Foreign names impact chance of getting an apartment viewing
A study commissioned by the Federal Housing Office has found that some foreign-sounding names – especially Kosovar or Turkish – are less likely to be accepted for apartment viewings.
This content was published on
3 minutes
swissinfo.ch/dos
Español
es
Influencia de nombres extranjeros en alquiler de vivienda
Anyone who has tried to find an apartment in Switzerland’s often-crowded market will know the drill: along with the (many) official documents, you write a cover letter, friendly and professional, and sign off.
However, a study carried out by the Universities of Geneva, Neuchâtel, and Lausanne on behalf of the Federal Housing Office has found that the name with which these letters are signed plays a big role in determining whether you’re actually invited to a viewing.
Researchers sent some 11,000 applications to real housing offers in Switzerland between March and October 2018, some of them using traditional Swiss-sounding names, others using foreign names from Germany, France, Italy, Kosovo, and Turkey.
The handicap, or discrimination, is particularly obvious when it comes to applications to view cheaper apartments rented by a private individual: at the lower end of the scale (CHF500-1000 [$506-1,012]), the difference in acceptance rate for Kosovar/Turkish names, compared to Swiss, French, German, or Italian is up to 10 percentage points.
There is also a direct correlation between the distance of the apartment from an urban centre and the chances of getting a viewing; the further away from a city, the less chance names such as “Arben Gashi” or “Yusuf Yilmaz” have.
Pierre, Valentina, and Hans in luck
Interestingly, the gap narrows as apartment prices get heftier, and at the top end of the scale (prices over CHF3,500 [$3,543]), foreign names were more likely to be invited to a viewing than Swiss names. According to SonntagsBlick, this reflects the fact that there is an “oversupply” of such expensive apartments in Switzerland; landlords are keen to rent to whoever possible.
As for French, German, and Italian names, these were more likely than both Swiss and Kosovar/Turkish names to receive a positive response at all levels.
And while the information platform humanrights.ch criticised the discrimination implied by the figures, the Federal Housing Office doesn’t see cause for immediate action, especially since the situation in Switzerland is no different to that in “comparable” countries.
“Studies like these can lead to better awareness [of such problems],” said the Office’s director Ernst Hauri. However, “specific measures are, in our view, not needed.”
More
More
Racism in Switzerland: An expat’s perspective
This content was published on
An African-American woman living in Switzerland shares her and her children’s everyday experiences with racism.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Record number of reported discrimination incidents in Switzerland
This content was published on
The number of reported cases of discrimination based on ethnicity, colour and religion has increased by half in 2017 compared to the year before.
Racial discrimination prevalent at work and school
This content was published on
Swiss counselling centres have reported 278 cases of discrimination based on colour, ethnicity and religion last year – down 10% on 2017.
Majority of population see racism as key social problem
This content was published on
Almost 60% of the Swiss population consider racism an important social problem, a poll by the Federal Statistical Office has found.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.