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How do I enable WhatsApp notifications?

1. Log into the customer portal.

2. Click on the box at the top that says 'Zurich' with your subscription.

3. Select 'Edit Subscription'.

4. Click 'Add Addons'.

5. Choose Receive apartment links on WhatsApp and press 'Add (1)' to confirm.

6. On the next page, press 'Update Subscription →' to confirm.

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Finding an apartment in Zürich

Where are there apartments or shared rooms for students?

There are many platforms for 'normal' shared rooms, such as www.weegee.ch, www.wgzimmer.ch or www.meinwgzimmer.ch. There are also special institutions that rent out rooms to students and people in education. You can find a list in this blog post.

Finding an apartment in Zürich

Where can I find a cheap apartment in Zurich?

That is the million-dollar question. The situation on the housing market in Zurich is precarious. We are aware of the following options:
- Cooperative apartments
- City-owned apartments
- Facebook groups for apartments
- Real estate portals such as Homegate and Flatfox
- Immomailing (costs CHF 50 one-off, but sometimes has cheap apartments)
In general, it is also the case that apartments become somewhat cheaper if you are willing not to live in the city itself, but a bit further out.

Finding an apartment in Zürich

Where can I find an apartment for the elderly?

There are various institutions that specialize in this, and are listed in this blog post. A filter function for apartments for senior citizens is also available.

Genossenschaften

Do my savings matter?

Yes - many cooperatives set the maximum at CHF 200,000. In other words, if your household has more assets, your chances of getting an apartment in a cooperative are lower than if you have less money in the bank.

Genossenschaften

What is the difference between city-owned apartments and cooperatives?

City-owned apartments are apartments that are rented out by the City of Zurich. They therefore belong to the city itself. The rents are very cheap, but there are also very strict income and savings rules (at least at the start of the rental period). If you are interested in an apartment, fill out the form on the city's e-rental website. A random number generator then decides who is allowed to visit, meaning it takes a bit of luck before you get an apartment like this.

Cooperatives are private institutions that rent out properties non-profit. The application processes are very different and unfortunately often not transparent at all. Some cooperatives also have a random number generator in the first round. In the case of others, a commission or the board of directors is likely to decide. It is very difficult to say who has good chances with which apartment, because the cooperatives also pay attention to social mixing. It is worthwhile to write a good cover letter.

Genossenschaften

Are there special cooperatives for large families?

Yes, they do exist! There is the Heimgenossenschaft Schweighof for families with at least two children and the Stiftung Familienwohnungen for families with at least three children.

Genossenschaften

What about pets?

Various cooperatives allow domestic cats. With dogs, the situation is rather more difficult, with only a few cooperatives allowing them. If you have a dog, the GenossenSchaffen search subscription is probably not that interesting for you, because the majority of the apartments will not be accessible to you. You may be able to check the PWG website regularly, because as far as we know, this foundation also accepts dogs in some cases and often advertises apartments. You can find other cooperatives that allow dogs on our list of cooperatives. Winterthur is particularly favourable for dog owners (we're not sure why though), where quite a few large cooperatives accept dogs (including GWG, WBG Talgut and HGW).

Genossenschaften

What is a cooperative (or a Genossenschaft)?

Genossenschaften (cooperatives) are organizations that manage and rent out real estate on a non-profit basis. They are managed by a board of directors and offer affordable housing. Cooperatives value a sense of community and proportionate living space and are often family-friendly. Many cooperative settlements also have settlement commissions. They consist of members of the cooperative and organise events for local residents. Rents in cooperatives are significantly lower than when real estate companies or private individuals act as landlords. In order to live in a cooperative apartment, in the vast majority of cases, you have to join the corresponding cooperative. In fact, this always happens automatically when the rental starts. A share of capital (not unlike the usual rental deposit) must be deposited, which will be refunded when you leave. Some cooperatives also pay interest on the capital share at a small percentage, i.e. when you leave, you get back a little more than you originally paid in. There are over 100 cooperatives in the Canton of Zurich, which together manage over 50,000 apartments. The largest cooperative is ABZ with over 5000 apartments.

Subscription

I would like to adjust my search criteria, how does that work?

It's easy to do this in the customer portal. There you can choose:
- Which apartment sizes you are interested in
- Your maximum rental budget
- If you only want to receive apartments just in the city, or in the entire canton
- If you would also like to receive links to city-owned apartments
- If you want to receive links to homes for senior citizens
- If you want to receive links to homes leases on a temporary basis
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Genossenschaften

Are there income rules?

Some cooperatives have a minimum or maximum of taxable income. Sometimes, for example, the taxable income of the household must not exceed six times the rent. However, this is by no means the case with all cooperatives! To be on the safe side, it is best to briefly check the cooperative's website before applying. You can quickly find all the rules there. However, it is definitely the case that people with high incomes can be excluded.

Subscription

How many cooperative websites are you monitoring?

For the greater Zurich area, there are almost 100 building cooperatives that we are monitoring in real time. Of these, almost 70 cooperatives are those that only advertise on their websites. The rest advertise on well-known real estate portals, for which we also send links.

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I'm looking for a cooperative apartment in another canton. Can you guys help?

We unfortunately won't be expanding to other cantons in the near future

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How many people have already been able to get hold of an apartment through GenossenSchaffen?

Many people have successfully found a Genossenschaft through us (check out our Google Reviews for some testimonials!)

We get notifications once or twice a day that someone has found an apartment using our service!

Subscription

How long does it take until I find a cooperative apartment?

This depends on many factors: What size apartment you're looking for, which locations you're willing to move to, and often also depends on having a bit of luck. Some subscribers have found an apartment after just one day of being subscribed though!

Subscription

Where can I cancel my subscription?

It's very simple: Either you go to the customer portal and cancel your subscription there, or you use an unsubscribe link, which can be found at the end of the emails with links to apartments. When canceling, you can choose whether you do not want to receive any more emails immediately (e.g. because you have found an apartment) or whether the subscription should run until the end of the payment period.

Subscription

Approximately how many apartments does GenossenSchaffen find per week?

You can take a look at our apartments page to see which apartments we've found in the past 30 days (and their location)

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Can I rent an apartment of any size from a cooperative?

No. In fact, most cooperatives are concerned that the size of the apartment is in proportion to the number of inhabitants. Specifically, the following rule is usually used: Number of residents + 1.5 = Maximum number of rooms. Some examples: Individual: maximum number of rooms = 1 + 1.5 = 2.5; couple (2 people): maximum number of rooms = 2 + 1.5 = 3.5; couple with 1 child: maximum number of rooms = 3 + 1.5 = 4.5; family with two children (4 people): maximum number of rooms = 4 + 1.5 = 5.5 rooms. This regulation avoids under-occupancy, helping to prevent housing shortage.

Subscription

Do you have an app?

We don't currently - we do have WhatsApp notifications if you don't like email alerts though.

Do you rent out apartments yourself?

No. We are not a cooperative ourselves and we do NOT rent out apartments. What we offer is a search subscription for listings. We monitor all cooperatives in the greater Zurich area and send our subscribers a notification when a new suitable cooperative apartment or a city-owned apartment becomes available. We have no influence on the application and rental process. We only provide information about vacant apartments.

Do you have any questions? Take a look at our FAQs.

FAQs

Site

Blog Posts

Legal

Do you have any questions? Take a look at our FAQs.

What is cooperative work?

Are there income rules?

FAQs

How do I enable WhatsApp notifications?

Where are there apartments or shared rooms for students?

Where can I find a cheap apartment in Zurich?

Where can I find an apartment for the elderly?

Do my savings matter?

What is the difference between city-owned apartments and cooperatives?

Are there special cooperatives for large families?

What about pets?

What is a cooperative (or a Genossenschaft)?

I would like to adjust my search criteria, how does that work?

Are there income rules?

How many cooperative websites are you monitoring?

I'm looking for a cooperative apartment in another canton. Can you guys help?

How many people have already been able to get hold of an apartment through GenossenSchaffen?

How long does it take until I find a cooperative apartment?

Where can I cancel my subscription?

Approximately how many apartments does GenossenSchaffen find per week?

Can I rent an apartment of any size from a cooperative?

Do you have an app?

Do you rent out apartments yourself?

Site

Blog Posts

Legal