Referendum: Housing initiative rejected
The "More affordable housing" initiative failed to win a majority in the referendum of 9 February 2020.
The Swiss electorate voted against the housing initiative; only 43% of citizens voted in favour. The turnout was 41%. Citizens and cantons had voted in favour of the initiative in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Geneva and Jura; in the other cantons it was rejected.
At a media conference, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin said that the majority of the population had accepted the view of the Federal Council and parliament that the housing market as a whole was functioning and that the vast majority of the population had adequate living space. The vote shows that there are problems in certain cities and regions, Parmelin added. However, these should be solved regionally.
The housing initiative has demanded that the federal government and the cantons promote the construction of affordable rental housing. In particular, 10% of new apartments should in future have to be built by housing cooperatives. The Federal Council and Parliament considered the implementation too expensive and recommended rejection. However, they promised to increase the Fonds de Roulement by CHF 250 million over the next ten years if the initiative was rejected.
In an initial statement, the Swiss housing cooperatives expressed their disappointment, but at the same time appealed to the federal government to fulfil its constitutional mandate to promote non-profit housing.
housing construction. Increasing the Fonds de Roulement was not enough to increase the proportion of non-profit housing. Spatial planning measures are also necessary for this. (ah)
