Housing Protection Regulation Basel-Stadt: Construction Activity Stalls, No Growth in Housing

A comparison of the periods before and after the implementation of the Housing Protection Regulation in 2022 shows a drop in the number of housing applications submitted by no less than 80%. In 2025, there are just applications for 105 apartments, while the peak during the observation period since 2014 was 1,074 apartments (in 2018). Bern (-44%), Lucerne (-33%), and Winterthur (-29%) are also in negative territory, which can be explained by a nationwide decline in residential construction from 2023. However, this decline only partially explains the collapse in Basel-Stadt. The longer the deviation in Basel-Stadt persists compared to the comparison cities, and the greater this deviation, the higher the evidence that it is related to the changed legal provisions. With the tightening of tenant protection, Basel-Stadt has nearly completely stifled construction activity. Zurich is a beacon of hope, although it should not be overlooked that application numbers have also been trending downward in Zurich since 2019.

The electorate of the Canton of Zurich, which will decide on the Housing Protection Initiative on June 14, 2026, should avoid experiments that, like in Basel-Stadt, will lead to a significant decline in construction activity. Adopting the Housing Protection Initiative will exacerbate rather than ease the situation in the rental housing market in the Canton of Zurich. The only way to keep rent development in check is an adequate supply of affordable housing, which in turn requires increased construction activity.

The largest cities in German-speaking Switzerland are increasingly struggling to provide sufficient housing for a growing population. Looking at the development of completed apartments in the five cities of Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Winterthur, and Zurich, there is a clear discrepancy between population growth and the number of apartments on the one hand and the development in these cities compared to various other settlement areas on the other. In no comparison group is the percentage change in housing stock as low as in these cities, while their populations continue to grow. Between 2014 and 2025, the housing stock in Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Winterthur, and Zurich increased by 8.5%, while the population grew by 9.5%. The disproportionate population growth leads to an increasing housing density. In other settlement areas, the increase in housing stock was between 11.1 and 14.9%, and population growth was disproportionately below 9.5 to 12.8%. This indicates a decreasing housing density. Thus, the burden of housing and population growth is not borne by the central cities but by the surrounding areas.

Read the entire study "Update May 2026 - Housing Protection Regulation Basel-Stadt / Residential Construction in German-Swiss Cities: 'From bad to worse' - Basel's construction activity in a coma / In the largest Swiss cities, housing numbers are rising more slowly than outside", SVIT Schweiz, May 2026, https://www.svit.ch/de/studie-basel-bad-worse

Author and Expert Contact SVIT Schweiz:
Dr. Ivo Cathomen
Head of Policy and Communication SVIT Switzerland
Tel. 044 434 78 88
ic@svit.ch

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