wellness, nails, and other service professions.
Co-Working Is Everywhere in Zürich — and Self-Employed Members Keep 100% of Their Income
To understand how normal and accepted co-working really is, look at what already exists in Zürich today.
Impact Hub Zürich (Viadukt, Colab, Kraftwerk)
Hundreds of self-employed consultants, designers, developers, lawyers, therapists, and freelancers work here every week. They pay a membership fee for the space.
They earn money inside that space.
They invoice clients directly.
They do NOT owe MWST or a percentage of income to Impact Hub.
Citizen Space Zürich
Same model. Members run their own businesses, issue their own invoices, and pay only for workspace access.
No turnover sharing.
No revenue reporting to the space owner.
No MWST contribution beyond their private tax obligations.
Westhive Zürich (Hardturm & Seestrasse)
Used by self-employed consultants, IT professionals, designers, even small law firms.
They pay for desks, meeting rooms, and community access.
They keep 100% of the money they earn from their own clients.
Trust Square Bahnhofstrasse
Independent crypto, blockchain, and fintech specialists sharing space.
Each invoices under their own company.
Again, no revenue-based fees, no MWST passed to the co-working landlord.
These spaces operate legally, transparently, and fully compliant — and none of their members share revenue with the space, regardless of how much money they make.
This is the exact model the beauty world is slowly transitioning toward.
Why Chair Rental (Stuhlmiete) Often Fails Compliance Tests
Traditional chair rental usually includes features that authorities find problematic:
A fixed, exclusive workstation
A rental contract resembling a sublease
A salon appearing to function as one unified business
Influence over pricing or service structure
Revenue-based payments or commissions
Shared branding
A single owner controlling client flow
These signals can lead authorities to conclude:
pseudo-employment
a joint commercial operation
aggregated turnover for VAT
economic dependence inconsistent with self-employment
This is why chair rental has been “grey area” for years — and why many stylists and owners have faced questions from SVA or Steueramt.
Co-Working, in contrast, is legally clean — and already standard in every sector
Co-working meets all criteria for independent professional activity:
Members are entirely self-employed.
They bring their own clients, pricing, branding, and business identity.
The space provides infrastructure only, not business integration.
Payments go directly from client to Member.
The co-working owner does not control revenue.
Members do not owe income percentages.
MWST is calculated only on the co-working fees, not on Member turnover.
This is why co-working survives every audit — in every industry.
And this is why a hairdresser or tattoo artist inside a properly structured co-working space should be recognised in the same way as a consultant at Impact Hub or a designer at Westhive.
The Key Distinction: Renting a Space vs Accessing a Shared Workspace
The simplest way to understand the difference:
Chair Rental = fixed, exclusive physical space + tenancy characteristics.
Co-Working = shared workspace access without exclusivity + membership structure.
Authorities focus on structure and behaviour, not scissors and hairdryers.
If you operate like a co-working space, you are treated like one.
If you operate like a mini-salon with sub-renters, you get treated like a traditional salon — with all the tax and social security implications that come with it.
Co-Working Solves Every Compliance Risk Chair Rental Creates
True co-working has:
membership instead of a rental contract
non-exclusive stations instead of fixed chairs
independent invoicing and branding
no turnover sharing
no commissions
no employer behaviour
clear separation between Member and Space Owner
compliant payment flows
This is why co-working is growing rapidly in Switzerland — not just in offices, but in beauty, hair, tattoo, massage, and wellness.
Conclusion: Chair Rental May Be a Legal Trap, but Co-Working Is a Proven, Accepted Structure
Every day in Zürich:
designers earn money at Impact Hub,
coaches earn money at Citizen Space,
programmers earn money at Westhive,
lawyers earn money at Trust Square,
and not a single one of them owes MWST or revenue-based fees to the co-working owner.
They use the space — they do not share their business.
Hairdressers, beauty providers, nail artists, and tattoo professionals deserve the same clarity and the same working model.
Co-working is not a loophole.
It is not a workaround.
It is the legally recognised, structurally correct model for independent professionals sharing a workplace in Switzerland.
This series will guide you through each step of how to understand, design, and verify a fully compliant co-working structure — whether you’re a stylist, a space owner, or someone assessing these models on behalf of the state.
