Executive Summary
The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) has updated the housing inventories of Swiss municipalities. Nine municipalities newly exceed the 20-percent mark for second homes and are thus subject to a building ban. Simultaneously, three municipalities fall below this threshold and are permitted to build freely again. In total, 331 municipalities now have a second home share above 20 percent – a decrease of six municipalities compared to March 2025. The reduction results from municipal mergers and data cleaning during review procedures.
Persons
- Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) (Regulatory Authority)
Topics
- Second home regulation
- Swiss spatial planning
- Housing inventory
- Building law
Clarus Lead
The reduction in second home municipalities shows that regulation is gaining precision through data cleaning – not through actual market changes. Starting in 2027, ARE will switch to automated calculation via the Buildings and Housing Register (GWR), which will streamline administrative processes and is intended to reduce data inconsistencies in the future. For municipalities like Locarno, which had significant gaps in housing inventory, the review represents a retroactive tightening of building regulations.
Detailed Summary
ARE regularly evaluates the housing inventories of all Swiss municipalities to calculate the second home share. Municipalities with over 20 percent second homes are subject to a building ban for new construction according to the Spatial Planning Act – exceptions exist only for accessory dwellings or other specific cases.
The current survey documents a differentiated picture: while nine municipalities newly exceed the threshold, the total number of affected municipalities declines. This is primarily due to two factors. First, municipal mergers led to statistical shifts. Second, municipalities cleaned up their data holdings during the ARE review procedure, causing the second home share in some cases to fall below 20 percent again – an indication of earlier recording gaps.
Particularly noteworthy is the case of Locarno: ARE determined that the municipality had not listed a significant number of dwellings in its inventory. After correction, ARE issued a ruling that the second home share exceeds 20 percent. Eight of the nine newly classified municipalities are still in the review procedure and have the opportunity to update their data – a process that underscores the volatility of classification.
Conversely, ARE is currently reviewing whether three municipalities may lift their second home restrictions, as their shares have fallen below 20 percent. The planned switch to the federal GWR starting in 2027 is intended to structurally resolve these data quality problems through automated recording.
Key Findings
- 331 municipalities are subject to the second home new construction ban (decline from 337 in March 2025)
- Nine municipalities newly exceed the 20-percent threshold; three fall below it
- Data cleaning and municipal mergers explain the net reduction
- Starting in 2027, automated calculation via GWR to improve data quality
Critical Questions
Data Quality: How many of the 331 municipalities could have similar recording gaps as Locarno, and how robust is the current statistic?
Conflicts of Interest: What incentives do municipalities have to clean up or falsify their housing inventories – and how is manipulation prevented?
Causality: Are the declining second home shares the result of genuine market changes or primarily administrative corrections?
Feasibility: How long will the transition to the GWR system take, and which municipalities could challenge their classification during the transition period?
Exception Regulations: How is compliance with exception cases (accessory dwellings) monitored, and are there regional differences in application?
Retroactive Effects: What are the consequences of retroactively classifying municipalities like Locarno for building permits already issued or planned?
Source Directory
Primary Source: Second Homes: Nine Municipalities Exceed 20-Percent Threshold – news.admin.ch, 31.03.2026
Supplementary Resources:
Verification Status: ✓ 31.03.2026
This text was created with the assistance of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 31.03.2026