Old buildings in Bern are under pressure to be refurbished
Bern is driving forward the debate on a mandatory refurbishment requirement for inefficient older buildings. On 2 September 2026, the Federal Council approved a report outlining binding deadlines for achieving GEAK Class D via cantonal energy laws. Whether this will amount to more than just a concept, however, depends on funding and Relief Package 27.
The report, which the Federal Council approved on 2 September 2026, is not yet a new piece of legislation, nor is it a finalised renovation order. Rather, it sets out an implementation plan for the Eymann motion which, in the absence of direct federal competence, would primarily have to be implemented through future cantonal energy laws.
This is precisely where the sticking point lies. The recommendation is for a combined strategy of incentives and requirements, focusing on the buildings with the poorest energy performance. For buildings in GEAK class G, a ten-year timeframe would apply once the relevant cantonal energy law comes into force; for class F, 15 years; and for class E, 20 years. The target in each case would be at least GEAK class D for the building envelope.
The focus is on the older building stock
The federal government is targeting the part of the building stock that has the greatest energy-efficiency catch-up requirements. Around 60 per cent of the energy-consuming floor area of residential buildings was constructed before 1980, and more than half of the building envelope elements have still not been renovated. For owners of older residential properties, regulatory pressure would therefore initially increase in terms of reporting requirements and condition assessments, and later in terms of cantonal renovation requirements.
At the same time, the report notes that the political target of an 80 per cent reduction in energy losses will not be achieved by any of the packages examined. This would require a comprehensive refurbishment of all buildings to GEAK Class A or a comparable Minergie standard. Even a stricter requirement to achieve GEAK Class B appears, in the report’s view, to be virtually unfeasible in practice.
Funding remains the weak link
The motion is particularly controversial because of the issue of funding. The report explicitly does not call for any new legislation, additional funding or staff resources. At the same time, the Federal Council points out that, following Parliament’s decision on Relief Package 27 in spring 2026, the Buildings Programme will need to be redesigned and its future structure has not yet been finalised in detail.
This creates a contradiction that is central to the market. The proposed strategy relies on more binding requirements for substandard buildings whilst at the same time on stronger funding, social safety nets or an energy renovation fund. Yet it is precisely this funding framework that has not yet been fully spelt out politically. Even so, the volume of funding is already considerable today. In 2025, the Confederation and the cantons paid out 516.4 million Swiss francs under the Buildings Programme and, together with the Incentive Programme, committed 636.4 million Swiss francs.
For property owners, the lead-up period begins
Anyone who owns an older property should therefore not dismiss the debate as a distant federal document. If the cantons adopt the proposed requirements, energy-efficiency upgrades – which are currently largely voluntary – would become significantly more binding. It remains to be seen when and in what form this step will gain political majority support. However, it is already clear where the federal government intends to apply pressure and which buildings will come under pressure first.