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‘They might die’: Swiss homeowner refuses to sell to vaccinated buyers

A homeowner in Switzerland backed out of a sale at the last minute when learning the prospective buyers were vaccinated, fearing the vaccination may kill them before the deal was done. The refusal is not categorised as discriminatory under Swiss law.

Published: 4 November 2021 10:27 CET
A small plastic house sits next to a key on a wooden surface
Deciding not to sell to a vaccinated person is not discriminatory in Switzerland. Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

Potential property buyers lost their chance to purchase a house when they revealed to the owner that they were vaccinated against Covid.

As reported by Watson news outlet on Thursday, a couple from the Neuchâtel region was negotiating with the homeowner to purchase her house.

READ MORE: Top ten tips for finding an apartment in Switzerland

The process was nearly completed when they mentioned, during an aside conversation about the pandemic, that they had their Covid shots.

At that point the owner who, according to the couple, was an anti-vaxxer, refused to sell her house to them. The failed sale took place in late September. 

The buyers told Swiss news outlet Watson that while the owner struck them as a little weird, they liked the idea of doing the transaction without a broker or agent. 

“We quickly understood that we were dealing with a rather a-typical personality” one of the failed buyers said. 

“She sometimes made little, weird remarks. But we just made sure the meeting was going well.

Buying property versus renting in Switzerland: What is actually cheaper?

“She constantly changed her mind about the conditions of sale, always imposed new ones: on the dates, questions of taxes on the real estate gain … We felt she was really hesitant (to sell).”

The buyers said the woman brought up the topic of vaccination at a dinner. When learning the prospective buyers were vaccinated, the seller backed out of the deal due to fear the vaccinated buyers would die before the deal was done. 

“I could tell that she herself was very reluctant to vaccinate. Personally, I did not want to enter into the subject. But the moment she asked me the question, I knew I was going to be honest,” said one of the failed buyers.

“The goal was to sign immediately, with an onward sale in December. But for her, it was obvious that we were going to die between the time we signed and the actual sale.”

READ MORE: Why do so many Swiss prefer to rent rather than buy their own home?

The failed buyers said the woman had taken a “religious” type of stance and lamented how difficult it was to find “common ground” on vaccination status. 

Refusal legal under Swiss law: ‘The seller can refuse because he doesn’t like your face’

Even though Swiss law forbids discrimination based on one’s vaccine status, this applies to public entities and employers only.

However, when it comes to transactions between private individuals, “the seller can refuse to sell to you just because he doesn’t like your face”, said a legal expert quoted by Watson.

“This is contractual freedom”.

READ MORE: Why Switzerland’s Covid certificate is ‘not discriminatory’

Anti-vaccination movements are strong in Switzerland, which is at least in part why the country’s vaccination rate lags behind its neighbours and the EU average as a whole. 

In late October, police in the ski resort of Zermatt blocked the entrance to a bar and restaurant run by Covid sceptics who refused to comply with the country’s Covid measures. 

READ MORE: Swiss police use concrete to block access to Covid sceptic restaurant

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PROPERTY

Why renters in Switzerland still struggle to buy an apartment

Prices of properties in Switzerland are out of reach of most residents and they may continue to be so in the near future.

Published: 12 April 2024 10:47 CEST
Why renters in Switzerland still struggle to buy an apartment

It is a well known fact that more people in Switzerland are tenants than homeowners, and it all comes down to money. 

This is confirmed by yer another study, by UBS bank, which found that fewer and fewer households can still afford to buy a house or apartment. 

While 20 years ago, 60 percent of households in Switzerland could still afford to purchase property, today the percentage of residents owning property valued at 880,000 francs or more dropped to merely 15 percent.

READ ALSO: Why do so many in Switzerland rent rather than buy a home

In order to afford cheaper properties, people have been moving from cities to the suburbs, where homes had typically been less expensive, but the growing demand in those regions has increased the prices there as well.

And short-term outlook is not favourable either: UBS experts expect the prices of apartments to increase by another 1.5 percent this year, and 1 percent for single-family houses.

This may not seem like much, but if a property costs 1 million francs or more (a usual price in major cities), the 1 or 1.5 percent adds up to a lot of money.

Why are properties getting more expensive in Switzerland?

There are number of reasons for this phenomenon, including scarcity of land for new constructions, the steadily high demand, and inflation, among other reasons.

How much do you need to earn to afford a property these days?

READ ALSO: Can foreign nationals in Switzerland get a mortgage? 

As prices vary from one region, and even from one town to another, the income you’d need depends on where you live.

In Geneva or Zurich areas, for instance, where housing is notoriously expensive, a household would need a gross income of 300,000 francs a year to buy a home or an apartment, though in traditionally cheaper regions like Jura, Neuchâtel, Ticino, or some areas of central Switzerland, an annual salary of between 100,000 and 200,000 francs may suffice.

What is the forecast for residential properties the future?

READ ALSO: Why living in Switzerland’s smaller towns beats the bigger cities

More price increases are expected from 2025.

This hike would be driven by the economic recovery as well as the general housing shortage.

UBS pointed out that as long as there are enough potential buyers, prices will continue to rise.

And it is a fact that the demand for houses and apartments is still there, despite the cost.

On the one hand, that is because an increasing number of wealthy people from abroad are settling in Switzerland. 

And on the other, because the income of people belonging to the upper class has increased.

READ ALSO: Where in Switzerland property prices are rising the fastest

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