Mass terminations in Zurich Why only three of nine "Sugus" buildings are being let out
Zurich's Röntgenareal is now being torn apart by a rift caused by the eviction process: A third of the tenants have to move out, while the other residents are allowed to stay. The reason is the heirs of the former owner.
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- One third of the tenants in Zurich's Röntgenareal are disappointed and frustrated: they were given notice to vacate their apartment at the same time.
- The other residents of the neighborhood have been spared the mass termination.
- Apparently, the three heirs of the former owner of the nine "Sugus" buildings are pursuing different goals.
Out of the blue, hundreds of Zurich residents received notice to quit their apartments at the beginning of the week. This affects 105 tenants at Neugasse 81, 83 and 85, who have until the end of March 2025 to move out. The management company Allgood Property AG cited the owners' wish to completely renovate the properties as the reason.
What is striking about the terminations is that only three of a total of nine buildings in the district known as Röntgenareal in Kreis 5 are affected. Anyone living in the other six houses is in luck. The reason for this is that the heirs of former owner Leopold Bachmann are taking different approaches to their properties, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
One heiress is doing everything differently
The so-called "Sugus houses" were built by Leopold Bachmann at the end of the 1990s. The property developer wanted to create affordable living space: for low-income earners, for families with children, for foreigners. Rents in the estate were affordable by Zurich standards until the end: a four-and-a-half-room apartment cost CHF 2,000.
After Bachmann's death in 2021, two sons and a daughter each inherited three of the houses. The tenants of the houses inherited by Bachmann's daughter were given notice to quit. She had already changed management in the summer. While her brothers' houses will continue to be managed by Simo Immobilien, Zug-based Allgood Property AG has taken over the management of Bachmann's daughter's houses.
The entrepreneur Goran Zeindler is behind the company, reports "Watson". He has founded several real estate and construction companies in recent years, all of which have gone bankrupt. Some were so heavily indebted that the bankruptcy proceedings had to be discontinued "due to a lack of assets".
Need for restructuring could be a pretext
Allgood Property AG justifies the mass terminations to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper by claiming that the buildings "urgently need to be completely renovated" in order to give them a "sustainable and ecological future". The tenants disagree with this argument and suspect that the new owner is putting off the refurbishment in order to increase returns.
The owners of the other six "Sugus buildings" also see no need for a total refurbishment. "The buildings, the apartments and the surroundings are in good condition," Sigmund Bachmann is quoted as saying.
He is not planning any changes to the quality of living or affordability. The fact that Sigmund Bachmann has promised to give priority to terminated "Sugus" tenants when an apartment becomes available in his buildings is little consolation for the tenants concerned. Because this happens very rarely.
Even if they have organized themselves quickly and want to take legal action against the termination with the support of the Zurich Tenants' Association, the 105 terminated tenants have no choice but to look for a new place to live at the same time. Neighbors and friends will soon become competitors in Zurich's scarce housing market.
