The people’s initiative for “More affordable housing” was launched in autumn 2015. In the space of 13 months it garnered the signatures of 105,000 eligible voters. It proposes to amend the relevant article in the constitution which promotes the building of housing and home ownership. Specifically, it calls for the following measures:

-The Swiss government and cantons are to work together so that at least 10% of all new housing built nationwide is owned by social housing partners.
-Municipalities and cantons are authorised to have laws favouring this kind of development on land suitable for building social housing.
-The Swiss government and semi-state bodies like the Federal Railways or the Swiss Post, when they sell off land holdings, are to give preference to municipalities and cantons.
-Government grants, say for energy upgrading, are to be awarded only on condition that the projects receiving them do not involve loss of moderately-priced housing stock.