Use empty offices as homes

Wednesday, 19 February 2025 06:30

Switzerland is suffering from a housing crisis, but at the same time, office spaces remain empty.

If many unused offices could be converted to homes, it would be sufficient to house 43,000 people.

The CBRE Office in Zurich says there are two million square meters of empty offices.

Large cities are particularly hit, such as Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva.

Residency occupancy is below 1% and yet there are plenty of spare offices.

RTS Television estimates there’s enough space for 6,000 people in Zurich and 4,000 in Geneva.

But there are problems - not all office buildings can be converted and property owners get a better rate of return from office rentals than homes.

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