You can do it, Mr. Parmelin!

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Apply. Stand in line. Opinion. Cancel. Anyone looking for an apartment knows the game. Finding affordable housing is becoming increasingly impossible, especially in cities.

What about politics? It met for a roundtable on Friday, chaired by Federal Council Member Guy Parmelin (63). The housing shortage was discussed for nearly three hours in the luxurious Bernerhof, the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance.

A working group was agreed. They should meet again in the next few months and see which recipes bring relief.

This takes some time. By the way, applying means getting in line, getting rejected.

Parmelin himself may become active – because the federal government also has jurisdiction over housing matters. Blick shows the housing minister three things he can do.

• Limit objections for troublemakers! Every individual has the right to object to a planning application. But is it really okay to go all the way to federal court so you can sit back and relax for a few more years while local families can’t find a place to live? The federal government may define a catalog of interests in which objections are allowed. This will stop the flow of complaints.
• Promote cheap housing! Even real estate circles now admit that politics must intervene so that rents do not continue to rise. Suggestions are on the table! Parmelin may oblige landlords to disclose previous rent. Or give priority to real estate and land owned by communes and cities, the federal government, or cantons. Or stipulate that one of the ten or 20 new flats must be non-profit.
• Enforce the rental law! How much profit homeowners are allowed to earn is regulated by law. But in reality, profits are often significantly higher: A study by Bank Raiffeisen in 2017 showed that rents were 40 percent higher than allowed. Today, tenants have to defend themselves individually against malicious leases. This can be changed.

Parmelin can rightly point out that all attempts so far have failed. Could it be because they came from the wrong sender? You may have better luck in Parliament with Department of Economy letterhead. And Parmelin should seize this opportunity. So much so that an apartment application eventually turns into a commitment again.

Source : Blick