immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Parlament

  • Parliament decides on solar obligation for large new buildings

    Parliament decides on solar obligation for large new buildings

    The National Council voted 98 to 95 in favour of making solar energy compulsory for new buildings with a roof and façade area of more than 300 square metres. It thus followed a minority vote of its Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy, the parliamentary services inform in a press release. An extension of the solar obligation to include conversions was rejected. The decision of the National Council corresponds to a decision already taken by the Council of States in the context of the discussions on the Energy Mantle Decree.

    However, the two chambers have not yet been able to reach an agreement on other points of the Energy Mantle Decree. Deviating from the Council of States, the National Council on Monday continued to support a solar obligation also for car parks above a certain size. With regard to the residual water regulations for hydroelectric power plants, the National Council voted for a stricter limitation of the exceptions than the Council of States. However, there is agreement on the planning of hydropower plants whose residual flow would run through a protected area of national importance. Such projects should not be excluded from the outset.

    The federal law on a secure electricity supply with renewable energies, known as the Energy Coat Decree, serves to implement the energy turnaround. In order to avert the danger of a shortage of electricity as quickly as possible, the Energy Decree should be passed by the councils this autumn, if possible, according to a statement by Energy Minister Albert Rösti. After the National Council’s vote, the bill now goes back to the Council of States.

  • Federal Council requests 218.1 million for civil federal buildings

    Federal Council requests 218.1 million for civil federal buildings

    The largest single construction project in the Real Estate Message 2023 is the renovation and expansion of the Reckenholz greenhouse site (ZH). cHF 29.5 million have been budgeted for this. cHF 21.1 million are requested for the extension of the connecting level at the Liebefeld administrative centre (Köniz, BE). In addition, a new building is to be constructed in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé for the office and residence of the Swiss representation. The commitment credit for this amounts to CHF 27.5 million.

    Renovation and expansion of the Reckenholz greenhouse site
    Reckenholz is one of Agroscope’s two regional research centres. The external greenhouses there, as well as the building services in the operations building, have reached the end of their life cycle. The greenhouses will be replaced by energy-efficient and flexibly usable air-conditioned research chambers. The building services in the operations building will be renovated and adapted to the new requirements.

    Extension of the connecting level at the Liebefeld Administrative Centre
    The South Campus in Liebefeld is divided into several administrative and laboratory buildings for the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). in 2025, the Competence Centre for Agricultural Research (Agroscope), which is part of the FOAG, will move to Posieux. This will enable further development of the campus from 2026 onwards. In preparation for this, and in order to introduce mobile-flexible forms of work, the underground connection level is to be extended. This will improve the spatial and technical connections between existing buildings and any new buildings that may be added as part of the further development, as well as integrating them into the access and security concept.

    Construction of the new office and residence in Yaoundé
    The Swiss representation in Cameroon is currently housed in rented buildings. A flexible and functional embassy infrastructure is now to be built on a federally owned plot of land. The new building will simplify the functional processes between the chancellery, the residence and an official residence, which will now be located at the same site. This enables synergies in the security concept as well as the technical infrastructures and allows multifunctional use of the representative premises, for example.

    Further real estate projects 2023
    The Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FBL) will use a further commitment credit of 140 million for projects not individually specified below an amount of 10 million Swiss francs, for property purchases that cannot be planned or are urgent, and for the planning of future real estate embassy projects.

  • Housing shortage: Federal Council waits

    Housing shortage: Federal Council waits

    For Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz, it is incomprehensible that the Federal Council simply wants to wait and see in the face of the housing shortage. In an interpellation, Manuela Weichelt, National Councillor (Greens) and member of the board of Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz, wanted to know what the Federal Council intends to do about the housing shortage. The Federal Council replied that it was aware that an insufficient supply of housing could hamper economic development and lead to socio-political tensions. However, it sees the responsibility for housing supply primarily with the real estate industry. Although non-profit housing construction plays an important role in the provision of affordable housing, it is already being promoted with the Fonds de Roulement and guarantees. If necessary, the Federal Council is prepared to evaluate further measures, as called for in a postulate by Damian Müller (FDP), member of the Council of States.

    Immediate measures are needed
    The housing shortage is driving rents ever higher. “The shortage of affordable housing is acute and measures need to be taken quickly,” stresses Manuela Weichelt. “We call on the Federal Council to act now. Recipes against the housing shortage are well known: More non-profit and affordable housing is needed.” The current situation shows that the real estate industry is not ensuring a sufficient supply of affordable housing. “The Federal Council recognises that the non-profit housing developers make an important contribution here. It is therefore all the more incomprehensible that it does not want to promote them more strongly. The current housing subsidies are not sufficient to rapidly increase the share of non-profit housing,” explains Eva Herzog, Member of the Council of States for Basel-Stadt (SP) and President of Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz. In order to be able to build more, non-profit housing developers are particularly dependent on suitable building land. This requires active control, for example with defined shares or zones for non-profit housing. The federal government would have the power to secure land for non-profit building projects: For example, by making land that is no longer needed by the federal government and businesses close to the federal government available for this purpose. Or by giving municipalities the possibility to buy land for non-profit housing with a right of first refusal. The federal government could also support municipalities in the purchase of land, for example with a land acquisition fund.