Swiss municipalities keep proportion of second homes stable
Die jährliche Erhebung der Wohnungsinventare durch das Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung zeigt, dass trotz leichtem Anstieg immer noch etwa jede sechste Gemeinde in der Schweiz keine neuen Zweitwohnungen mehr zulässt. Acht weitere Gemeinden haben nun einen Anteil von über zwanzig Prozent Zweitwohnungen.
The latest survey by the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) shows that the proportion of municipalities that no longer permit new second homes remains significant. Around one in six Swiss municipalities is affected by this decision, and this figure has only risen slightly compared to the previous year.
Interestingly, Switzerland now has a total of 340 municipalities with a proportion of second homes of over twenty per cent. In these municipalities, new second homes are only permitted under strict conditions, as stipulated in the Second Homes Act. Particularly affected are areas in the Alpine arc, the foothills of the Alps, occasionally in the Jura and on lakes.
The municipalities carry out their annual housing inventories to determine the number of second homes. The results are published by the ARE at the end of March each year. Municipalities whose proportion of second homes is now over twenty per cent then have 30 days to comment and clarify their inventory. If the proportion remains above twenty per cent, the Second Homes Act, which regulates the construction of new second homes and is based on the Second Homes Initiative adopted in March 2012, applies.
This development underlines the efforts of Swiss municipalities to regulate the issue of second homes in accordance with legal requirements and to maintain the balance between recreational and residential use in their regions.