Zurich housing co-ops using random name generators to whittle down applicants

If you are walking around the suburbs of Zurich or Geneva and see a random queue hundreds of metres long forming, it’s likely because of a house viewing. Now, demand for new rental homes is so immense that both local authorities and cooperatives in Zurich have resorted to using random name generators to help choose their tenants.

Random name generators used to cut down on mass housing applications

Thanks to a lack of housing and rising rental costs across Switzerland, huge queues often form when affordable homes come on the market, especially in Zurich. In many cases, prospective tenants enter the home and, without actually looking around, head straight to the form where they can sign their name and apply for the property. 

Many see this process as unfair, as tenants at the back of the queue could end up missing out on applications. While landlords are given a wealth of choice when choosing their next tenant, everyone else in the line misses out.

14.500 people apply for 171 homes in Zurich

Therefore, since 2019, the local council in Zurich has used a random name generator when choosing who gets to view and apply for their affordable homes. This practice was propelled into the spotlight in January 2025, when 14.500 people registered for just 171 apartments in the city’s new affordable housing development at Tramdepot Hard.

The system selected 1.128 applicants at random, who were invited to apply for the homes. Then, officials analysed their applications and selected a tenant based on various factors such as salary, urgency of housing need, social situation and whether they have any children. At the same time, 13.339 applicants were then told that they could not apply for the homes.

Swiss housing cooperatives also use random name generators

Now, in a report in the Tages-Anzeiger, it’s been revealed that housing cooperatives are also either trialling or using the system. Cooperative Wogeno is set to use a random name generator on a trial basis until spring 2026, on properties with more than 70 applications, while ABZ, the largest housing cooperative in Zurich, also admitted to using one.

Speaking to the newspaper, Wogeno president Anita Wymann argued that the random generator is “much fairer” than having applicants queue outside. She added that the system allows them to perform a thorough analysis of those who apply, without being bogged down by “mountains of applications.”

Opponents call the generators an “undignified lottery”

However, some have raised concerns about the approach, especially when it comes to affordable and social housing. Some have argued that in cutting down the number of applicants so dramatically before applications are even submitted, those in the most dire need of a new home could fall between the cracks.

When the Senior Housing Foundation in Zurich announced its own lottery system for homes in 2021, they were criticised by its members. According to the Tages-Anzeiger, protestors' slogans called for “justice instead of a wheel of fortune” and called the random system an “undignified lottery.”