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Where in Switzerland are rent prices currently lowest — and highest?

Rents have gone up across most of Switzerland in October, but the increase is lesser in some regions than in others.

Published: 2 November 2022 16:11 CET
Where in Switzerland are rent prices currently lowest — and highest?
Swiss apartments are not only more expensive, but also scarcer. Photo by Pixabay

Overall, rents have increased by 1.4 percent on average in the country, though some areas have registered higher or lower hikes, according to ImmoScout 24’s Swiss Real Estate Offer Index released on Wednesday.

“October not only brought record-high temperatures, but also a significant increase in rental costs”, the survey found, adding that “tenants who are looking for an apartment right now must expect higher prices”.

The areas most affected by higher rents are central Switzerland and Zurich, which registered above-average increases, at 3.8 and 3.7 percent, respectively.

However, the situation is a bit better in the eastern part of the country, where rents rose by 0.6 percent, in the Central Plateau (0.4 percent), and in the Lake Geneva region (0.4 percent).

The latter statistic is (pleasantly) surprising, as the region, which encompasses Geneva and parts of Vaud, is among the most expensive in Switzerland.

On the other hand, rents actually fell in the northwestern regions (−0.6 percent) as well as in Ticino (−2.9 percent).

Looking ahead, the Index found that “it is quite possible that tenants will have to prepare for further increases in the coming months, as some of the inflation could be passed onto rents”.

One of the reasons for the upward trend — besides inflation — is “the growing demand caused by immigration and the housing shortage that is widespread in numerous regions” the survey found.

As The Local recently reported, property experts have been predicting for months a decline in the number of rental accommodations in most parts of the country.

According to Martin Neff, chief economist at Raiffeisen bank, the Swiss rental market is clearly heading towards a shortage. “Vacant housing will soon become scarce”, he warned.

Other than inflation and the “high demand-low supply” dynamic on the rental market, another reason for price hikes is because building standards are becoming more demanding and more expensive to implement. “It is therefore becoming more and more difficult to find cheap accommodations”, according to Robert Weinert, who carried out a new market analysis, Immo-Monitoring 2023.

At the same time, the cost of heating is also climbing, expected to increase the rent by 5 percent of an average gas- or oil-heated apartment next year, he said.

READ MORE: Switzerland set to experience housing shortage and (even) higher rents in 2023

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RENTING

How much will your rent in Switzerland rise by if you move house?

Housing costs are notoriously high in Switzerland, and moving to another flat won’t necessarily help you save money — in fact, you could end up paying more.

Published: 21 May 2024 11:24 CEST
How much will your rent in Switzerland rise by if you move house?

There is an unwritten rule in Switzerland that rent should not exceed one-third of income.

However, according to a new study conducted by the real estate company Wüest Partner, after a move to a new apartment, even a smaller one, a large portion of tenants are paying much more to cover the cost of new digs.

The study found that, on average, 28 percent of households spend more than a third of their income on rent after moving.

Why is that?

If you are looking for a new apartment and think that a smaller one will be cheaper, that is often not the case.

“A four-room apartment does not necessarily cost twice as much as a two-room apartment,” said Robert Weinert, head of immo-monitoring ar Wüest Partner Wüest Partner.

One reason is the persisting — and, in some cases, worsening — housing shortage.

Another is that when an old tenant moves out and a new one arrives, landlords have the right to increase the rent by up to 10 percent.

As a result, many older people, who find themselves alone after the children move out, live in large apartments they have had for many years.

For this very reason, the living space per person increases sharply from the age of 55 — these tenants live alone or with a spouse in their old apartments, which were previously occupied by three, four or five people, Wüest Partner said.

READ ALSO: Can you really save money on rent if you move into a smaller flat in Switzerland? 

Where do new tenants spend more than one-third of their income on rent?

Wüest Partner’s analysis found that this is especially the case in canton Geneva, where 56 percent of tenants see their rents exceed one-third of their earnings.

Zug is next with 40 percent, followed by Zurich and Vaud (36 percent), and Ticino (31 percent).

When looking at individual cities rather than cantons, this trend is most evident in the five largest cities — Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich —where a four-room apartment in an older building costs on average around 1,900 francs per month with existing rental agreements.

If an apartment of this type is put on the market today, however, the rent will rise to 2,300 francs on average.

Landlords must show you the previous rent upon request, so you can compare the numbers before you sign the contract.

What if your new rent is more than 10 percent higher?

The most logical move is not to rent the apartment in the first place.

If you are already a tenant, you have the right to challenge an excessive rent, by reporting it to the Federal Housing Office (BWO) by a registered letter, but you must do so within 30 days of signing the lease. 

You have to explain why you signed the contract, knowing the rent was excessive. 

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