The Swiss metropolis of Lucerne voted Sunday to restrict short-term leases, together with on the Airbnb platform, to a most of 90 days a yr.
Simply over 64 p.c of voters within the picturesque metropolis in central Switzerland had been in favour of the restriction tabled by the leftwing Social Democrats.
Backers of the initiative stated it aimed to cap large-scale short-term leases by industrial suppliers and to unencumber residing area for residents of Lucerne, which is going through a major housing crunch.
Opponents had warned it risked harming tourism within the metropolis, which is one in every of Switzerland’s important vacationer locations.
The native authorities had introduced a watered-down counter proposal, which might have restricted the proportion of short-term leases inside non-touristy neighbourhoods, nevertheless it didn’t get enough backing.
The left hailed the vote, with the nationwide Socialist Social gathering’s co-president Cedric Wermuth describing it on Twitter as a “unbelievable victory in opposition to the true property foyer”.
With Sunday’s vote, Lucerne will turn out to be the newest of quite a few European cities which have taken steps to restrict the impact of the Airbnb house rental platform on the housing market.
In Switzerland, caps on short-term subletting to holidaymakers are already in place within the western areas of Geneva and Vaud.
Participation within the Lucerne vote, which was simply one in every of a slew held on native and regional points throughout Switzerland Sunday as a part of the nation’s direct democratic system, stood at 34.6 p.c.
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