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The Tenants’ Association argues that since interest rates have been falling for a long time, rents should have fallen as well. However, the opposite has happened. (File photo of Lochergut in Zurich)
Keystone
The Tenants’ Association submitted the signatures for the rent initiative on Tuesday. Its central demand is that rents be reviewed automatically and regularly, and that a rent must be lowered if it is unreasonably high.
According to a statement from the Swiss Tenants’ Association (MVS), more than 140,000 people have signed the initiative. This makes it clear: Many people are no longer willing to accept that tenants pay “unreasonably high rents” while real estate companies maximize their returns “at the expense of households.”
The Tenants’ Association argues that since interest rates have been falling for a long time, rents should have fallen as well. However, the opposite has happened. A key reason for this is abusively high rents, which are barely regulated—even though such rents are prohibited by law. Yet Switzerland, where 60 percent of households live in rental housing, is a country of tenants.
23.06.2026, 11:30
