Commission wants to restrict challenges to abusive rents
Published: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 18:21
Updated At: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 18:21
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The National Council's Legal Affairs Committee wants to restrict the challenge of allegedly abusive rents. It has submitted a corresponding bill for consultation. According to the tenants' association, this is highly dangerous for tenants.
The bill aims to restrict the contestation of the initial rent and to define the criteria for the local and neighborhood customary rent in the law. The National Council's Legal Affairs Committee is proposing that the two corresponding parliamentary initiatives by homeowners' president Hans Egloff (SVP/ZH) be implemented together, according to the report published on Wednesday.
In reality, many landlords far exceed the maximum return on equity. In cantons where the previous tenant's rent must be disclosed, new rents are therefore regularly and successfully contested. The bill aims to restrict the right of appeal against allegedly abusive rents.
This requires that rents can only be contested as abusive if there is a housing shortage and the tenant was forced to conclude the contract due to an emergency situation. The bill also provides for a weakened version without this emergency situation on the part of the tenant.
As a rule, rents are not considered abusive if they are within the usual local or neighborhood rents. According to the commission report, it is often difficult or even impossible to prove this. New criteria in the law should therefore make it easier for homeowners to prove this, the report adds. For example, instead of five residential properties, only three will have to be compared.
Tenants' association fears rent explosion
According to the tenants' association, the bill would "substantially curtail" tenants' rights against excessive rents and unjustified terminations. The amendment to the law is a danger and would lead to a further explosion in rents.
The tenants' association also criticized the "salami-slicing tactics of the real estate lobby". Signatures are already being collected for a double referendum against the attack on protection against dismissal. Because a conscious decision was made not to deal with all of these initiatives in a single bill, the tenants' association was forced to oppose each individual revision of the law separately, it said. This makes the fight against these legislative revisions extremely expensive.
The homeowners' association, on the other hand, welcomes the proposal. According to the association, it creates transparency thanks to local rents and makes the evidence practicable. This would benefit tenants, landlords and the arbitration authorities. According to the association, the restriction on disputing initial rents strengthens contractual loyalty. A concluded rental agreement should be binding for both parties.
The consultation lasts until April 10, 2024.
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