Find a cooperative apartment in Zurich today.
Together with Sihlfeld and Alt-Wiedikon, Friesenberg forms District 3 of the city of Zürich. The best-known building in this quarter is probably the Triemli-Spital, where a large share of the city of Zürich’s residents are born. Also very well known is the Sportzentrum Heuried, where you’ll often find us in summer, as we really appreciate the sunshade over the toddlers’ area. Apart from that, this quarter is shaped above all by one institution: the Familienheim Genossenschaft Zürich. Roughly speaking, it owns about half of the apartments in Friesenberg. We have therefore decided to devote most of this blog post to this cooperative and even conducted an interview with a resident for you. At the very end, you’ll also find a short section on the apartments of Heimgenossenschaft Schweighof and Baugenossenschaft Rotach in Friesenberg.
Fantastic housing for families
A brief profile of the Familienheim Genossenschaft
The Familienheim Genossenschaft Zürich, or FGZ/fgzzh for short, has been around for over 100 years. It arose from the need for affordable housing. In 1896, a referendum led the city of Zürich to purchase 22 hectares of land in Friesenberg to build affordable apartments with gardens. However, the city lacked the funds to build, so the Familienheim Genossenschaft Zürich was founded. The first development was then built following the garden-city model. Over the years, more housing estates were gradually added. Today, the FGZ owns no fewer than 25 estates in Friesenberg, with about 2'300 housing units. Over 800 of these are row houses (3-5.5 rooms) with gardens—an especially great housing type in our opinion. You can find an overview of the FGZ estates here.
By the way: the FGZ also has a new development project in planning. It will be a while before it is completed, as letting is planned for 2027. We are following the project with interest and will keep our subscribers updated.
How the FGZ advertises apartments
We’re big fans of the FGZ because we find its letting practices transparent. On its website the cooperative explains exactly how things work—and that’s rare! Bravo, FGZ!
The FGZ posts available apartments on its website, always on weekdays at 16:00. There isn’t a fixed weekday, but if you check every day at 16:00, you won’t miss a listing. Note: Some of the very popular row houses are only online for about 5 minutes, because the ads stay up only until 30 parties have applied. So it’s crucial that you log on exactly at 16:00. Of course, we monitor the page and send an email to subscribers of our search subscriptions whenever a great FGZ unit is posted. Two examples from recent months: a 5-room row house for 2012.- per month, with dogs allowed, and a 5-room row house for 1'800.- per month. Those are fair rents, right?
Allocation of FGZ apartments
When allocating apartments, the FGZ strictly follows its guidelines. A key point concerns occupancy: For family units, it is number of rooms = number of people. Accordingly, the 5-room row houses are rented only to families with at least 5 people. For units not categorized as family units (for example, senior apartments), the formula is number of rooms – 1 = number of people. Further criteria in letting include income and urgency. A computer program analyzes the applications received and creates a ranking based on them. The letting team observes this list and then uses it to select new tenants on a factual basis. Everything is documented and communicated transparently. You can find more details on letting at the FGZ here. We recommend downloading the article and reading it carefully, as it contains a lot of useful information.
Moving in cases of under-occupancy
We think the FGZ sets a good example here as well. It wants to ensure that family units can truly be occupied by families. As soon as the adult children move out, a roughly 3-year period begins within which the remaining residents must move so that a new family can benefit from the larger unit. The move can take place within the cooperative, as people receive several offers and can thus continue to benefit from affordable housing.
Interview with a resident of the FGZ
Emanuela J has lived with the FGZ for 21 years. We spoke with her by phone about this great cooperative.
How did you get your apartment with the FGZ?
My husband worked at a company that did work for the FGZ. That’s how I learned about the cooperative and about the available apartments. I called right away, and we were lucky to get the apartment. Otherwise it would have been very difficult for us, because the privately rented apartment we were going to move into canceled on us at very short notice. When our second child was born, we had ourselves put on the FGZ’s internal waiting list for a house, and we’ve now been living in a row house with a garden for 13 years.
What are the biggest advantages of the FGZ for you?
I find it very nice that the aim is to offer space to as many families as possible. That is to say: you move in as a family and enjoy the living space, and when the children move out, you make room for the next family. I think this dynamic is great, and it also brings movement to the cooperative. And you don’t have to leave immediately—you have 3 years and receive 3 offers within the cooperative.
Then there’s the unbeatable low price—there’s no other way to put it, the rents are just very low.
And finally, there’s the cooperative spirit that’s always part of it. There is a committee for the gardens, there is a repair day for bicycles, recreation rooms, and much more. You can get very involved in the cooperative.
Are there any downsides to living in the cooperative?
One downside is that space is limited, so unfortunately you can’t give everyone a place. That’s a pity.
Thank you for the conversation and all the best!
Heimgenossenschaft Schweighof in Friesenberg
This cooperative was founded almost at the same time as the Familienheim Genossenschaft in Friesenberg and built the «im Hegi» estate there around 100 years ago. It consists of 69 practically identical row houses with gardens at the foot of the Uetliberg, which have recently been placed under heritage protection. The houses are usually rented to families with at least two children, and the rents are very low at 1'585–1'685.- per month. Until recently, Heimgenossenschaft Schweighof had a waiting list. However, this is currently closed until further notice, as heritage protection makes renovations enormously difficult. If the situation changes, we will inform you by email and on our website.
Baugenossenschaft Rotach in Friesenberg
Baugenossenschaft Rotach completed its largest replacement new build in Friesenberg in 2016. The Triemli 1 estate offers attractive housing for all life situations, as it also includes a building for seniors over 60. Right next door is the Triemli 2 estate, with mostly larger apartments for families. Overall, BG Rotach has 13 estates with over 1'100 apartments both in the city of Zürich and outside. BG Rotach maintains a waiting list, but at the moment only registrations for apartments outside the city are possible (exception: District 12). You can find the form here.
If the situation changes, we will inform our subscribers by email and update our list of waiting lists.
Conclusion: The FGZ offers fantastic housing for families in District 3
The Familienheim Genossenschaft rents unbeatable affordable housing in a prime location in the city of Zürich. In fact, in 2024 the net rent at the FGZ was 44% lower than for for-profit apartments in District 3. That is truly a massive difference. The fact that the FGZ strongly supports families is even reflected in the demographics of the Friesenberg quarter: 12 percent of people here live in a household with at least 3 minor children. In the city of Zürich, the average is only 6%, i.e., half of that! (Source: Quartierspiegel Friesenberg 2024, Stadt Zürich Statistik). The transparent letting practices at the FGZ and the handover of apartments to families after the children move out really impress us. The community life at the FGZ sounds great, too. We hope many of you will find something here. Last year, the FGZ posted just under 50 apartments on its website. Among them were several great 4- to 5-room row houses for families. So the chances are good!
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