Rented dwellings

At the end of 2017, 2.2 million households in Switzerland (59%) lived in a rented dwelling. The urban cantons Basel-Stadt (84%) and Geneva (78%) had the highest proportion of rented dwellings whereas the cantons Valais (39%) and Jura (42%) had the lowest. Tenant households were primarily single-person households (44%) or couple households with or without children (45%). These two household types correspond to 36% and 55% of all households, respectively.
The FSO’s surveys provide information on rental prices and the type of owners of rented dwellings.

Owners of rented dwellings

Almost half of all rented dwellings were owned by private individuals in 2019. There are regional differences.  

Type of owners of rented dwellings by size of dwellings, 2019

	small (1 to 2 rooms)		medium (3 to 4 rooms)		large (5 to 6 rooms)
Type of owners	in %	VI*	in %	VI*	in %	VI*
Private individuals	49,6	3,0	48,2	1,6	55,4	3,4
Public sector	(4,3)	(1,3)	3,6	0,6	(3,8)	(1,3)
Cooperative	6,8	1,5	9,3	1,0	6,8	1,8
Construction company or real estate agency	6,7	1,5	6,8	0,8	5,7	1,6
Other joint stock company/ limited liability company/ corporation	32,5	2,9	32,0	1,5	28,2	3,1

* Confidence interval: ± (in % points)
(number): Extrapolation based on fewer than 50 observations. The results should be interpreted with great caution.
Source: FSO – rental index

Survey basis and explanations

The results on the type of owner of rented dwellings come from the quarterly rental index survey. The sample covers some 6400 rented dwellings. The data collected every quarter are cumulated over a year to ensure statistical reliability.

Rent

Regardless of size, the average net rent in 2017 was CHF 1329 at national level. The highest rents were found in the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Schwyz. The cheapest cantons are Jura, Neuchâtel and Glarus.

Average rent paid by tenants and cooperative members by number of rooms

	1990	2000	2017	IC*
Average rent (in CHF)	820	1,059	1,329	3
one-room dwellings	492	598	752	8
two-room dwellings	641	814	1,061	6
three-room dwellings	761	976	1,270	4
four-room dwellings	945	1,198	1,519	6
five-room dwellings	1,249	1,526	1,855	14
dwellings with 6 rooms and more	1,626	1,978	2,323	41

*Confidence interval 2017: ± (in CHF) Sources: Federal population census, Structural survey

Further information

Tables

Statistical sources and concepts

Surveys