Today, it takes an average of 140 days from planning application to building permit – 56 days more than in 2010, according to the Zurich Cantonal Bank.
The scarcity of new homes is forcing up rental prices, says Credit Suisse.
Building permits for rental properties have decreased by 1,500 compared to the previous year, while immigration has increased by one-third over the same period, the bank warned in a recent report.
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin convened a round table of experts on Friday to examine ways to improve the situation.
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Switzerland faces shortage of 51,000 homes, says study
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Switzerland is heading towards its biggest housing shortage in 30 years, according to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
Parmelin acknowledged that the participants have a “big job ahead of us” as a plethora of noise, water and landscape protection rules have slowed construction to a dribble compared to demand.
The initial round table will be followed by a series of smaller meetings to thrash out potential solutions.
The Swiss Association of Cities will also participate in the project to unblock construction. Vice-President Corine Mauch said regulations in Zurich are blocking attempts to build more affordable housing.
However, different parts of Switzerland will need different solutions to meet housing needs, the roundtable meeting heard.
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Swiss federal prosecutor bemoans shortage of investigators
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The Swiss Office of the Attorney General complains of unresolved shortage of investigators that hinder its efforts to prosecute serious criminals.
ECHR condemns Swiss failure to protect woman from violence
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Switzerland did not provide a woman with sufficient protection against her partner who had been violent in the past, rules the ECHR.
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In Switzerland, 2.2 million people are affected by non-communicable diseases, partly because people are not eating a balanced diet.
How an experimental housing model pushed communal living to the limits
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A hundred years ago a Swiss 'Free Village' was seen as a testing ground for an ideological third way between socialism and capitalism.
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People in Switzerland have been looking for bigger or second homes during the coronavirus pandemic, fuelling housing shortages and pushing prices up.
Homeless to hip: How Swiss housing cooperatives developed
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Many of the cooperatives set up to alleviate the urban housing shortage following the First World War celebrate their 100th anniversary this year.
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