The example shows: In addition to new and replacement buildings, frequent use of existing properties is also an important part of municipal housing policy.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, January 21, 2022, the city of Zurich will be letting the refurbished apartments in the Birkenhof housing estate in the Unterstrass district in stages.

The Birkenhof settlement (near Milchbuck) is currently being repaired. From May 2022, the first 21 of a total of 96 apartments in the settlement will be ready for occupancy. The remaining 75 apartments will follow in four stages in October and April to April 2024.

From tomorrow, Friday, January 21, 2022, 8 a.m. to Friday, January 28, 2022, 12 p.m., seven of the 21 apartments will be advertised via e-rental; 14 apartments will go to former Birkenhof tenants and to tenants from other municipal properties who want to move into a smaller apartment.

So you can again comply with the occupancy regulations, and the larger apartments that become vacant can be rented again. As usual, a random number generator WILL select selected prospects to attend the home viewing.

Apartment seekers who are themselves and applicants 65 years of age and older are invited to visit without having to overcome the “hurdle” of the random number generator.

This is intended to achieve one of the goals of the rental concept – mixed-age living in the settlement.

Persons with permanent health reasons can participate in tours without having to face the selection by the random number generator.

The average net rents for 2-room apartments are 984 francs (self-supporting) or 847 francs (subsidised), for 3-room apartments 1077 or 927 francs and for 4-room apartments 1293 or 1115 francs.

There are also additional costs of around 140 francs. The three apartment types represented in the Birkenhof are on average 59, 68 and 89 square meters gross. At 33 square meters, per capita space consumption is well below the neighborhood and city average.

Further information on the apartments will be available on Friday morning at 8 a.m. on the first letting page of the City of Zurich properties. So far there have been no subsidized apartments in the Birkenhof, but the city of Zurich has applied for new properties from the canton that 28 percent of the apartments can be subsidised.

Last but not least, this is intended to prevent previous tenants from having to move out of their familiar surroundings because they can no longer afford the increased rents due to dying.

According to the rental concept, 212 people, including 43 children, will live in the settlement after all the repaired apartments have been rented out again.

The aim is for residents without a Swiss passport to be 32 percent, which corresponds to the city average but is above the proportion in district 6 and in the Unterstrass district (28 percent).

In addition to the Birkenhof estate built between 1925 and 1926, the Bullingerhof (built between 1930 and 1931) in district 4 is currently being repaired and rented out again. Both settlements are in the inventory of monument preservation.

The examples show that, in addition to new and replacement buildings, the care and maintenance of the existing building constitutes an essential part of urban housing policy and the real estate strategy of the City of Zurich.

Birkenhof and Bullingerhof can thus be used for at least another 30 years. Although the rents, which are very low, especially for long-term tenants, will increase after the complete renovation, affordable living space will remain.