The big living showdown
One of the fiercest housing policy debates of recent years is raging in the canton of Zurich. On October 27, the cantonal council will decide on four popular initiatives, some of which propose contradictory solutions to the housing problem. The fronts are clear. Tenants' and homeowners' associations are engaged in verbal duels, while various parties and interest groups are causing controversy with their own initiatives and counter-proposals.
The housing protection initiative aims to prevent rents from rising disproportionately after conversions or demolitions. Investors should have future rents approved with the building permit, and yields should also be capped. A majority in the Cantonal Council (including the SVP, FDP and GLP) rejects this as too much interference in property rights and warns of barriers to investment. Instead, the majority of the committee is proposing a counter-proposal that would protect tenants in particular from abusive terminations. With information and support periods of 12 months in the event of restructuring. Critics see this as a placebo that does little to protect tenants and leaves the interests of yields untouched.
HEV start-up aid initiative
This initiative aims to facilitate access to home ownership. The homeowners’ association is calling for the canton to guarantee up to 15 percent of the purchase price for owner-occupiers by reducing the equity from 20 to 5 percent. The government supports the proposal as it could make it easier for middle-income families to buy. However, left-wing parties are warning of rising demand and higher land prices without a sustainable increase in housing supply. A close decision is looming in the cantonal council.
Home ownership initiative of the HEV
This initiative demands that at least an equal number of owner-occupied homes be built alongside affordable rental apartments in state-subsidized housing projects. It has not yet found a majority, as critics do not consider the one-sided promotion of rental apartments to be in line with the constitution. A counter-proposal aimed at addressing problems with the calculation of the imputed rental value also has little chance of success.
Housing initiative of the Greens
The Greens are calling for the establishment of a public housing agency with start-up capital of at least CHF 500 million in order to create affordable, non-profit housing and promote non-profit developers. The majority in the cantonal council rejects this and instead proposes a framework for accelerated housing construction. The initiators want to force a referendum if the proposal is rejected.
Outlook and political tensions
The debate in the cantonal council opens a politically hot autumn. Another point of contention will be the SP’s right of first refusal initiative, which aims to give municipalities more scope to intervene in land purchases in order to limit speculation. Its counter-proposal has mainly economic and legal opponents.
The positions of the stakeholders show the dilemma between protecting housing, promoting property ownership and concerns about investment incentives. The outcome of the votes will have a decisive influence on future housing policy in the canton of Zurich and is also likely to send a signal to other Swiss cantons.