On November 24, Swiss citizens will head to the polls for the final time this year to vote on issues that affect the whole country. Four national referendums are on the ballot this time around, ranging from the expansion of the motorways to revisions to tenancy law. Here’s what expats in the alpine nation need to know:

Expat guide to the 2024 November referendums in Switzerland

This time, the Swiss government has put four federal referendums up for a vote on November 24, 2024. Unlike previous rounds in September, June and March, all of the votes regard government projects and changes to federal law, rather than popular initiatives.

Despite all of the four proposals being accepted by parliament and the federal government, in each case, opposition figures were able to get enough signatures so that they now require a confirmatory vote. With this in mind, here’s what you need to know about reforms to Swiss tenancy law, motorway expansion and changes to healthcare funding.

Switzerland votes on changes to tenancy law

The first two votes on November 24 concern reforms to the Code of Obligations between landlords and those who rent a house or apartment in Switzerland. One seeks to reform the rules around subletting, while the other would change how landlords may go about terminating existing rental contracts.

Proposed changes to Swiss subletting rules explained

Currently, if a tenant plans to be away from their home for a period of time, they can sublet their home until they return to pass on some of the rental costs. However, the government argues that while tenants have to ask their landlords whether they can sublet in writing, and must not charge subletters a higher rent than the landlord charges them, these rules are often broken.

Therefore, under the proposed changes, tenants will have to submit an application to their landlord in writing if they want to sublet, and must obtain written consent to proceed. These forms have to be officially signed, and the tenants must inform the landlord of any changes to the subletting agreement.

The rules would also allow landlords to refuse to sublet on “justifiable” grounds “not explicitly mentioned in the law”, and if the subletting period is longer than two years. If the tenant breaks any of these rules, the landlord must submit a written warning. If the behaviour continues, the landlord has the right to terminate the tenants’ rental contract with only 30 days’ notice.

Views for and against changes to subletting rules in Switzerland

Writing in favour of the change, the Federal Council argued that the current rules are not enough to prevent tenants from charging exorbitant rents and abusing the subletting system, especially amid the ongoing housing shortage and rise of online listings. By enforcing stricter rules, they said that tenants would still be allowed to sublet, but landlords and subletters would be better protected.

In response, the referendum committee against the change - made up of the Social Democratic Party, Greens and various trade unions - argued the change would further weaken the rights of tenants in Switzerland, and address a problem that does not actually exist, as cases of tenants abusing the subletting system are rare. “The restriction on subletting is pure harassment,” they wrote, adding that the plans would allow landlords to evict their renters over “trivial offences”. 

Explaining the Swiss vote on personal use rental termination

In the second reform to tenancy law, the government hopes to make it easier for landlords to revoke rental contracts if they wish to use the home for personal use. Currently, landlords are able to terminate tenancies if they require the property and are in “urgent need”, but the vagueness of the current law makes it legally difficult for this to actually happen.

If passed, the law would allow landlords to claim personal use even after an unsuccessful legal case against their tenants, and renters who claim being evicted would lead to financial hardship will be granted shorter rental extensions if the landlord can prove personal and urgent need.

Finally, landlords will be able to terminate rental contracts with a notice period of three months for rental apartments and six months for commercial premises, regardless of any longer grace period stated in the contract itself.

Opinions in favour and against changes to rental termination rules

The government argues that the change will help them better protect the landlords’ right to property. They claimed that tenants’ protections will remain in place, but be more balanced with the wishes of the landlord.

In response, the committee against the proposal argued that landlords would use the system to claim a personal use eviction, clear the tenants and then re-let the property with a dramatically increased rent. “The consequences of terminating a tenancy are dire: older people are torn from their environment, families lose their homes…In 2023, rents have risen by up to 10 percent. In this situation, the real estate lobby does not need even more power and profits", they concluded.

Switzerland to vote on expanding the motorways

The third vote on the ballot this November concerns government plans to expand the motorway network in Switzerland. With the amount of cars on the roads having doubled since 1990, traffic jams continue to worsen, especially around bottlenecks where the motorway narrows. In 2023, the Federal Roads Office reported 48.000 hours of congestion on Swiss motorways.

Therefore, the government hopes to spend 4,9 billion francs on expanding the road network. The projects will include the following:

• Expansion of the A1 between Le Vengeron and Nyon
• Expansion of the A1 between Wankdorf-Schönbühl-Kirchberg in Canton Bern
• Construction of the Rhine Tunnel to ease traffic on the A2 in Basel
• Construction of the second Fäsenstaub Tunnel on the A4 in Schaffhausen
• Construction of the third Rosenberg Tunnel on the A1 in St. Gallen

All of these projects will be paid for via fuel taxes, the Swiss motorway vignette and vehicle taxes.

Why does the Swiss government want motorway expansion?

In arguing for the projects, the Federal Council wrote that the “economy depends on a modern and efficient transport infrastructure” and that the current system just can’t cope with the amount of traffic. By pushing forward, they hope to reduce traffic, take cars away from surface streets in Swiss cities and towns, and make it easier to repair existing infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the opposition committee argued that spending 5 billion francs on motorway expansion at a time of climate crisis is “unsustainable”. Thanks to induced demand, it is also likely that the expansion will make traffic jams worse. “More traffic also means more noise. Around one million people in Switzerland already suffer from excessive noise pollution that is harmful to their health,” they added.

“When it comes to expanding the motorway, the Federal Council and Parliament have lost their sense of proportion,” they wrote. Instead, the committee called on the government to spend the money on bolstering public transport.

What are Switzerland's plans to reform healthcare funding?

The final vote on the national ballot on November 24 is the amendment to federal law on health insurance in Switzerland. Under the mandatory basic health insurance system, the cost of Swiss healthcare is divided between three parties: insurance providers, Swiss cantons and payments by patients through deductibles and co-payments.

However, who foots the bill for treatment varies. For instance, cantons are required to cover at least 55 percent of the cost of inpatient treatment (hospital and emergency care) and nearly half of the cost of nursing homes and other care services. For outpatient services (GPs, day visits to hospitals and therapies), the insurance provider covers almost all the costs.

The Federal Council argued that this drives up healthcare costs, as providers are given a financial incentive to sign patients up for expensive hospital treatments rather than outpatient care - which is typically more efficient and cheaper. Therefore, the government proposed that Swiss cantons will cover at least 26,9 percent of healthcare costs across the board, while insurance firms will pay no more than 73,1 percent.

Opinions divided over changes to healthcare funding in Switzerland

The government predicted that by uniformly financing care, both cantons and providers would have a stake in lowering the price of premiums, which have skyrocketed in recent years due to rising healthcare costs - the Federal Office of Public Health estimates the policy would save 440 million francs a year. The “peculiar” financial incentives that see insurance providers offer more expensive “unnecessary” inpatient treatments would also be eliminated.

Interestingly, the committee against the referendum argues that the policy would have the opposite effect: they argued with more of a say on what treatments to offer, insurance providers would opt for more expensive treatments and “cantons would have to be content with paying the bills.” 

They also worry that Swiss cantons would use the change to cut their spending on outpatient services, which would in turn lead to rising insurance premiums to bridge the financial gap. Finally, they fear that the joint stake in reducing healthcare costs will lead to a fall in the quality of services, rather than an increase in efficiency.

Referendum season 2024 in Switzerland comes to a close in November

Following the 2024 November referendums, the voting season in Switzerland will begin anew on February 9, 2025. Stay tuned to IamExpat for more news and analysis of the upcoming votes and how they will impact Switzerland’s international population.