Bern sees no reason to extend Airbnb law

Bern's old town. Keystone-SDA

Away from the old town, Bern's city parliament sees no need for further regulation of Airbnbs, according to its response to an interpellation criticising a planned short-term rental in Länggasse.

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In their motion, members of the left-wing Social Democratic Party claimed that the flats for short-term letting were being built in the middle of a housing shortage and in a prime location. Important living space would be lost as a result, they said. The local neighbourhood commission had unsuccessfully objected to the 16-apartment project on Seidenweg.

The city parliament, on the other hand, only sees a need for action in the old town, it wrote. There, the proportion of advertised Airbnb offers in relation to the housing stock was significantly higher than in the rest of the city: according to an evaluation from last June, there were 26 active Airbnbs per 1,000 flats. The Mattenhof-Weissenbühl district was in second place with 7.4.

The city parliament also replied that it is well positioned when it comes to protecting existing living space. However, it has limited room for manoeuvre when it comes to new Airbnb offers. As a rule, no authorisation is required if an existing flat is converted into a short-term rental.

The only exception in this regard is the old town, where the developer must demonstrate on request that the affected living space will not be rented out on a short-term basis when submitting new planning applications.

+ Housing shortages – what works and what doesn’t  

Lex Airbnb still blocked

This is one of the consequences of the “Lex Airbnb”, which Bern’s voters approved by more than 80% in 2022. The aim of the bill was to restrict the commercial rental of certain second homes in the old town: the flats may be rented out as Airbnb for a maximum of 90 nights per year.

However, the corresponding amendment to the law is legally blocked due to a collective complaint, including from the homeowners’ association. According to the city parliament, it will next be dealt with by the administrative court. Nevertheless, the amendment is having a “preliminary effect”, it wrote. According to the municipal information service, no building applications that violate the new rules are being processed in the meantime.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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