These are the prescriptions against the housing shortage

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The tone in the housing market is becoming more and more alarming: There is a lot to read about housing shortages, even housing shortages. There are very few vacant apartments and rents are rising and rising. This situation is increasingly causing dissatisfaction among the people.

Real estate professionals and politicians also condemn the shortcomings and call for swift action. Some want the federal government to further promote affordable housing. Others demand greater concentration, government control over rents, or a remedy against malicious objections.

Target: Housing construction should be accelerated and the rise in rental prices should be slowed down. Due to immigration and increasing demand for living space per capita, the number of households in Switzerland is growing faster than the living space created each year. And the smaller the supply of vacant flats, the more expensive the ones still on the market.

One thing is clear: there is no miraculous cure for the housing shortage, and implementation will take some time. The following recipes can prevent a climb.

Credit Suisse sees the problem in the Spatial Planning Act, which was amended in 2014. They wanted to concentrate – and rightly so. “However, the implementation of the spatial planning U-turn has been approached haphazardly at best and negligently at worst,” says Fredy Hasenmaile, 55, real estate specialist at Credit Suisse.

Problem: According to the CS, the Federal Council and the Parliament failed to encourage concentration with accompanying measures. “The impending housing shortage is home made,” says Hasenmaile.

Credit Suisse is requesting an increase in usage. This defines the maximum allowable development of a property. In addition, the maximum construction heights should be increased.

However, the chances of this happening are slim. “Everyone wants to concentrate and increase,” says Donato Scognamiglio (53), president of real estate consulting firm Iazi. “If it’s not in front of your own house, suddenly nobody wants it!”

Compression is currently being slowed down from several sides. “There are so many malicious objections,” Hasenmaile says. In many cases, it is about protecting the cityscape, noise legislation or species protection. This leads to conflicting goals. In Zurich alone, the construction of over 1,000 apartments is currently blocked due to the Noise Law. Therefore, it is important to set priorities. “You have to ask yourself if the housing supply is more important than maintaining the local image,” Hasenmaile says. In addition, it must be ensured that the appeal options can no longer be abused so easily.

However, this will require changes in the law. Even if that happens, it will probably take years at best for relief to be felt.

Office buildings and industrial buildings outside the centers have higher vacancy rates than rental flats. Abandoned factories or empty hotels can be turned into living space.

“Such measures can be implemented today,” says real estate expert Scognamiglio. A prerequisite for this is a certain flexibility in rezoning. Mixed zones should be encouraged, especially in urban settlements suitable for living space. These provide a mix of commercial and residential zones.

Building permits are complex and bureaucratic. Especially large residential projects require stamina. It usually takes more than 300 days between the construction application and the issuance of the construction permit. “The building permit process should be simplified,” says Scognamiglio.

Submitting an application digitally can speed up the process. This is already a reality in Winterthur ZH. “This measure can be implemented relatively quickly,” says Hasenmaile.

Scarce supply and rising interest rates drive up rents, especially when there is a change of tenants. These recipes can help against expensive housing.

In a letter, the association of housing cooperatives in Switzerland urges the Federal Council to give more support to the construction of non-profit and affordable housing. “The current housing subsidy is not enough to rapidly increase the rate of nonprofit housing,” says President and Basel State Councilor Eva Herzog (61, SP).

Problem: Even for cheap living space you need a piece of land and a property. According to Scognamiglio, the solution here is simplified framework conditions for construction, not additional subsidies.

The canton of Geneva sets the maximum surcharge a landlord can charge for a recently renovated flat. In addition, the maximum rent cannot be increased – on a case-by-case basis – for up to ten years. A very similar rental price control has been in effect for a short time in Basel-Stadt. A model for the whole of Switzerland? Yes, according to Green National Councilor Natalie Imboden (52). “There should be authorities looking closely. You can’t put all the responsibility on the tenants,” she says. By the 1960s Switzerland already had a government rent control. It will be reinstated relatively quickly and may take effect shortly after its entry into force.

But the question is how much this brings. Despite the controls, rents in Geneva have exploded in recent years, more than, for example, in the city of Zurich. In addition, fewer apartments have been renovated in Geneva than in other regions – which is not a good development in terms of climate targets.

In Lucerne, for example, since the end of 2021 the landlord had to explain in a form how much the previous tenant paid for the flat. If the difference is more than allowed, the tenant can challenge the interest. Zurich, Zug and Freiburg have similar rules. A corresponding initiative is pending in the Bern cantonal parliament.

Years ago, the Federal Council attempted to introduce a national form requirement. But the parliament did not want to do anything with it. Among other things, experience shows that even in cantons where the rent of the predecessor is known, few people complain about the first rent. However, the tenants association believes transparency is at least part of the solution.

Source :Blick

Tim

I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.