Because of Airbnb: National Council wants to make subletting more difficult

The National Council has approved a parliamentary initiative by SVP National Councilor and homeowner president Hans Egloff (ZH). Now the Council of States has to decide.

In the future, according to the initiative, the landlord's consent will be required if a tenant wants to sublet his apartment. The tenant should also have to disclose the sublease to the landlord. If this is abusive, the landlord should be allowed to refuse consent. This would also apply if he would suffer "substantial disadvantages" from the sublease.

If the subletting is done without the written consent of the landlord or on the basis of false information, the landlord should be allowed to terminate the lease after a reminder.

Egloff also pointed to platforms such as Airbnb as justification for his motion. Subletting has developed into a business model, he criticized. Especially in cities, inexpensive apartments in old buildings are often sublet at rents that are considerably higher than the interest paid by the tenant. The tenant pockets the difference.

According to current regulations, the landlord has the right to refuse his consent to a sublease if the tenant has no intention of using the rental property himself again later. In practice, however, the tenant's mere assertion that he will later use the rental property again himself is sufficient, Egloff said.