Who really earns from it "You have to follow the money" - how Zurich is displacing its tenants

Zurich is growing - but there will be no more room for many. Wrecking balls, rising rents and displacement are affecting thousands of people in the middle of their homes. An SRF documentary about inner-city densification, yields and the question of who owns the city.

Nowhere in Switzerland is the housing shortage more acute than in the city of Zurich. With a vacancy rate of 0.1 percent in the city, the market has practically dried up. And the basic need for housing is being diligently capitalized on: vacancy notices, replacement buildings and the displacement of long-term tenants are the consequences.

According to an ETH study, over 6,100 tenants were displaced in the city of Zurich between 2013 and 2022, 900 people in the Zurich-Altstetten district alone, more than in any other district. The houses are being demolished to make way for new buildings. An SRF documentary highlights grievances and sheds light on the background.

Julia Schramm still has a year before her house falls victim to the wrecking ball. At the moment, the marketing consultant pays CHF 1,490 for her 2.5-room apartment, but a rent hike is on the cards. "I certainly won't be able to afford one of these new apartments that are being built here." A doubling of the rent is certainly conceivable, as similar projects in the neighborhood show.

Gentrification is changing the character of the neighborhood

But why are so many old houses being replaced by new ones? The magic word is "inner densification". The city should not spread out further into the surrounding area, but should be kept as compact as possible. Buildings should only be built where there are already houses. Urban sprawl is thus avoided, but no one seems to have thought about the social consequences.

According to the ETH study, the new tenants in replacement buildings have an average household income that is around 3,200 francs or 70 percent higher than that of the displaced rental clientele. "Gentrification" is what spatial planners call this process.

Julia Schramm's landlord is Halter AG. The heirs of building contractor Wilhelm Halter own several dozen properties in Altstetten. Balz Halter, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Halter Group, points out that demolition and new construction will create significantly more living space than would have been possible by adding storeys to the existing buildings. And more yield is also possible, he admits when asked by the filmmaker.

Greed for returns eats away at decency

"If you want to understand why something happens, it's always advisable to follow the money," says National Councillor Jacqueline Badran (SP/ZH) in the film. This is especially true when it comes to real estate, because there is a lot, a lot, a lot of money involved.

The problem is the privatization of land, continues Gabriela Debrunner, Assistant Professor of Planning and Housing at the University of Lausanne. "Land has a market value. Those who own or can acquire building land are lucky, others are not. This leads to an extreme imbalance that we as a society don't really want."

Letzigarten is not the only estate owned by Haltersch whose tenants have been given notice. Further new replacement buildings are to be built and as much return as possible extracted from the properties. Balz Halter makes it clear: "We are not the state, we are not there to provide social services."

Julia Schramm has now found an apartment in Schlieren, around 100 square meters for 2,500 francs. It's more of an agglo and no longer really a city, but it has a garden and terrace. "That's more than I could have wished for," she says happily. Land prices in Schlieren are only half as expensive as in Zurich city.