Before Basel decides – The example of Geneva shows what the effective effect of housing protection
The example of Geneva shows what the effective effect of housing protection
We looked through statistics, evaluations and a master’s thesis on the situation in Geneva in order to answer the most pressing questions about the effects of a yes to the Basel Housing Protection Initiative.
Are rents rising sharply in Geneva despite housing protection?
Yes. Rents in Geneva have risen sharply over the past 40 years, despite the fact that a strong Housing Protection Act came into force in 1983. There is a simple reason for this: Geneva landlords have developed a strategy on how to circumvent the regulations. You wait until the apartment falls out of rent control – which is the case after five years. This is how it is regulated in federal law. Then you pay all the more rent. As soon as the landlord can, he’ll make up for “years of waiting,” says in the evaluation of an external commission to the Geneva Housing Protection Act, the so-called “loi sur les démolitions, transformations, rénovations de maisons d’habitation (LDTR)”. A survey shows that landlords are increasing their rent by an average of CHF 492 per month at this point in time. This is why the evaluation also comes to the conclusion that the LDTR only offers “temporary and fragile protection” when it comes to rent increases.