Boss fired, chairman gone: Explosion at construction cooperative in Zurich shocks residents

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Bang at Zurich Baugenossenschaft Frohheim (BGF): Residents are greeted with a note at the entrance doors. “Unfortunately, we have to cancel the information event about rent increases at short notice,” he says. Rents in Brüderhofweg, the largest GFA settlement in the city of Zurich, are expected to increase by a quarter. 293 flats were affected. Rents in the BGF settlement in Uster are increasing by 30 percent.

Cooperative members should actually be satisfied with this information. Because according to BGF, the rent increase will also be postponed. But the reason for this is unpleasant.

BGF’s general manager was dismissed without notice! The letter states that the board members unanimously decided to do so. “There are potential financial irregularities in the background. “The presumption of innocence applies,” the building society writes. This is a difficult thing. The chairman of the board also resigned from his position on January 13. Blick has not yet responded to a request for comment from BGF. The incident was first reported on Inside Paradeplatz.

“It had to happen at some point.”

Blick was at the settlement on Brüderhofweg in Zurich and spoke to a resident who wished to remain anonymous. After the first moment of shock, writing does not create great insecurity in them, on the contrary. Some tenants have long suspected discrepancies. “This had to happen at some point,” one elderly resident told Blick. With 293 apartments, the development is one of the largest in GFA.

Presidential and general manager positions are now advertised as vacant on the BGF website. The duo was still performing there Tuesday morning. Lawyer and former vice president Enrico Magro will become the interim president of the cooperative, while the deputy will take care of the management. The board undertakes to handle the situation. A lawyer has also been retained.

Blick asked the Association of Swiss Housing Cooperatives. «We were informed by the remaining board yesterday. We are sure that an investigation will now take place,” says Andreas Wirz of the Zurich regional association. The association is not currently involved.

The association hopes to learn from the incident and take action. We don’t know which one yet. “It’s always frustrating when things like this come to light. But if someone wants to cheat, they always find a way,” Wirz continued.

Rising costs even for cooperatives

Building cooperatives are currently in a new situation for them: costs are also increasing in cooperatives – for the first time in twenty years. That’s why many cooperatives like BFG are currently increasing their rents. “It’s important for us to raise rents so tenants can afford it,” says Wirz.

The rent increase announced in BGF has been postponed from April 2024 to October 2024. But this “has no connection with possible financial irregularities,” according to the letter. BGF emphasizes that the damage does not pose a threat to the financial situation of the cooperative. The building cooperative has a total of 16 residential areas, most of which are distributed in the cities of Zurich, Uster and Winterthur.

Source :Blick