Now it all makes sense!

I had the impression that it was a kitchen-diner that counted as the 0.5 or a lounge-diner that counted as 1.5.
Our current flat is considered 3 as the kitchen is not large enough to have a table and chairs in.
Yet neither is our neighbours' flat and theirs is a 3.5, - it is their lounge that is larger, which for me is a lounge-diner.
I don't think the 0.5 is ever really a separate small room.
I doubt bathrooms, halls, storerooms, cupboards, cellars, hobby rooms, garages, porches etc. are ever counted.

It's also Cantonal, what is a 3 piece in Geneva is usualy a 2 piece in Vaud

I'm confused now, and I thought I had it sussed ages ago.

We've had 2 apartments in the same Gemeinde.
3.5 - 2 double bedrooms, huge lounge / dining room, large hallway, kitchen, bathroom, w.c.

3 - 1 bedroom, lounge, kitchen diner, bathroom, w.c., small hallway.

Your 3 for me would be a 2.5 but then it seems that in different areas they have different ways of counting...

To sum it up: In the end what matters is how the apartment looks and feels in real life. The later could as well be just a 2.5

With modern open space designs the numbering of "rooms" did certainly not become easier. Maybe time to switch to bedroom counting?

What I ask myself, can you add up multiple .5 or can you use this bonus only once?

It is confusing when the ad has no floor plan. That should be a must in rental advertisement.

Most I have run into in Zürich is that the .5 means that either the kitchen has room for a dining table, or the living room has a direct connected dining spot with no wall in between.

These two variations are the exact ones that I have been accustomed to.

Having read the entirety of this thread, I conclude there is no "Official" rule as to what counts as a "room".

What is not in dispute is the following:

• Bedrooms with a window count as rooms
• The lounge counts as a room
• Bathrooms do not count as rooms
• Rooms without windows are not counted.

What is debated is the following:

• Kitchens can count as half a room, if you can fit a table and chairs into it. In Geneva the kitchen is usually counted as a whole room.
• A hall is sometimes counted as half a room, if large, or even as 1 room if very large.
• You can count any very large room as 1.5 rooms, e.g. an enormous lounge could be 1.5 rooms.
• Rooms in the basement might be counted if there is a window. So maybe you might count a basement playroom or bedroom, but not the storeroom, bomb-shelter, or washroom.

So, in the case of my semi-detached 4-floor house, the number of "rooms" would be anything from 5 rooms to 7.5 rooms, depending on how I count it. See calculation in the photo below:

Is there any real-estate specialist who can tell me how they would advertise the above house for sale? i.e. How many rooms would you put in the ad?

Screenshot 2022-06-22 at 10.08.00.png

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yes, but there are rules what you count as net living area, the minimum size of the rooms (usually 14m2 for the first room and 10m2 for other rooms), and the technical requirements (like a window and minimum heights)

I guess so (it is stated in the link below), but as an architect I have never seen this in any plans.

I would say only if this a kitchen / eating space connected to the living room or something similar

If the room is big enough (10m2 for the whole room or 6m2 for half room), had a window and can be used for sleeping/working/playing than you should count it accordingly.

some explanation is on this link

in general I wouldn't say bigger number of rooms is necessary an added value. Actually the luxury apartments have usually bigger areas and less rooms, a living room in the size of a modest apartment is nothing unusual.