Why Zurich’s move to rent out luxury flats has sparked a row

Authorities in Zurich plan to rent out apartments in recently renovated property for a steep price, despite the city's ongoing affordable housing shortage. And it's not gone down well.

Published: 7 June 2023 16:40 CEST

Rudolf Brun Bridge, River Limmat, Zurich, Switzerland, Photo by Malte Luk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rudolf-brun-bridge-river-limmat-zurich-switzerland-15779002/

The row centres around the recent renovation of the ‘Haus zum Kiel’ apartment block in Hirschgraben, which has been owned by the City of Zurich since 1932.

The city is now looking to rent out eight apartments at a staggering price tag, much to the frustration of opposition party FDP.The Liberals.

The city explains that while the vast majority of municipal apartments are non-profit and are aimed at tenants with limited financial resources, the luxurious Haus zum Kiel is one of the few exceptions.

Instead, the rents for the property are based on market prices.

The city is renting out a 3.5-room (In Switzerland the size of flats include half rooms that are not considered full sized rooms) apartment in the block for a cool 5,959 francs per month, and another two apartments of the same size for a monthly rent of 5,696 and 5,250 francs, respectively.

While medium-sized apartments in the city can easily go for a cool 6,000 francs per month, in view of Zurich’s housing shortage and ever-increasing rents, the city of Zurich has faced its fair share of criticism for opting to enter the luxury apartment market in the middle of the housing crisis, Tsüri reports.

In addition to the three 3.5-room apartments, the city is also renting out five 1.5 to 3-room apartments with rents ranging from 2,350 to 4,086 francs per month.

When asked why the city was choosing to rent out luxury apartments given the challenging times for Zurich residents, a spokeswoman for the finance department told Tsüri that the city rents out 9,500 apartments overall and another 1,600 are under construction.

The spokeswoman said this development only included 16 properties that were classified as ‘special residential properties’ and are rented out for a profit.

Përparim Avdili, President of the Zurich’s FDP. The Liberals said the city’s decision to create more luxury living space for the already well-off an “absurdity”.

Avdili said the city should focus its resources on supporting families with tight budgets, for example.

Despite the high cost of the rent prices for Haus zum Kiel there has been no shortage of interest.

All viewing appointments for the apartments – due to welcome tenants from September 1st 2023 – have already been fully booked up.