Swiss Voters Reject Law Enhancing Landlords’ Powers Over Subletting

Swiss voters have narrowly rejected a proposed legal change that would have granted landlords greater authority to restrict subletting by tenants, including through platforms like Airbnb. Preliminary results from Sunday’s referendum show that 51.6% of voters opposed the change, which was passed by parliament in 2023.

The Controversial Proposal

The proposed law aimed to address concerns that tenants were increasingly subletting their properties via Airbnb, thereby disrupting the rental market. Supporters of the change argued that it was necessary to prevent such practices, which they claimed were contributing to housing shortages in some areas. However, opponents, led by a major tenants’ association, countered that much of the Airbnb activity involved landlords themselves subletting their properties, rather than tenants doing so.

Kathrin Anselm, the head of Airbnb in Switzerland, denied the company’s involvement in creating a housing crisis, stating earlier this month that Airbnb had no influence on the residential rental market in Switzerland.

Broader Voting Trends

In addition to rejecting the subletting law, Swiss voters also voted down a separate proposal that would have given landlords more power to terminate leases when they wanted to use the property themselves. This proposal was also part of the same round of national referendums, which highlighted ongoing debates over tenant rights and housing policies in Switzerland.

These issues are particularly significant in Switzerland, where a large proportion of households—most recently recorded at the end of 2022—live in rented or cooperative housing.

Other Referendum Results

In other results, voters rejected government plans to expand Switzerland’s motorway network and, in a local referendum in Zurich, decided against removing gender-inclusive language from the city’s official texts. These results reflect the strong role of direct democracy in Swiss politics, with voters regularly being asked to weigh in on key legislative issues.