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Tag: Martin Tschirren

  • The federal government, cooperatives and SBB are giving impetus to non-profit housing

    The federal government, cooperatives and SBB are giving impetus to non-profit housing

    Apartments are scarce in the larger Swiss cities. This applies in particular to inexpensive apartments. In order to enable more non-profit housing construction, especially in central urban locations, the Federal Housing Office (BWO), Swiss housing cooperatives and the SBB have jointly drawn up framework conditions for a model building rights contract. The BWO also represented the Swiss Housing Association. This protects the interests of both umbrella organizations for non-profit housing construction. The model building rights contract will come into effect in future when SBB hands over land with building rights to non-profit housing developers.

    “We welcome the fact that SBB is making areas available for non-profit housing construction with building rights. This contract ensures that the framework conditions are compatible with the funding criteria for non-profit housing construction,” says Martin Tschirren, director of the BWO.

    “SBB aims to offer around half of its apartments at low prices – either through their own apartments or by paying the building permit.” According to Alexander Muhm, Head of SBB Real Estate, the new contract is an important step in this direction.

    “We are pleased that we have reached an agreement, even if the building lease interest for non-profit housing will be at the upper price limit,” emphasizes Eva Herzog, President of the Swiss housing cooperative. “Now we will take the SBB at its word to give more areas of building rights to cooperatives.”

    Compromise lays a uniform basis for future projects
    The common regulation has the advantage for all partners that future building rights contracts with non-profit housing developers no longer have to be negotiated from scratch for each project, but can be implemented more easily and quickly on the basis of the framework conditions that have now been agreed. The SBB advertises every sale of SBB land in the building law in a competition. In close cooperation with cities and municipalities, it ensures that the best use is found for the respective location.

    In particular, the new agreement regulates the assessment and development of the building lease interest and ensures that the non-profit apartments within the meaning of the Housing Promotion Act (WFG) are also inexpensive in the long term. This is because the building lease interest is based on the so-called cost rent and corresponds to the cost limits of the BWO.

    The new model contract also takes account of the fact that the SBB, as the owner of the land, participates moderately in the increase in value of the areas, as required by the strategic goals of the federal government. As a state-owned company, SBB is bound by clearly formulated tasks and goals. The owner expects SBB to develop railway areas in a targeted manner and thus make a long-term contribution to a financially healthy railway system.

    The promotion of non-profit housing is a constitutional mandate of Swiss housing policy. The non-profit property developers – housing cooperatives, foundations or associations – orientate themselves towards the cost of rent and operate without the intention of making a profit. Your apartments are inexpensive in the long term. Many non-profit property developers offer their tenants various social services in addition to living space, thereby relieving the public sector. In addition, this type of housing promotes social mixing and generational diversity.
    SBB can look back on around 100 years of tradition in working with non-profit housing developers. This is based on the support of the railway workers’ building cooperatives, which were among the pioneers of cooperative housing construction.

  • SVIT Swiss Real Estate Forum 2022 – focus on digitization, disruption and flood of data

    SVIT Swiss Real Estate Forum 2022 – focus on digitization, disruption and flood of data

    After the official SVIT delegates’ meeting on Thursday morning, the strategy and innovation consultant Maks Giordano gave a lecture in the conference room of the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. He showed what happens and how one can react “when the future comes in exponential steps”. Giordano is convinced that after mobile communications and the World Wide Web, our industries are now being fundamentally changed again by the third wave of digital disruption and its exponential developments in technology. “In these times of hyper-innovation and hyper-growth, it is imperative that we all learn the necessary skills to manage this change,” he said.

    Comedy and political gossip
    Afterwards, comedian Kaya Yanar offered a “best of” of his previous work in the television and comedy scene, before the first panel discussion took place in the afternoon. SVIT Forum moderator Urs Gredig welcomed the politicians Hans Egloff (SVP, President HEV Switzerland) and Michael Töngi (Greens, Vice President of the Swiss Tenants’ Association) as well as Martin Tschirren , Director of the BWO Federal Office for Housing, on stage. Together they analyzed the current political and social mood with regard to a possible total revision of Swiss tenancy law, which dates back to 1990. In general, given the majority in the National Council, they only consider minor changes to be possible, even if Egloff and Töngi demanded fundamental modifications and partial revisions. Federal Office Director Tschirren pointed out that the housing shortage is threatening to worsen in the period ahead. This is primarily to be seen in the large cities and centers.

    The Federal Council sees a need for action on rents
    At the end of the first day of the SVIT Forum 2022, Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin , Head of the Federal Department of Economics, Education and Research and President of the Swiss Confederation in 2021, addressed a message of welcome to the SVIT delegates and guests. He emphasized the new meaning for living as a result of the corona pandemic. In view of home office and video conferencing from home, office workers in particular have now given more thought to their living situation. Today it is important to react to sharply rising housing and energy prices. In addition, the home ownership rate in Switzerland is again in reverse gear: While it was still 38.4 percent in 2015, it was only 36.4 percent in 2019, Parmelin quoted from the figures from the BFS and the Federal Office for Housing. He sees a “certain need for action” when it comes to structuring rents. Specifically, he was in a possible review of the site and neighborhood customary. There will soon be a group of experts to deal with this topic. Regarding the latest developments on the interest side, Parmelin said: “The Swiss National Bank is getting back to normal.”

    Boat ride and roller coaster
    The first day of the event was rounded off with a boat trip on Lake Lucerne on the MS Diamant. The second day of the SVIT Forum 2022 on Friday began with an impressive keynote speech by the former AMD boss and current start-up investor Carsten Maschmeyer , who described the ups and downs of his business career and shared his “success formula through opportunities and crises for a fulfilled life» revealed.

    Data rights of digitized service providers
    The second panel discussion, moderated by “Immobilia” editor Ivo Cathomen , dealt with the future of real estate service providers. He had invited Oliver Hofmann , CEO of Wincasa AG, Béatrice Schaeppi , head of the family company of the same name, and Severin Krebs , managing director of Pfannenstiel Immobilien AG, to the podium. The three company leaders described how digitization influences and determines the work of the manager in many ways today. They identified data sovereignty and data protection as well as the satisfaction of different customer needs and the recruitment of specialist staff as the most important construction sites for services in the real estate industry.

    The SVIT Swiss Real Estate Forum 2022 ended on Friday afternoon in the Verkehrshaus Luzern with a farewell by SVIT President Andreas Ingold and finally with a Thai stand-up lunch in the foyer, while the first major thunderstorm of the day fell outside.