How long do cooperative apartments stay online? How much share capital do cooperatives ask for, which occupancy rules apply and how early are apartments advertised? This report answers with live figures from the listings Laos.io has recorded – updated daily.
As of 4 Nov 2026 · Aggregated figures: Laos.io, CC BY 4.0 with attribution (how to cite)
Where a listing states an amount, the median of the stated share capital is CHF 5,500 (n = 368 listings from 61 cooperatives; 17% of all listings state an amount); the middle half lies between CHF 3,400 and CHF 9,000, one in ten asks for more than CHF 19,500. Relative to the rent that is a median of 3.4 monthly gross rents. 6% of the listings with share-capital details state that it replaces the rent deposit (n = 211). This is not an average of all cooperative apartments: cooperatives that advertise often shape the figure.
| Size | Median | Middle half | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–2.5 rooms | CHF 3,000 | 3,000–6,500 | 53 |
| 3–3.5 rooms | CHF 4,500 | 3,000–7,900 | 182 |
| 4–4.5 rooms | CHF 8,000 | 5,000–10,000 | 93 |
| Area | Median | Middle half | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Basel-Landschaft | CHF 8,000 | 4,500–8,000 | 48 |
| Canton Basel-Stadt | CHF 4,000 | 3,000–6,000 | 84 |
| Canton Bern | CHF 2,500 | 2,000–3,000 | 34 |
| Canton Zürich | CHF 8,000 | 6,000–16,500 | 116 |
| Basel | CHF 3,600 | 3,000–4,000 | 76 |
| Zürich | CHF 8,000 | 5,000–16,500 | 34 |
Based on 368 listings from 61 cooperatives first seen since 3 Nov 2024 that state an amount (17% of all listings in that period). Amounts below CHF 1,000 (membership share only) and rent deposits are excluded. A few large cooperatives strongly shape the figures of their canton. Guide: share capital
In 25% of the evaluable listings (239 of 946) we found a statement on occupancy or allocation rules – besides a minimum number of people this includes e.g. age, families or membership. 6% (55 of 946) set a minimum number of people. The real share is higher: many cooperatives only set the rule in their letting regulations. Among the 55 listings with a minimum number of people and an evaluable room count, the rule is exactly "rooms minus one" in 86% and "rooms minus two" in 9%.
| minimum occupancy / number of people | 23% | |
|---|---|---|
| age (e.g. 55+ or 60+) | 14% | |
| families, children | 13% | |
| residence or workplace | 6% | |
| membership | 5% | |
| students, trainees | 2% | |
| car-free living | 2% | |
| no single persons | 1% |
| 1–1.5 rooms | 1% | n=83 |
|---|---|---|
| 2–2.5 rooms | 0% | n=185 |
| 3–3.5 rooms | 7% | n=318 |
| 4–4.5 rooms | 7% | n=266 |
| 5+ rooms | 16% | n=76 |
| Canton | Occupancy/allocation rule | Minimum people | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zürich | 40% | 21% | 198 |
Typical wordings (in German, as published):
wohnen ab 65 Jahre plus (3)Familien mit einem Kind unter 10 Jahren werden bevorzugt. (3)Mindestbelegung: 3 Personen (3)Für die Vermietung muss man bei Bezug mindestens 55 Jahre alt sein. (3)Mindestbelegung: 2 Personen (3-Personenhaushalte bevorzugt) (2)Based on 946 listings with a description first seen since 1 Jun 2025 (when we started extracting the rules); 239 of them from 94 cooperatives state an occupancy or allocation rule. Rules are read automatically from the listing text and classified by keywords. Income limits are stated in very few listings, so we publish no figures on them. Guide: occupancy rules
A cooperative apartment is advertised a median of 51 days before the move-in date (middle half: 24 to 81 days). 42% of the listings appear at least two months ahead. For 12%, the stated move-in date had already passed when we first recorded the listing – that does not mean the apartment was available immediately. 66% of the move-in dates are the 1st of a month, 27% the 15th or 16th.
| Canton | Median | ≥ 2 months ahead | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aargau | 75 days | 62% | 58 |
| Basel-Landschaft | 63 days | 52% | 89 |
| Basel-Stadt | 59 days | 49% | 90 |
| Bern | 55 days | 48% | 116 |
| Luzern | 79 days | 68% | 50 |
| St. Gallen | 59 days | 47% | 62 |
| Zürich | 40 days | 31% | 376 |
Lead time = move-in date stated in the listing minus the date Laos.io first saw it (969 listings from 149 cooperatives since 3 Nov 2024; dates already passed at first sighting count as 0 days).
Advertised cooperative apartments cost a median of CHF 20.3 gross rent per m² and month (middle half: CHF 17.5 to 24.3). Service charges (Nebenkosten) make up a median of 15% of the gross rent, about CHF 240 a month. Median rents by apartment size for every canton are on the canton overview.
| Canton | CHF / m² | Service charges |
|---|---|---|
| Aargau | – | 14% (n=57) |
| Basel-Landschaft | 23.8 (n=35) | 13% (n=141) |
| Basel-Stadt | 22.3 (n=49) | 15% (n=146) |
| Bern | 19.3 (n=46) | 17% (n=228) |
| Freiburg | – | 16% (n=53) |
| Luzern | – | 14% (n=33) |
| Neuenburg | – | 18% (n=30) |
| Solothurn | – | 17% (n=82) |
| St. Gallen | 19.7 (n=47) | 15% (n=143) |
| Thurgau | – | 13% (n=66) |
| Waadt | – | 14% (n=47) |
| Zürich | 20.4 (n=139) | 11% (n=161) |
| Zürich | CHF 18.5 | n=69 |
| Basel | CHF 21.3 | n=38 |
| St. Gallen | CHF 19.6 | n=33 |
Rent per m²: gross rent / living space of apartments first seen since 4 Nov 2025 (CHF 300–10,000, 20–250 m²). Service charges: net rent and charges published by the portals, where they add up to the gross rent. These are asking rents of advertised vacancies, not the rents of all cooperative apartments.
Almost only on weekdays: just 6% of the new portal listings are published on a Saturday or Sunday.
| Monday | 18% | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 20% | |
| Wednesday | 21% | |
| Thursday | 19% | |
| Friday | 17% | |
| Saturday | 3% | |
| Sunday | 3% |
Publication time as reported by the portals (Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox), 1,681 listings since 3 Nov 2024. Our own capture times are not used: they reflect our scraping schedule.
In our directory, a waiting list is noted for 51% of the 755 providers (entries not checked individually; many lists are closed or only open to existing tenants). Half of those with a known portfolio own at most 105 apartments.
| Zürich | 42% | n=201 |
| Bern | 59% | n=143 |
| Basel-Stadt | 50% | n=97 |
| Luzern | 68% | n=78 |
| St. Gallen | 48% | n=67 |
| Basel-Landschaft | 45% | n=60 |
| Aargau | 50% | n=54 |
| Waadt | 38% | n=48 |
| Solothurn | 51% | n=41 |
| Thurgau | 53% | n=34 |
| Freiburg | 37% | n=27 |
| Graubünden | 62% | n=21 |
| Genf | 47% | n=19 |
| Neuenburg | 59% | n=17 |
| Zug | 71% | n=17 |
| Schaffhausen | 50% | n=16 |
| buy share certificates | 366 |
| membership | 318 |
| written application or form | 100 |
| joining fee | 75 |
| residence or owner-occupation | 66 |
| statutes, letting rules | 52 |
| debt enforcement register extract | 46 |
| occupancy rules | 39 |
| families, children | 31 |
| waiting list or registration | 30 |
| loan or deposit account | 20 |
| age requirements | 18 |
| rent deposit | 13 |
| residence permit | 10 |
Source: the Laos.io cooperative directory (information from the cooperatives and our own research; not fully verified). Cooperative directory
The aggregated figures computed by Laos.io and published on this page are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Individual listings, images, texts and information from third parties are excluded. Name Laos.io, the data date and link to this page and to the licence, and mark any changes you make.
Suggested citation: Laos.io, market report cooperative housing Switzerland, as of 4 Nov 2026, https://dev.laos.io/en/genossenschaftswohnungen/marktbericht/