At the end of 2021, 2.4 million households in Switzerland (61%) lived in a rented or cooperative dwelling. The urban cantons Basel-Stadt (83%) and Geneva (78%) had the highest proportion of rented dwellings whereas the cantons Appenzell Innerhoden (38%) and Valais (40%) had the lowest. Tenant households were primarily single-person households (45%) or couple households with or without children (44%). These two household types correspond to 37% and 54% of all households, respectively.
The FSO’s surveys provide information on rental prices and the type of owners of rented dwellings.
Rent
Regardless of size, the average net rent in 2021 was CHF 1393 at national level. The highest rents were found in the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Schwyz. The cheapest cantons are Jura, Neuchâtel and Valais.
| 1990 | 2000 | 2021 | IC* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average rent (in CHF) | 820 | 1,059 | 1,393 | 3 |
| one-room dwellings | 492 | 598 | 817 | 8 |
| two-room dwellings | 641 | 814 | 1,131 | 5 |
| three-room dwellings | 761 | 976 | 1,344 | 4 |
| four-room dwellings | 945 | 1,198 | 1,601 | 5 |
| five-room dwellings | 1,249 | 1,526 | 1,956 | 13 |
| dwellings with 6 rooms and more | 1,626 | 1,978 | 2,492 | 40 |
Rents and length of occupancy of dwellings
In general, it can be observed that the longer households rent their dwellings, the lower the rents. New dwellings, i.e., those built less than two years ago, are the most expensive. For older dwellings, leases concluded less than two years ago are at clearly lower levels. For example, a new four-room apartment has an average rent of CHF 2112, while older four-room apartments have an average rent of CHF 1700.
Owners of rented dwellings
Almost half of all rented dwellings were owned by private individuals in 2022. There are regional differences.
| 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 | 44.9 | 3.3 | 46.1 | 1.8 | 61.7 | 3.6 |
| Public sector | (4.1) | (1.3) | 3.7 | 0.7 | (4.9) | (1.6) |
| Cooperative | (5.0) | (1.4) | 9.6 | 1.1 | 6.8 | 1.9 |
| Construction company or real estate agency | 7.8 | 1.8 | 6.6 | 0.9 | (4.0) | (1.4) |
| Other joint stock company/ limited liability company/ corporation |
38.2 | 3.3 | 34.0 | 1.8 | 22.7 | 3.1 |
(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.
Further information
Statistical sources and concepts
