Zug Considers New Rules for Affordable Housing Access Based on How Long You’ve Lived There

To help locals deal with rising rent prices, the Zug city council is thinking about a rule that would give preference to people who’ve lived in the area for a long time when it comes to affordable housing. This means that those with residence permits and newcomers from other areas, both inside and outside the canton, would have a lower priority.

Why Zug is Thinking About Changing Housing Rules

This idea came about after the citizens of Zug voted in favor of the “2,000 Apartments for Zug” plan in June 2023. Now, the city council has to build 2,000 affordable apartments by 2040 because of this vote.

Members of the Centre Party have suggested that these affordable homes should be reserved for people who have been living in the city for a big part of their lives. Their proposal says that only people who can prove they’ve lived in Zug for more than a third of their lives should be eligible. People from other towns, cantons, or countries would be considered only if there are still homes available.

Centre Party Wants to Protect Locals from Leaving

Christoph Iten, who leads the Centre Party group in Zug’s city parliament, says their aim is to make sure that people in Zug don’t have to move out because they can’t find affordable homes. He thinks other Swiss cities and cantons could follow this idea if their residents are thinking about moving because of high housing prices.

This proposal comes at a time when Canton Zug has one of the lowest numbers of available homes in Switzerland. According to real estate expert Robery Weinert from Wüest Partner, in May, there were 2,300 people looking for a place to rent in Zug, but there were only 44 homes available.

Proposal Tied to Rising Rents in Zug

A recent report by Comparis shows that renting a 4.5-room apartment in Zug can cost anywhere from 2,900 to 9,900 Swiss francs each month. Comparis also found that small studio apartments in Zug, which are 15 to 26 square meters in size, are being rented for 2,644 to 3,101 Swiss francs per month.

While many Centre Party members support this proposal, it’s not clear yet how other political parties in the council feel about it. The proposal was sent in on September 3 and is now waiting for the city parliament to discuss it further.