Zurich: Housing protection initiative clearly failed
In the canton of Zurich, the housing protection initiative failed to gain acceptance despite strong support in the metropolitan areas. The result of the «10 Million Switzerland» initiative should also bring a sigh of relief to the real estate sector.
The Zurich electorate has clearly rejected the two left-wing housing initiatives. The clear «no» vote shows "that the people of Zurich do not want to get involved in housing policy experiments that have already failed in Basel-Stadt and Geneva", says Raphaël Tschanz, Director of the Chamber of Commerce. The canton's counter-proposals for more pragmatic tenant protection and better framework conditions and faster approval procedures, on the other hand, have prevailed. The counter-proposal to the housing protection initiative promises clear rules and transparency for unavoidable housing terminations, while incentives for investment, replacement buildings and new housing should remain intact. The new constitutional article obliges the canton and municipalities to create favorable conditions for a sufficient supply of housing.
Rift between town and country
However, if the city of Zurich had voted separately, the initiative would have been clearly accepted with around 58 %. Approval was strongest in districts 4 and 5, with a yes vote of just under 68 %. The result was similarly clear in district 3 (67%) and in the Mattenbach district of Winterthur (62%). The initiative was rejected by the more rural parts of the canton. In some municipalities - such as Hüttikon and Herrliberg - the No votes reached around 80%.
However, it was not only the two left-wing housing initiatives that failed. The bourgeois initiative for the promotion of home ownership fared no better - it was only approved by 25 %.
Close call for Switzerland 10 million
The national vote on the popular initiative «No 10 million Swiss!» was significant for the Swiss real estate market as a whole. Although it was considered somewhat controversial among experts as to how significant its impact on immigration would have been, the uncertainty it caused and its impact on the real estate market in particular was clearly noticeable in the run-up to the vote. In the end, the popular vote was close, with around 55% of the votes cast going to «no». The initiative failed by a particularly large margin in French-speaking Switzerland. The rejection rate in the cantons of Geneva and Vaud was around 65%, and in the canton of Neuchâtel it was over 67%. The vote was also above average in Zurich (60%).
