With rental costs in Switzerland having risen at their fastest rate in two decades between 2023 and 2024, a new study from Iazi has revealed which residents in Canton Zurich have been hit hardest. In the case of one town, those on existing rental contracts have seen their bills rise by an average of 12 percent in a year.
To create the study, Iazi looked at the cost of renting a house or apartment in the 23 cities, towns and municipalities in Canton Zurich which have more than 10.000 residents, to see which tenants have seen the fastest rent increases. Unlike asking rents, which rose at their fastest rate in 30 years in 2024, the study focused on rent hikes for those who are already tenants.
According to Iazi, average rental costs on existing tenants rose at their fastest rate in 20 years between 2023 and 2024, increasing by 4,5 percent. This is attributed to ongoing housing shortages and the two-time rise in the reference interest rate, which allowed landlords to raise prices significantly in June and December 2023.
Rather than Zurich itself, tenants in Wetzikon have seen their rental costs rise the fastest in the region between 2023 and 2024. On average, tenants in the capital of the Oberland had to pay 12 percent more rent in 2024 compared to the year before.
Median monthly rental costs in the town now stand at 225 francs per square metre. This means a 100-metre square home in Wetzikon cost 1.875 francs per month in 2024, compared to just 1.666 francs per month in 2023. Zollikon (7,7 percent), Opfikon (7,52 percent) and Dübendorf (7,24 percent) completed the top four.
Speaking to the Tages-Anzeiger, Iazi chairman Donato Scognamiglio explained that when the two hikes in the reference rate are combined with inflation and general cost-related price rises, it can “quickly lead to rent increases of up to 10 percent or more".
In the case of the top four, Scognamiglio explained that all of them sport good public transport connections to Zurich, and therefore suffer from high demand. The rate of vacant homes in Wetzikon currently stands at 1,03 percent, well below the national average (1,08 percent).
What's more, with asking rents in these towns skyrocketing, "This makes it easier for landlords to [justify and] enforce rent increases" on existing tenants. As to why Zurich has only seen existing rents rise by an average of 6,82 percent from 2023 to 2024, the expert noted that "where the air is already very thin, you can't go much higher".
By contrast, the smallest rent hikes in the last year were felt in Rüti at just 2,4 percent. Scognamiglio noted that "Rüti is not as centrally located as Wetzikon” and has a higher vacancy rate than other Zurich towns. “Where the vacancy rate is higher, it's harder to raise the rent,” he concluded.
Luckily for tenants in Zurich and Switzerland as a whole, 2025 has already seen some relief from rising rental costs. Thanks to a 0,25 percentage point drop in the reference interest rate on March 1, a majority of residents have been able to apply for a rent reduction.