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The bad news is sent by registered letter. Tens of thousands of tenants will be informed about a rent increase in the coming weeks – or have already received the email from the administration. The reason for the rent shock is the increase in the reference interest rate from 1.25 to 1.5 percent.
Not only many private landlords screw up rents. Many municipal apartments are also becoming more expensive. This is the conclusion of a survey of the 20 largest Swiss cities.
Soon more than 1000 francs more per year
Tenants of municipal apartments in the canton of Zurich face the heaviest surcharges. The city of Zurich rents out about 9,500 apartments. For the most part, rents will rise by 6.67 percent as of November 1, property management reports to the NZZ when asked. Tenants of city apartments in Winterthur have to pay a little more: there the plus is even 6.8 percent, the municipality said on request. With a monthly rental of CHF 1,800, this amounts to almost CHF 1,500 in additional costs per year.
Rents are likely to increase by only 3% due to the increased benchmark interest rate alone. But in many places there are still surcharges because of inflation and the so-called general cost increase. How high these are depends, among other things, on how long an apartment has been rented.
Some cities are waiving rent increases
In St. Gallen, rents for city apartments are rising by an average of 5.5 percent, in Lucerne by 4.5 percent. In Basel, too, the surcharge is more than three percent – the canton of Basel-Stadt does not say how much on average. He justifies the increase by stating that the rental income is allocated to the financial assets – and that this must provide “an appropriate return”. However, many cities emphasize that they automatically pass on rent reductions to tenants in return.
| rent increase | From when? | |
| Zurich | 6.67 percent | November 1st |
| Geneva | in most cases no increase | |
| Basel | > 3 percent | at the earliest from 1 November |
| Lausanne | in most cases no increase | |
| Bern | still unclear | |
| Winterthur | 6.8 percent | November 1st |
| Lucerne | an average of 4.5 percent | no earlier than October 1 |
| Sankt Gallen | an average of 5.5 percent | December 1st |
| Lugano | no increase | |
| Biel | still unclear | |
| Neuchatel | still unclear | |
| tuna | no increase | |
| king | 3 percent | November 1st |
| Schaffhuis | no increase | |
| to use | 3 percent | November 1st |
Bellinzona, Chur, Neuchâtel, Freiburg and La Chaux-de-Fonds have not responded to the Blick request or are unable to provide information. There are no municipal houses in Zion.
Meanwhile, those who live in a city apartment in Schaffhausen, Thun or Lugano can count themselves lucky. Rents there will not rise a penny for the time being, despite the higher reference interest. Lausanne also refrains from an increase in most cases. The municipality of Schaffhausen states that it is “important to have a moderate and responsible rental policy”. Therefore, the rents would remain as they are for the time being.
In September, however, the situation should be different again. The federal government is then expected to announce the next increase in the reference rate. Then some cities, which are still doing without it, will be allowed to send registered letters.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
