Swiss cities tighten Airbnb rules as housing pressure grows

Swiss cities and tourist destinations are tightening rules on Airbnb-style rentals as they compete with demand for housing, SRF reports. Tenants’ groups and hoteliers want stricter limits, while property owners warn against excessive restrictions on ownership.

In Lucerne, a 90-night annual cap took effect in 2025. It generally applies to housing created for short-term rentals since 2010 where that use displaced or eliminated residential housing. Hosts must also register. Zurich and Interlaken have tightened their rules as well.

Lucerne Tenants’ Association president Mario Stübi said the rules were overdue, arguing that short-term rentals were expanding rapidly at the expense of local residents. “Ownership means responsibility,” he said, adding that owners who avoid conventional rentals should follow the community’s rules.

Damian Hunkeler, a member of the cantonal parliament for the FDP and head of the Lucerne Homeowners’ Association, called the 90-night limit arbitrary. He said Lucerne had about 330 Airbnb listings when the rule was introduced, compared with more than 48,000 homes. The share was too small, he argued, to justify new restrictions and the resulting enforcement costs for taxpayers. Zurich has approved five positions for enforcement over three years.

In Valais, the Swiss canton with the most registered short-term rental listings, hoteliers are also calling for tighter controls. Olivier Andermatt, president of the Valais Hotel Association, said commercial short-term accommodation should face the same requirements as hotels on fire safety, hygiene, employment law, tourist taxes and value-added tax. He also said affordable housing was urgently needed for hotel workers and local residents, and called for strict registration rules at municipal level.

Listeners described the competing pressures: one landlord said rent defaults and property damage had cost him 35,000 francs before he switched to Airbnb, while a private host said the income was part of their retirement provision. Others warned that commercial investors were turning entire apartment buildings into profitable short-stay rooms. Several participants said rules should be set locally, with stricter limits in highly touristic destinations than in places with less demand.

The parties agree that better data is needed to identify where action is necessary. The National Council has approved a motion to collect nationwide data on short-term rentals. The Council of States has yet to decide on it.