A complete sales file does three things: it speeds up the transaction — every missing document delays the buyer’s bank at the worst possible moment —, it protects the seller — documenting is locking things down —, and, what almost no one mentions, it can reduce the tax on resale. Here is the complete list for Geneva, document by document — starting with the two documents everyone throws away and should never throw away.
The two documents that are worth money: the purchase deed and works invoices
On resale, the Geneva tax on real estate capital gain is calculated on the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price increased by the capital expenditure — the works that added value to the property. Every invoice kept therefore reduces the taxable gain; every invoice lost is tax paid unnecessarily. The original purchase deed and the works invoices for the whole holding period are thus the most profitable documents in the file — our article on the IBGI details the mechanics, and the net seller proceeds simulator quantifies it. If you should remember only one thing from this page: open a “works” folder on the day of purchase, and never close it.
Capital expenditure or maintenance: the line the tax authority draws
You still need to know which invoices count. The Geneva tax authority states the rule in one sentence, and it is stricter than one might imagine: “Maintenance costs, whether deducted or not on the ordinary tax return, are not considered capital gains.” Read again “whether deducted or not”: the fact that you never deducted these costs from your income tax does not shift them onto the capital expenditure side. They are lost for the purposes of the gain calculation, in every case.
The line is thus drawn between restoring and improving. Redoing a kitchen identically because the old one was worn out: maintenance. Creating a bathroom that did not exist, converting an attic, adding insulation that was not there, adding a conservatory: capital gain. The same trade, the same apparently identical invoice, two opposite treatments — and it is the description on the invoice that will settle the matter, years later, before an assessor who did not see the site. Hence a habit that costs nothing: require the company to provide a description of what was created, not just “renovation works”.
Two other elements enter into the calculation and should also be documented. The costs of the purchase deed — including registration duties — are added to the acquisition price. And any brokerage fee is deducted from the sale price. Keep the notary’s statements from both ends of the story: the one from the purchase, and the one from the sale.
The legal documents: what proves what you are selling
A recent land register extract is the key document: ownership, easements, liens, annotations — our guide to the land register explains how to obtain and read it. To this are added the cadastral plan — the exact boundaries of the plot, available on the SITG —, the construction plans (floor plans, elevations) which allow the buyer to picture the property and their bank to process the file, and, for a house, the zoning situation and its regulations — what the plot still allows, a value factor detailed in our article on buildable land.
The technical documents: the condition, documented
The OIBT safety report for the electrical installations is the only inspection required by law upon transfer — a new inspection is required if the last one is more than five years old. The CECB is not mandatory for selling in Geneva, but a recent certificate defuses negotiations over energy performance; an asbestos survey is effectively required for pre-1991 buildings. The details — what is mandatory, what is recommended, and the false obligations imported from France — are in our diagnostics guide. As for building insurance: in Geneva — a canton with a free-market regime — it is not a legal obligation, but the buyer’s bank will require it; providing your current policy makes the transfer easier.
The financial and tax documents
The mortgage balance certificate organises the repayment or takeover of the loan on the day of the deed, and the mortgage note — either discharged or taken over by the buyer — is prepared with the bank and the notary: its takeover saves the future owner real costs, an argument in the negotiation. The tax value and rental value of the property inform the buyer about their future tax situation — a landscape undergoing reform that is best explained clearly.
The PPE: the file within the file
For a flat, the buyer — and their inspector — will read three things above all: the PPE regulations, the minutes of the latest general meetings — where works voted on and postponed can be seen — and the charge statements together with the state of the renovation fund: a thin fund facing a tired roof signals a future call for funds, and the pre-purchase inspection will flag it anyway. Providing them upfront, with the detail of the weighted floor area, means taking control of the narrative rather than being subject to it.
If the property is let
The current lease and the rental statement complete the file — and change the transaction: the buyer takes over the contract, and the sale of a let flat requires LDTR authorisation. Our guide to selling a let property covers this specific process, including the authorisation.
The commercial file — and who brings it all together
What remains is the showcase: professional photos, precise description, exact surface areas stated in the correct unit — this is the commercial file, the one the buyer sees first. As for the rest, each document has its own counter — the land register and SITG for official matters, the bank for the mortgage, the managing agent for the PPE — and this is precisely the work we take care of in the sales method: a complete file BEFORE the property goes to market, not during. The confidential audit starts there. Technical terms are in the glossary.