450 francs more per month: Even cooperatives in Zurich are increasing rents

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Maria P.* lives with her family in a construction cooperative in the Zurich area. Cooperative flats are actually known for their attractive prices. P. is now looking for a new apartment. The reason: Starting April 1, the rent for his apartment will increase by 450 francs per month. The monthly rent is therefore over 3,000 francs net. It’s too expensive, she thinks.

As “NZZ am Sonntag” writes, many residents of the Frohheim building society (BGF) are currently feeling like P. Rents at Brüderhofweg, the largest GFA project in the city of Zurich, are increasing by a quarter. 293 flats were affected. Rents in the BGF settlement in Uster are increasing by 30 percent.

How are costs determined?

A building society actually only charges as much rent as it needs to cover costs. Big problem: Costs have gone up a lot lately.

“NZZ am Sonntag” calculates: The building insurance value of a cooperative settlement with 30 flats three years ago was 11.5 million francs. In April 2024 it will already be 13.4 million francs. Additionally, the reference interest rate has increased from 1.25 percent to 1.75 percent since last June.

At the same time, financing costs have increased. “Today we pay three times more interest on new mortgages than we did two or three years ago,” says Daniel Angst, managing director of BGF, in his article.

BGF is not the only cooperative

BGF is not the only building society increasing rents in the Zurich area. Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zurich (ABZ), Switzerland’s largest construction cooperative, will increase rents by an average of 8 percent from April. There are large differences between individual characteristics.

The cooperative Sunnige Hof in Zurich had already increased rents by 5 percent last summer. The Zurich family housing cooperative (FGZ) plans to increase rents from May 2024. It is not yet known how high it is.

But members of the BGF cooperative do not simply accept high rents. They organize themselves and distribute leaflets. The tenants association also provides a letter of disagreement that tenants just need to sign and send to the city’s tax office. From the perspective of the tenants’ association, it is impossible to understand why rents have suddenly increased so sharply. (kae)

*Name unknown

Source :Blick