Federal votes – projection: No to personal use, yes to subletting – News

• Switzerland is voting on changes to the Code of Obligations regarding the subletting of apartments and terminations for personal use.
• The projection by the research institute GFS Bern shows a narrow result: the proposal for personal use is likely to be rejected with 49 percent yes votes, while the one for subletting will be accepted with 51 percent yes votes.

In certain cantons in western Switzerland there has not yet been a majority in favor of subletting, explains GFS political scientist Lukas Golder. Although this was expected otherwise. “We have a very narrow signal towards a yes majority, but that could also mean a ‘no’.”

Anyone who has rented an apartment or business premises can sublet them under applicable law. Today, the rental can only be refused if the main tenant sublets rooms for an excessive price, if a disadvantage has to be accepted – for example due to noise – or if the main tenant is not correctly informed about the conditions of the sublease.

With the first of the two rental law templates, tenants should now submit a written request for subletting, which the rental company would have to agree to in writing. Changes in subtenancy must also be reported. If the rules are not adhered to, termination can be made within at least 30 days. Furthermore, rooms may generally be sublet for a maximum of two years.

The second template concerns termination for personal use. After purchasing a property, the new owner can prematurely terminate a rental agreement taken over from the previous owner with a longer notice period if he claims urgent personal needs, for himself or for close relatives. In the event of a legal dispute, tenants are also protected from so-called revenge terminations during the proceedings and for a certain period of time afterwards.

With the change, the requirements for exceptionally possible terminations due to “urgent” personal needs are now to be made more precise: For a termination, the asserted personal needs should be “significant and current when assessed objectively”.

Both proposals would be very disadvantageous for tenants

Green National Councilor Michael Töngi fought for a no to both proposals. He doesn’t want to commit yet, but says that a double no would be very important. “Both proposals would be very disadvantageous for the tenants,” said the representative of the tenants’ association. “It’s not just about legal certainty, but about effective dismantling measures in terms of protection against dismissal.”

Templates in the main campaign phase in the no trend

According to the second SRG survey, initial approval of the sublease proposal fell between October and the beginning of November. Although they still remained in a narrow majority, the decline in votes for yes and the increase in votes for no indicated a clear trend towards no.

When it came to personal use, there was an even clearer no: after a stalemate at the beginning of the main campaign phase, only 44 percent of those surveyed were in favor of the proposal at the beginning of November. 53 percent would have rejected the rental law reform for their own use with a firm intention to participate.