At the end of 2022, 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 Valais (41%) and Appenzell Innerhoden (43%) 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 53% 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 2022 was CHF 1412 at national level. The highest rents were found in the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Schwyz. The cheapest cantons are Jura, Neuchâtel and Valais.
Average rent paid by tenants and cooperative members by number of rooms
1990
2000
2022
IC*
Average rent (in CHF)
820
1,059
1,412
3
one-room dwellings
492
598
848
8
two-room dwellings
641
814
1,143
5
three-room dwellings
761
976
1,367
4
four-room dwellings
945
1,198
1,622
5
five-room dwellings
1,249
1,526
1,972
14
dwellings with 6 rooms and more
1,626
1,978
2,495
43
*Confidence interval 2022: ± (in CHF)
Sources: Federal population census, Structural survey
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 2138, while older four-room apartments have an average rent of CHF 1731.
Owners of rented dwellings
Almost half of all rented dwellings were owned by private individuals in 2023. There are regional differences.
Type of owners of rented dwellings by size of dwellings, 2023
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
42.7
3.1
44.0
1.8
54.1
3.8
Public sector
(4.2)
(1.3)
3.6
0,7
(3.8)
(1.4)
Cooperative
5.6
1.4
8.3
1.0
7.6
2.0
Construction company or real estate agency
9.9
2.0
8.2
1.0
6.5
1.8
Other joint stock company/ limited liability company/ corporation
37.5
3.1
35.7
1.8
27.9
3.5
* 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.
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