Bern secures loans for affordable housing

The National Council and the Council of States have secured the key federal instruments for social housing construction until the early 2030s. CHF 150 million has been approved for the Fonds de Roulement, along with guarantees totalling CHF 1.92 billion for EGW bonds.

Above all, the decision will stabilise the financing of new projects. The Fonds de Roulement is to be increased by 150 million Swiss francs between 2030 and 2034. At the same time, the Issuing Centre for Non-Profit Housing Organisations (EGW) will receive a commitment credit of 1.92 billion Swiss francs for federal guarantees between 2027 and 2033. This ensures that low-interest loans remain available in the early stages of projects, as well as long-term bonds via the capital market.

Parliament approved these two proposals on 2 June 2026. According to the Parliamentary Services, this is expected to increase the fund to just over 900 million Swiss francs. The previous guarantee framework of CHF 1.7 billion, which was approved in 2021, will, according to Parliament, be exhausted in the course of 2027.

Two instruments with different functions
For non-profit housing developers, the instruments come into play at different stages of a project. The Fonds de Roulement provides interest-bearing and repayable loans for new construction, renovation, and the acquisition of properties and building land. The EGW, on the other hand, raises capital through bonds, which can be issued on more favourable terms thanks to federal guarantees. This has a direct impact on financing costs and thus on the ability to secure affordable rents in the long term.

Housing market remains under pressure
The Federal Council had justified the increase in September 2025 by citing the ongoing housing shortage. At the time, the Federal Department of Education, Research and Innovation (WBF) pointed out that demand for housing had been exceeding supply for years and that the problem had long since spread beyond the major cities. Mountain communities reliant on tourism and other regions are also under pressure. For project developers and housing cooperatives, the guaranteed continuation of the existing support mechanism is therefore particularly important, as it makes financing and the project pipeline predictable over several years.

This does not, however,resolve the bottlenecks
. The decisions safeguard the current set of instruments, but do not fundamentally expand them. Industry circles also point out that, given the high demand, funding remains limited. This is also underlined by the EGW’s 2024 Annual Report, which reports a sharp rise in demand for financing and a foreseeable tight transition period until the new guarantee framework comes into effect.