New building project in Kloten ZH Rent suddenly doubles - couple has to move away after 47 years
Long-time tenants are leaving their neighborhood in Kloten ZH: the owner is replacing their apartment buildings with new ones - and doubling the rents. Too much for some of the elderly residents.
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- After 47 years, a couple from Kloten ZH have to leave their apartment: The rent is doubling.
- This is because new buildings are being constructed to replace the old apartment blocks in the neighborhood.
- Many long-standing tenants cannot afford the price increase.
They have lived in a housing estate on the edge of the forest in Kloten ZH for almost half a century. The ice rink is very close by. But the neighborhood where the Widmer family has lived for 47 years is changing.
The old houses are being demolished and replaced by taller new buildings. Many tenants can no longer afford the rent in the new apartment blocks: it would be at least twice as high as before.
Previously, Köbi Widmer and his wife paid CHF 1,400 a month for their 4-room apartment, they tell the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. A comparably sized 3.5-room apartment in one of the new buildings would cost between 2,800 and 3,150 francs: "We simply can't afford that anymore," says Köbi Widmer.
Suddenly twice as much rent
The site is owned by the Schaffhausen Pension Fund. It is having the existing residential buildings replaced with modern apartment blocks. This will create 224 new apartments, more than twice as many as before.
However, the rent is also more than twice as high. The price shock is forcing many of the existing residents to move away.
Köbi Widmer had long hoped to be able to stay in his familiar neighborhood. He had already received notice of termination at the end of June 2025 due to the new building three years ago. The pension fund gave the existing tenants a head start when allocating the new apartments
"Of course we were prepared to have to pay a little more rent," says Widmer. However, he did not expect housing costs to double. What's more, the new administration only communicated the specific amount at the end of January this year.
Old tenant rejected: "Too little income"
When approving the construction project, the city council spoke of apartments in the "medium price segment" - which, however, is now turning out to be quite high. At least for many of the older tenants. A quarter of the 211 residents of the affected buildings have lived there for 30 years, 37 alone for more than 50 years.
Some of his neighbors had accepted the higher rents, but had been turned away: "Too little income". The managing director of the Schaffhausen pension fund, Oliver Diethelm, defends the new rents as "in line with the market". In addition, "necessary returns" are required when dealing with pension assets.
The Widmers have looked for a new apartment - and are moving out of Kloten. They would have liked to stay in the city: "But we no longer had time to find something suitable here." They are moving to Winterthur, where they have found a 3.5-room apartment for 1,900 francs.
