There will be no easing the regulations over subletting - tenants must still seek permission from their landlord every time they want to rent via online platforms like Airbnb, the government has said.
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Keystone-SDA/swissinfo.ch/ilj
The government had proposed relaxing the current rental law to allow a general landlord’s permission note to serve as permission to sublet repeatedly over a given period.
It would have ensured that a landlord could only refuse the request if there were good reasons, for example if security could be compromised by an Airbnb profile that reveals too many photos of surrounding apartments.
But on Friday the government said that there had been too much opposition to the planned changes during the consultation process. This included several political parties on the right of the political spectrum. And the hotel industry pointed to unfair competition because sublets would not be subject to the same fire and hygiene standards as hotels.
The political left had been more in favour, as had the Swiss Tenants’ Association, although fears had been raised that there would be fewer affordable flats on the market.
Airbnb has been making inroads into Switzerland, with the number of people renting from the platform in the country tripling in the last three years to more than 900,000.
The boom has led some cantons – which mostly handle rental laws as well as business/tourism taxation – to clamp down to ensure that visitor taxes are not lost and that long-term residents are not displaced from city centres.
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How the government is regulating Airbnb in Switzerland
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A new proposal could make it easier for tenants to sublet using online platforms such as Airbnb. Other regulations continue to clamp down.
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Authorities in Geneva have ruled that private apartments or houses can be rented on platforms such as Airbnb for a maximum of 60 days annually.
Swiss regions lean on Airbnb to collect tourist tax
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As the number of Airbnb offers in Switzerland continues to grow, cantons and parliamentarians continue to discuss ways to regulate the platform.
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