Initiative against abusive rents succeeds with 108,437 valid signatures

The popular initiative "Yes to protection against abusive rents" has formally succeeded. Of the 110,577 signatures submitted on 23 June, 108,437 were recognised as valid by the Federal Chancellery, which announced the result on Thursday. The text will now follow the ordinary procedure, with a message from the Federal Council and consideration by both chambers, before going to a popular vote.

The initiative is promoted by the Swiss Tenants' Association and backed by an alliance that includes the Social Democrats, the Greens, other organisations and the trade unions. It proposes a constitutional amendment instructing the Federal Council and Parliament to introduce clear rent control and to guarantee fair tenancies throughout the country.

The actual-cost criterion

The core of the text is the method of calculation. According to the campaigners, rents should be based on the costs actually borne by the owner, plus a limited return. Current tenancy law allows wider margins, and a review normally takes place only when an individual tenant challenges the rent.

The association argues that large property groups have been enriching themselves at tenants' expense for too long. It notes that rents keep rising and that neither the government nor the federal chambers have so far acted to correct the situation.

The figures put forward by the campaigners show what is at stake. According to the association, people living in rented accommodation pay on average around 360 francs a month too much, amounting to some ten billion francs transferred each year from tenants to landlords. These are partisan estimates, disputed by property organisations, but they indicate the scale of the debate ahead.

The issue also directly concerns Italian-speaking Switzerland, where the weight of rent in household budgets has grown alongside health insurance premiums and where the share of people living in rented homes remains high. The campaign that opens in the coming months will set two readings against each other: one that sees rent control as necessary protection for middle and lower incomes, and one that fears a cap on returns would reduce investment and the construction of new housing.

No date has been set. Popular initiatives usually reach the ballot box some years after a signature drive formally succeeds.