Switzerland, unlike other European countries, does not have a social or public rental sector, nor a national subsidy system. Yet 61% of households live in the private rented sector. Affordable housing is mainly provided by small non-profit housing cooperatives, but also by housing associations and arms-length government organisations. More than 170,000 cooperative housing units provide homes to 2.8% of households. The highest proportions are found in the cantons of Basel-Stadt with over 11%, Zurich with almost 10%, and Lucerne with almost 9%. In the city of Zurich, 18% of all housing belongs to cooperatives. 

Cooperative housing refers to an arrangement in which residential buildings are owned equally by all members of the cooperative, and members are given the right to occupy their units. They are not, by definition, affordable housing providers and can make profits. However, most cooperatives use a cost-rental model, i.e. rent-levels are set to cover the financing, maintenance, and management costs without any added profit. As a result, the rent levels in Zurich’s cooperatives are 20-40% lower than in the private rental sector.

While the role of housing cooperatives in providing housing to lower income groups is acknowledged by the federal government, they are free to set their own membership and allocation criteria.

While there are no direct subsidies, Swiss housing cooperatives and non-profit housing organisations that provide affordable housing, are supported by indirect subsidies at the federal, cantonal, and municipal levels in the form of low-interest loans through a revolving fund. Since their introduction in 2003, these loans have contributed to 3% of annual housing construction, or more than 1,500 units per year. Moreover, the government acts as a guarantor for housing cooperatives to access private capital for new housing projects at favourable interest rates.

In Zurich, the city government approved a resolution for making one third of the housing stock non-profit by 2050. In line with this resolution, it has started to implement various policies including public land leases to non-profit organisations and housing cooperatives for 60 to 100 years at lower rates than their market value. Through ground lease contracts, the city can also stipulate subsidised housing provisions (20-30%) to increase the number of social housing units managed by non-profit organisations. In addition to land, the city provides cooperatives with financing (e.g. pensions funds invested in second mortgages to housing cooperatives) and supports them by buying cooperative shares in return for cooperatives following aa cost-rental model that prevents housing speculation.

The Swiss housing stock is relatively old, with 60% of dwellings built before 1980. 58% of housing units are in blocks of flats and the average dwelling size is 99m². In new construction since 2016, the proportion of flats has been around 70%. However, there are some differences between urban and rural areas, building types, and tenures. Average floor space per person in rural areas is 51m² compared to 44m² in urban areas. In single-family dwellings, the average space per person is 55m² compared to 43m² in flats. Generally, cooperative housing is significantly smaller in sizes: 31m² in single-family dwellings and 37m² in flats. In fact, the reduction in floor area per person is recognised as an advantage of cooperative housing by governments, who struggle with land shortage and have introduced policies to lower the environmental impact of housing.