The occupancy status statistics describe whether a private household occupies its dwelling as a tenant, an owner or, for example, a farmer or usufructuary. The analyses were conducted in relation to household characteristics and dwellings.
Owner-occupied dwellings tend to be more spacious than rental dwellings. This holds true for the surface area of the dwelling, the number of rooms and the living space per occupant. In 2016, the average per capita living space was 52m2 for owner-occupied dwellings. This is 11m2 more than for rental dwellings (41m2).
A distinction can be made between owner-occupier households and tenant households with regard to size, nationality, composition and the age group of their members.
Almost three-quarters of one-person households live in rented accommodation. More than half of households comprising four and more people own the home they occupy.
Occupied dwellings by occupancy status and type of household, 2016
Tenant
Owner
Other situation1)
Household type
as %
CI*
as %
CI*
as %
CI*
Total
59.1
0.2
38.2
0.2
2.7
0.1
One-person households
74.0
0.4
23.2
0.4
2.7
0.2
Non-family household composed of several persons
84.2
1.1
12.5
1.0
3.3
0.6
Couples without children
48.3
0.4
49.6
0.4
2.1
0.1
Couples with child(ren)
47.3
0.3
50.0
0.3
2.6
0.1
One-adult household with child(ren)
66.1
0.8
29.5
0.8
4.4
0.3
Multi-family households 2
58.5
2.4
33.1
2.3
8.4
1.4
1) Other situation: dwelling provided free of charge by relative or employer, employee accommodation (e.g. caretaker dwelling), lease. 2) Households with at least two independent family units. *Confidence interval: ± (in percentage points)
Sources: FS0 - Structural survey, Federal population census
Occupied dwellings by occupancy status and age group of household members, 2015
Tenants
Owners
Other situation1)
Age group
as %
CI*
as %
CI*
as %
CI*
> 25 years
94.7
1.1
2.7
0.8
2.6
0.8
25-64 years
72.5
0.3
26.2
0.3
1.2
0.1
<25 and 25-64 years
53.8
0.3
44
0.3
2.2
0.1
<25 and 65+ years
42.1
6.7
45.4
6.9
(12.5)
(4.4)
25-64 and 65+ years
35.7
0.8
58.9
0.8
5.4
0.4
25-64 and 65+ years
40.6
2.1
52.1
2.1
7.3
1.1
65+ years
46.8
0.5
48.2
0.5
5.0
0.2
1) Other situation: dwelling provided free of charge by relative or employer, employee accommodation (e.g. caretaker dwelling), lease. *Confidence interval: ± (in percentage points) () Extrapolation based on fewer than 50 observations. The results should be interpreted with caution.
Source: FS0 - Structural survey, Federal population census
Swiss households tend to rent rather than own. The home ownership rate, i.e. the number of owner-occupied dwellings in relation to the number of occupied dwellings has been rising continuously since 1970.
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