When you are required to find a new tenant for your apartment to cancell your contract, could you just refer the new tenant to the landlord or are you normaly required to provide a signed contract?

The new tenant has to be able and willing to take over your contract.

What Ittigen said, but additionally: you don't provide a signed contract. You provide the details to the landlord, and he chooses whether to accept the tenant (per the above, it may be that the new guy is unable to take over the lease for some reason) and signs the contract directly with that person.

To build on both of the above, IF you find somebody willing and able to take it over but for some reason the landlord won't accept the application (for reasons other than willing and able eg if he doesn't like cats, or your surname or your hobby of cooking Indian food), you are allowed to break the contract.

Oki, but that mean you have to take it to court or what?

Anyway guess its not a big issue since it seems to be a lot of people looking for apartments. PRoblem is most of them speak french :-)

No, why would you need to go to court? Its a normal thing here to pass contracts to a "nachmieter" (not sure what its called in French)

Try contacting the relocation agencies in and around Lausanne (we used one called Primacy when hubby's company moved us over). They're normally very keen to hear about nice apartments that might appeal to their corporate clients, and will speak English.

What does "able" mean? I just need to find a person that is willing to apply right?

I do not need to make sure they have a stable income, no arrest record, good credit, etc.?

For example if a person applies but the landlord rejects them because their income is not high enough can you still get out of the lease?

No. Not only do they have to have a stable income, they have to be able to afford it. It can't be more than 30% of their income. That is one of the few reason a landlord can reject the person you suggest.

I suggest you read your contract carefully. It could be that you have a notice period. If you just give the name of someone interested and move out you may find you are still liable for the notification period ie you will end up with 2 rents to pay as the landlord did not like your candidate.