Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings
The Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings (RBD) started in 2000 for statistical purposes. At the time, it was exclusively focusing on buildings with residential use. Thanks to the full revision of the Ordinance on the RBD, entered into force on July 1st, 2017, it now contains data on all kinds of buildings in Switzerland.
RDB data provides a view of the current buildings and dwellings stock of Switzerland, continuously updated by communal building departments. The catalogue of attributes provides a description of the data recorded in the RBD and an overview of its structure and content (not available in English).
Usage for statistical, research and planning purposes, as well as for the execution of legal obligations at the level of the Confederation, cantons and the communes.
The RBD contains all buildings with residential use in Switzerland and their dwellings since its establishment. From
January 1st, 2018, it also contains non-residential buildings.
The RDB contains information on construction projects, buildings, dwellings, entrances and streets. An identifier characterizes each record of the aforementioned entities, facilitating data exchange.
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) manages the RBD in close collaboration with communal services and specialized services of the Confederation, cantons and communes. The municipal building departments report every construction project requiring a building permit to the FSO (new constructions, transformations, demolitions), via the Internet and a defined user interface or via Web services.
