The Swiss government has decided to tighten the federal law on the ownership of housing for foreigners, known as Lex Koller, to cope with the shortage of apartments and houses.
Lex Koller is a 1983 federal law that restricts the purchase of residential real estate by foreigners. There are exceptions to this law: it is allowed to purchase for commercial use, as well as purchase as a primary residence for holders of a category B or C residence permit, as well as for some citizens of EU and EFTA countries.
The authorities plan to significantly reduce the exceptions.
The government intends to make the purchase of a house (as the main place of residence) by citizens of non-EU and EFTA countries who have a Swiss residence permit a permissive procedure. If the owners of such housing move from Switzerland, they will be required to sell their property within two years.
In addition, foreign owners will no longer be allowed to purchase commercial real estate for the purpose of renting it out in order to prevent transactions carried out solely for investment purposes.
Also, the government intends to tighten the rules regarding vacation homes. The annual quotas that cantons allocate for issuing permits to foreigners will be reduced, and the purchase and sale of such real estate between foreigners will once again become a licensing procedure.
The preliminary draft amendments to Lex Koller have been sent for consultations, which will last until July 15, 2026.
The proposal is one of many measures taken by the Cabinet in connection with the national vote of the people's initiative "No to ten million" aimed at restricting immigration.
Source: Swissinfo
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