Switzerland’s Federal Council has agreed to loosen restrictions on building outside designated zones, reported RTS. From 2026, the permitted volume of such construction will rise by 2%, a move that has angered environmental groups. Pro Natura, which championed earlier efforts to curb urban sprawl, accused the government of “torpedoing” the latest revision of the Spatial […]
Swiss tenants squeezed as rents up one third in two decades
Swiss tenants are losing patience with rising rents, which have jumped by nearly a third over the past 20 years despite falling reference interest rates, according to a study by Comparis. Rents have risen by 31.9% since 2005. This can hurt when it hits tenants in one go. A 32% rise in rent over two […]
Swiss vote on imputed rent divides along two clear lines
Last Sunday, Swiss voted to scrap one of the country’s most peculiar taxes: imputed rent, known as valeur locative or Eigenmietwert. Across the country 58% voted in favour of abolishing it. However, across French-speaking Switzerland, every canton voted against the plan. By contrast, in German-speaking cantons, with the exception of Basel-City, abolition won strong support. […]
Swiss voters back digital IDs and homeowner tax reform
On 28 September 2025, Switzerland voted on two contentious matters: a state-run electronic identity (e-ID) and a revamp of property taxation. Both were approved, though one only just. The e-ID Act scraped through with 50.4% in favour and 49.6% against – narrower than polls had suggested. And, only 7.5 out of 26 cantons were in […]
Vote to axe imputed rent looking less likely to succeed, based on latest poll
Support for scrapping Switzerland’s imputed rent, a fictional rent added to home owners’ taxable income, looks to be fading, reported SRF. A poll by GFS Bern for the public broadcaster SRG suggests that, had the vote been held in early September, 51% of respondents would have backed abolition. That is down sharply from earlier surveys, […]
Switzerland’s housing squeeze tightens as vacancy rate hits 1%
Finding a home in Switzerland is getting harder. For the fifth year in a row the share of vacant flats has fallen, slipping to 1%. In other words, 99% of the country’s housing stock is now occupied. The broad region with the most acute crunch is Vaud and Geneva, but shortages are country wide. According […]
Cut in Swiss reference mortgage rate used to set rents
Switzerland’s federal housing office (FHO) has cut the reference mortgage rate used to set rents, giving many tenants grounds to demand lower payments. From 2 September 2025 the rate falls by a quarter point to 1.25%, after holding steady in June. It had already dropped from 1.75% to 1.5% in March. The benchmark, published quarterly […]
Swiss rents set to rise sharply in coming years
Swiss tenants face steep rent increases in the coming years. According to Martin Tschirren, head of the Federal Housing Office, advertised rents are likely to climb by 3–5% annually. Demand for housing continues to outstrip supply, he told the NZZ am Sonntag on 25 August 2025, as his office released its latest housing market data. […]
Swiss business and environmentalists warn against scrapping imputed rent
Switzerland’s parliament wants to scrap Switzerland’s quirky taxable imputed rental on owner-occupied homes. A vote on 28 September 2025 to impose a new tax on holiday homes is the first step to scrapping this taxable fictional rent. But there is a catch: the change would end most deductions for mortgage interest, home maintenance and environmental […]
Swiss government urges voters to back a tax on second homes to axe imputed rent
The Federal Council and Parliament urge voters to back, on 28 September 2025, a constitutional change that would let cantons levy a special property tax on owner-occupied second homes. The measure is a prerequisite for a wider reform of housing taxation that would scrap the “imputed rent” now charged to home owners. At a press […]
