Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

BASEL

How Basel and Zurich are fighting back against rising rents

Citizens in Basel and Zurich are fighting back against rising rents with two separate campaigns to freeze rental hikes in two of Switzerland’s most expensive cities.

Published: 4 November 2021 12:49 CET
Apartments along the water in the Swiss city of Zurich
Zurich has among the highest rent costs of anywhere in Switzerland. Photo: Pixabay

Housing affordability continues to be an issue in Switzerland, particularly in the nation’s larger cities, where rents have risen dramatically in recent years. 

While nationwide rents have risen by ten percent in the past decade, increases have been much higher in Switzerland’s cities. 

More than half of Swiss live in rented accommodation, which is the highest rate of any European country. This is also much higher in Switzerland’s major cities. 

After a 2020 attempt to have affordable housing laws put in place on a nationwide basis failed in Switzerland, citizens are trying to put in place meaningful changes at a cantonal level. 

READ MORE: Why Switzerland voted no to affordable housing

What is happening in Basel? 

Faced with the constant increase in rents, tenants in Zurich and Basel-City, where rental housing is among the most expensive in Switzerland, are preparing initiatives to limit cost hikes.

Basel-City’s initiative, “Yes to real protection of housing”, will be put to the vote on November 28th. It aims to limit rent increases after renovation for practically all apartments.

Reader question: How can I legally reduce my rent in Switzerland?

Currently, landlords are allowed to increase rents significantly after renovations have taken place. 

If the initiative is approved, Basel-City could be “the gateway to rent ceilings in German-speaking Switzerland”, according to a report in Neue Zurcher Zeitung.

Landlords have hit back however, saying that if the initiative passes it will wipe around 1.2 billion francs in value off the city’s housing market. 

What is taking place in Zurich?

As for Zurich, Social Democrats will launch a cantonal rent control initiative for renovations and conversions next year.

If the initiative receives enough support, it will be put to a vote in the canton. 

Zurich is Switzerland’s largest canton and suffers from some of the highest rents anywhere in the country. 

“The situation on the housing market is dramatic,” Alain Thiébaud, head of the housing working group of the Zurich SP, told the NZZ. 

READ MORE: In which Swiss canton can you find a rental bargain?

Rents in Switzerland continue to rise

Just as the prices of single-family homes are going up, so are rents in many Swiss cities.

They continued to rise in October, according to surveys carried out by the Homegate real estate portal. Despite strong disparities between cities and cantons, the price level remains high overall.

Rents continued to climb in Zurich and Geneva — traditionally the most expensive property and rental markets — while  in Vaud and Valais  they dropped, after increasing in September.

If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

READ MORE: How much do you need to earn to afford a house in Switzerland?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

ENERGY

EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The cost of energy is expected to rise again this coming winter, even though the government's price cap is supposed to be in effect until April 2024. Here's what households can expect.

Published: 31 October 2023 10:31 CET
Updated: 5 November 2023 22:45 CET
EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The onset of winter will raise concerns for many in Germany about the cost of heating their homes, with memories of last year’s rocketing prices and concerns over domestic gas supply resurfacing. 

But, compared to last year, the energy prices have now largely stabilised, though they are still higher than in 2021.

The stabilisation in prices is partly thanks to the government’s energy price cap which came into force earlier this year to cushion the blow of soaring energy prices by capping electricity costs at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour and natural gas at 12 cents.

READ ALSO: Germany looks to extend energy price cap until April 2024

The federal government plans to maintain this cap until the end of April, though this could be extended even longer, if necessary. 

How high are heating costs expected to go this year?

For the current year, experts from co2online expect somewhat lower heating costs than last year.

Heating with gas, for example, is expected to be 11 percent cheaper in 2023 than in 2022, costing €1,310 per year for a flat of 70 square metres. 

The cost of heating with wood pellets will drop by 17 percent to €870 per year, and heating with heating oil will cost 19 percent less and amount to €1,130.

According to co2online, the costs for heating with a heat pump will drop the most – by 20 percent to €1,1105. The reason for this, according to co2online, is a wider range of heat pump electricity tariffs.

Tax hikes in January

Starting January next year, the government will raise the value-added tax on natural gas from seven to nineteen percent.

Alongside this, the CO2 price, applicable when refuelling and heating, will also increase.

According to energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Consumer Association, these increases will mean that a small single-family household with three or four people that heats with gas would then pay about €240 more per year for gas.

“That’s a lot”, he said. 

Another additional cost factor to consider is that network operators also want to raise prices. However, the federal government plans to allocate €5.5 billion to cushion this increase for consumers as much as possible, so how such cost increases will ultimately affect consumers is currently hard to estimate.

READ ALSO: Why people in Germany are being advised to switch energy suppliers

Overall, it can be said that, from January, consumers will have to brace themselves for higher energy costs, even though massive increases are currently not expected.

Consumer advocate Engelke advised customers to closely examine where potential savings could be made this upcoming winter: “Those who are now signing a new gas or electricity contract should inform themselves and possibly switch. Currently, you can save a few hundred euros. It’s worth it. On the other hand, you should also try to save as much energy as possible this winter.”

SHOW COMMENTS