Study sees regulation as a barrier to suitable housing
According to Fürschi Züri, ensuring that housing in Zurich remains affordable and of high quality requires the development of residential areas in line with demand and a significant increase in construction activity. Furthermore, the housing market should not be subject to stricter regulation, according to the initiative launched by the Zurich Chamber of Commerce.
Fürschi Züri believes that overly strict regulations are stifling the housing market. The initiative for increased housing construction, launched by the Zurich Chamber of Commerce and like-minded organisations, companies and private individuals, draws this conclusion from the study *Housing Dynamics in Zurich and Switzerland*, which it commissioned from the Zurich-based research institute sotomo.
According to the study, in the strictly regulated housing market of the Geneva conurbation, almost half of families with young children and over a fifth of 40- to 60-year-olds live in overcrowded flats due to a lack of alternatives. By way of comparison, Fürschi Züri cites the city of Zurich in a press release: there, only a third of families with young children and just a tenth of 40- to 60-year-olds live in homes that are too small.
Furthermore, Fürschi Züri sees neither an increasing trend of people being forced out of the Zurich conurbation nor a rise in evictions in Zurich. According to the study, those affected in both residential areas move within the neighbourhood at an above-average rate or at least remain resident in the city or municipality. Nor does the study provide any evidence of gentrification caused by new-builds, the press release states. On the contrary, active construction activity has a positive impact on neighbourhoods and families.
“In Geneva, it is not just the distribution of housing that is a problem, but above all the lack of suitable flats,” ZHK Director Raphaël Tschanz is quoted as saying. “This self-inflicted shortage means that families remain stuck in flats that are too small.” From this, he concludes that more regulation does not solve the housing problem, “it exacerbates it”. “Where housing protection is strongest, the search for a suitable flat becomes much more difficult.”
Fürschi Züri therefore believes that residential areas need to be developed in line with demand and that construction activity must be significantly increased. “This goal requires streamlined planning procedures and short approval times.”