Zurich's new zoning rules require 75% of extra apartments to be affordable

Zurich's revised Building and Zoning Ordinance (BZO 2026), part of a municipal ballot package decided on 14 June, requires that 75% of the additional apartments permitted in upzoned areas be let at affordable rents, and gives the city new powers to require green space on private developments. City councillor André Odermatt called the affordable-rent rule 'a central housing-policy measure'.

The model captures most of the value created by extra density as affordable housing — a sharp contrast with lighter-touch upzoning elsewhere — and offers a reference point for debates over how much affordability a city can demand in exchange for granting development rights.