Surface right: its importance for public housing
This topic, which is still little known in Ticino, requires greater knowledge and sensitivity in relation to buildings of public use
CASSI (the section of the Italian part of Switzerland of the umbrella organization of the Swiss housing cooperatives) in cooperation with
works with the Ticino regional group from Espace Suisse to spread more knowledge and awareness of the important, still little-known topic of surface law in relation to public housing in our canton.
The instrument of surface law could give new impulses for the development of various and innovative projects and also positively influence territorial development.
with important economic, but also social effects.
In the long term and under certain conditions, renting a property, a property to be built or already built could bring benefits to society as a whole, including future generations. It could encourage the creation of affordable housing, not only to create living space, but also to stimulate neighborhood and business activities, as has already been noted in many places in Switzerland.
The application of the Surface Law, if necessary, in conjunction with the use of capital from the "Fonds de Roulement" (fund fed by Confederation loans) to grant loans at a subsidized interest rate for social housing operators Promote the development of housing projects, especially renovation in this time of change. Housing projects that may be characterized by a mix of generations could foster a sense of solidarity and mutual help and make it easier to organize daily life so that citizens help one another, support one another.
less dependent on the help of the already overburdened state to cope with the crisis.
The vacancies have reached record levels, the value of land remains high and the number of affordable apartments in the metropolitan areas remains insufficient. An increasing number of families, even belonging to the middle section of the population, are unable to find adequate housing solutions or invest in a house due to the high costs. A larger number of households might consider investing in real estate when developing public utility projects using the building rights. Since the capital is not required to purchase the property, the initial capital to carry out the project – the renovation of an existing building or construction – would be significantly less and therefore more families could afford it. If families could spend less on rent, they would have more money to invest in something else and therefore would do more to run the economy, especially the local one.
As a rule, these are public institutions or parapublic
the patricians or parish councils to give theirs
Property. Also hereditary or pro
Historic building owners might consider this tool. Even owners who are emotionally reluctant to sell the property may be interested in finding a finish, i.e. those who rent the property for an extended period and invest their capital in renovation and / or construction.
It is important to know that the owner of the fund can set restrictions in order for the project to be carried out to have certain characteristics. For example, if a municipality decides to give its own property under the Surface Act, this could not only require that the apartments be of public use, not for profit, but that a percentage must also be present.
of apartments for self-sufficient elderly people, large families or economically weak population groups. The municipality could also mandate that the building be built to high energy standards or that the rooms on the ground floor have public functions or more.
Each of these restrictions clearly affects the canon of surface law as it restricts the freedom of those who carry out the project. Constraints are therefore crucial elements in determining the amount of rent; The more there are, the lower the fee due. The constraint community collects less, but it is also thanks to borrowed capital that solutions are found to problems that it would otherwise have to solve with taxpayers' money. This will be one of the topics of the next meeting organized by CASSI with the Ticino regional group Espace Suisse, which will take place next spring: surface law, calculation of its value and financial support.
Not only the amount of rent is a determining element when signing a surface right contract, but also the duration, which must meet the conditions of reversibility, that is, the value recognized for the building and the condition in which it must be found You at the end of the contract that the owner will resume its use.
The great advantage for the municipalities or for any other owner is that after the contract expires, the availability of the property to the public institution or to the heirs and thus to future generations. Retaining ownership is a huge investment in the future and a forward-looking decision. Future generations
The real estate will have real estate to meet their needs, not just housing that has changed over time.
In urban centers, real estate costs are very high and will continue to rise as land is a non-reproducible asset. Certainly it is and will remain difficult for the medium-sized population to access it in the near and medium term. Large centers such as Zurich and Geneva invest in the purchase of real estate and then pass this on to public utility companies in the form of building rights, which build housing there at affordable costs. They do this because they understand that it is important to maintain a mix of populations in cities, as it is thanks to this that the cities stay alive. And it is important to be able to keep a middle section of the population in your cities as they pay taxes.
Closer cooperation between the public and private sectors, including on non-profit housing projects, could also lead to interesting results in Ticino, both in urban areas and in the valleys. The communities in the peripheral areas could be integrated
They want to promote these types of projects that could help revitalize areas that are marked by severe demographic decline, resulting in a reduction in activity and life. Combined with the development of services, including in the technological field, these projects could help revitalize peripheral centers and make them attractive.
A record to close. If the public body makes its property available in the surface right, it must also take into account the law on public contracts. For more information, write to or visit the website www.cassi.ch.
In the Events section, the interventions of the speakers Federica De Rossa, professor at the Institute of Law, are published
from the University of Italian Switzerland and Daniele Graber, Lic.Iur Dipl. Ing. HTL di
VIALEX Rechtsanwälte AG.
It is possible to: do more – live better – by spending less. ■