Round table presents over 30 measures to combat housing shortage
Published: Tuesday, Feb 13th 2024, 17:10
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More apartments are to be built in Switzerland, especially affordable ones. This is the aim of an action plan with over thirty measures. It was drawn up by the federal government, cantons, municipalities and associations. Not everyone is equally satisfied.
The population is growing, as is the living space per capita. However, less is being built: while 53,000 new apartments came onto the market in 2018, 43,000 were expected for 2023. The number of permits for new buildings fell by over thirty percent between 2016 and 2023, according to the action plan presented in Bern on Tuesday.
Consolidate and use better
This is intended to provide more living space and, above all, more homes at affordable prices. It wants to start with densification and better utilization of building land, more efficient planning and approval procedures and the strengthening of indirect housing subsidies - as far as tight finances allow.
How long the implementation takes depends on the measures. A study or a guideline could be implemented quickly, said Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. However, it would take longer to amend land-use planning or municipal building regulations.
The focus should be on inward development: Building should take place on developed land, and the density of use on already built-up areas could be increased. In suitable locations, Parmelin said, it should be examined whether it would be possible to build higher. Smaller boundary distances are also an issue.
The strict separation of work and residential zones could be lifted so that office or hotel buildings, for example, could be used more easily for residential purposes. What once served to protect against harmful emissions is less important today, as many commercial and industrial activities are low-emission, according to the report.
More efficient approval procedures
The planning and approval of residential buildings should progress more quickly. Procedures are sometimes delayed for years due to obviously abusive objections. It should be examined whether the interest in a sufficient supply of housing should be enshrined in law.
There should be fewer objections that only serve to prevent projects. It should therefore be examined whether objection and appeal options can be bundled and reduced; a cost requirement is also mentioned. However, there should be no material restriction.
The Swiss Homeowners' Association insisted on these proposals in a press release, but demanded more. It wrote that "reasonable" noise protection regulations and a relaxation of monument and heritage protection were needed.
Cities not satisfied
The aim is also to strengthen indirect housing subsidies. However, tight finances set limits: A fund that would help non-profit developers to obtain building land is to be dispensed with. Loans and guarantees in favor of affordable housing are not to be reactivated.
The Swiss Association of Housing Cooperatives is not satisfied: "We hope for more speed," said association president and SP member of the Council of States Eva Herzog. The lack of a fund for non-profit housing construction is regrettable. The measure to stipulate a proportion of affordable housing for upzoning is to be welcomed.
The cities would also have liked the right of first refusal for municipalities and the obligation to provide new tenants with the interest rates of their predecessors. These measures were downgraded considerably in the action plan, criticized Corine Mauch, Vice President of the Association of Cities and Towns and Mayor of Zurich.
"Eyewash"
The Working Group for Mountain Regions criticizes that more than the action plan is needed to ensure that young people can live in tourist resorts at affordable prices in the long term. Amendments to the Spatial Planning Act and the Second Homes Act are mentioned.
The tenants' association spoke of "window-dressing". The action plan does not contain any quick and effective measures that would make it easier to find an affordable rental apartment. Instead of taking responsibility, the federal government is delegating the problem to the cantons and municipalities.
©Keystone/SDA
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