ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss voters narrowly rejected a change in law giving landlords more powers to restrict subletting by tenants, according to preliminary results of a referendum on Sunday that examined Airbnb's role in the rental market.
Proponents of the change approved by parliament in 2023 argued that tenants were increasingly subletting through the rental company Airbnb. Opponents of this, led by a major tenants association, rejected it, saying most Airbnb rentals are through landlords.
Kathrin Anselm, head of Airbnb in Switzerland, told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger earlier this month that the company had no influence in the residential real estate market.
Preliminary results showed that 51.6% of voters rejected the sublease change, which also applied to commercial properties.
In the latest round of national referendums held under its system of direct democracy, voters also rejected – by a slightly larger majority – legislation giving landlords more rights to terminate leases when they want to use their property.
Tenancy issues have been closely followed in Switzerland, where at the end of 2022 most households were living in rented housing or cooperatives, official data shows.
Swiss voters also rejected the government's plans to expand the country's motorway network.
In a separate consultation, Zurich residents rejected an initiative to remove gender-inclusive language from official city texts after months of debate.
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