- The SP Luzern wants to regulate offers like Airbnb and had launched a corresponding initiative.
- Lucerne’s city parliament followed the city council’s counter-proposal and decided to curb such offers.
- The population can probably vote on the SP initiative and the counter-proposal in March 2023.
Tourism should not reduce living space in the city of Lucerne. So far, the city and the SP are in agreement in their proposals. A year ago, the Lucerne SP submitted the “Protect housing – regulate Airbnb” initiative. This requires that apartments may be rented for tourist purposes for a maximum of 90 nights per year.
This is intended to limit large-scale temporary letting and make more living space available for the local population. However, the city council rejected the SP initiative because it actually amounts to a ban. Short-term rentals are only profitable from 90 days.
Counter-proposal is a workable compromise
The city council presented a counter-proposal that provides quotas for short-term rentals. With the exception of the SP, all factions supported this path proposed by the government.
Only the SP, which clung to its initiative, was dissatisfied with the counter-proposal. The counter-proposal completely misjudges the reality on the housing market and destroys living space, said her spokesman. By roll call, the City Council decided by 31 to 15 votes to recommend the “Protect housing – regulate Airbnb” initiative to voters for rejection. The counter-proposal was approved by Parliament by 32 votes to 14.
The people of Lucerne are expected to vote on both the counter-proposal and the initiative in March 2023.