Basel Eases Housing Protection Measures, Leading to Noticeable Effects on Rents

According to available data, 84.3 million Swiss francs have been invested in renovations in Basel-Stadt since May 2022. The trend since November 1, 2025, is particularly striking: With the revised ordinance, the permissible surcharges are rising significantly, especially in the comprehensive procedure.

In Basel-Stadt, the conflict of interests surrounding housing protection is now reflected in the numbers. According to available data, 84.3 million francs have been spent on renovations since the law took effect at the end of May 2022. At the same time, 43 million Swiss francs were passed on to tenants. Politically, however, it is not so much the total amount that is controversial as the recent jump in permissible rent increases since the partial revision of the Housing Protection Ordinance effective November 1, 2025.

Documents from the Housing Protection Commission analyzed by the Basel Tenants’ Association indicate that rent surcharges have increased significantly in procedures requiring approval. In the simplified and comprehensive procedures combined, the average surcharge was 65.8 francs before the revision and 152.7 francs afterward. In the comprehensive procedure alone, the average rose from 122.7 to 262.5 francs per month. This illustrates what the revision at the ordinance level is actually changing in the market: energy-efficiency and comprehensive renovations are becoming more financially attractive for owners, but noticeably more expensive for existing tenancies.

New Incentives Shift the Procedures
The canton of Basel-Stadt adopted the partial revision of the Housing Protection Ordinance on June 12, 2025, and enacted it effective November 1, 2025. It was intended to facilitate eco-friendly renovations and reinvigorate investment. In comprehensive permitting procedures, applicants must now demonstrate that a building’s operational energy consumption will decrease by at least 15 percent. If this threshold is met, the ordinance allows greater flexibility in passing on renovation costs. This is precisely where the criticism lies: According to the analyzed cases, the proportion of comprehensive procedures has risen from 6.6 to 21.4 percent.

This is an important finding for the real estate sector. Tenant protection has not halted renovations, but the choice of procedure is increasingly becoming an economic lever. Under the new rules, those who can demonstrate environmental measures improve a project’s marketability and financing potential because higher rental income becomes possible. This increases the incentive to structure projects not merely as simple repairs but as comprehensive renovations.

Half Remain Without Rent Increases
Despite the shift, a second trend persists. Since May 2022, roughly half of the recorded renovations have continued to proceed without rent increases through the notification procedure. Specifically, this involves 1,108 out of 2,105 apartments. Even under the new ordinance, this proportion—at just over 51.2 percent—still constitutes a narrow majority. For the housing stock, this means that Basel’s tenant protection continues to act as a brake on direct rent increases, but its protective effect has clearly weakened under the more cumbersome procedure.

This brings into sharper focus a question in Basel that is relevant beyond the canton’s borders. When climate targets, energy-efficiency renovations, and tenant protection must all be met simultaneously, it is not only the law but also the specific provisions of the ordinance that determine the impact on the market. In Basel, this impact has become visibly measurable since November 1, 2025.