Real estate Almost 30,000 people are affected by vacancies every year

Vacancy notices for entire apartment buildings repeatedly make the headlines. These so-called "vacancy notices" are mainly concentrated in cities and vacation areas.

According to the ZKB, however, this is generally less dramatic for those affected than is often assumed. Between 2018 and 2022, a total of 10,900 apartment buildings were vacated throughout Switzerland in order to extensively renovate them or build new ones. This affects almost 30,000 people every year, ZKB explained in a study on Tuesday.

12 percent of all vacancies (1270 apartment buildings) were in the city of Zurich during this period. The situation is less severe in Geneva, where only 20 buildings are vacated each year thanks to special tenant protection, according to the study.

The bank concludes that, although "unpleasant" for those affected, the overall impact of rent evictions is less dramatic than often assumed. This is because around two thirds of those affected find a new home "at least in the immediate vicinity". In other words: in the same municipality.

Nevertheless, vacancies are a "dilemma": many do not find a comparably affordable apartment nearby. In addition, returning is often not an option: after renovation and even more so after the construction of a new replacement building, long-term tenants in particular can no longer afford the significantly higher quality of living.

"Everyone has to live, but not everyone can afford the higher quality of life," writes the ZKB. For this reason, the preservation and creation of affordable living space is immensely important, especially in cities.

According to the ZKB, 80 percent of the rented buildings were 40 years old or more. A certain need for renovation is therefore undeniable.

However, for around 10 percent of the buildings that were only built after 2000, "doubts about the appropriateness" of the terminations are at least justified. In the case of 16 percent of vacant buildings, the buildings were completely demolished in favor of new buildings.

SDA