In September, voters in Switzerland approved the abolition of the imputed rental value. This means that this particular tax deduction for property owners will no longer be available, which experts believe could spark a ‘renovation boom.’
Before the September 28th national referendum, property owners who occupied their own homes (rather than renting them out) had to pay income tax on the imputed rental value.
In return, they could deduct their mortgage interest and maintenance costs from their taxable income – between 10 and 20 percent of the imputed rental value, depending on the age of the property.
This will still be the case until 2028, when the new law kicks in.
However, property owners will have another way to benefit from tax breaks: renovations.
As an example, owners can benefit from tax deductions for general renovations, refurbishments and value-adding conversions of their properties, including:
- Bathroom or kitchen modernisation
- Replacement of windows
- Installation of a new, energy-efficient heating system
- Renovation of the building’s façade
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‘Emerging boom’
According to Fredy Hasenmaile, Chief Economist and a real estate expert at Raiffeisen Bank Switzerland, “we are quite certain that this boom will happen.”
Another expert, Christian Brogli, spokesperson for Suissetec, the industry association for building technology, agrees with this assessment.
“The boom is definitely emerging. Some building technology companies are already explicitly advertising that now is the right time to invest – while renovations can still be factored in, he said.”
The latest figures from the real estate consulting firm Wüest Partner also indicate the beginning of a boom: the company expects an increase in renovation investments of around 8.5 percent for 2026.
Last but not least, the umbrella group of the Swiss construction industry, Bauenschweiz, also anticipates rising demand for renovations of owner-occupied residential properties in 2026 and 2027, according to its spokesperson Sarah Stämpfli.
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There is however, a problem
Actually, two problems: one that already exists, while the other is still only a potential issue.
For the first one, to get the process under way, “temporary workers are needed, which isn’t so easy given the current skilled labour shortage in Switzerland” Brogli pointed out.
Furthermore, the high volume of orders could lead to higher renovation costs.
“If everyone is renovating at the same time, tradespeople can charge more.”
In fact, this development is a double-edged sword of sorts, he said, because while the renovation boom will bring in more orders for building technicians, many of them are already fully booked which, given the labour shortages, “could lead to bottlenecks.”
