The prospect of a rise in the benchmark mortgage rate, for the first time since the introduction in 2008 of this standard for setting rents, risks costing tenants dearly next year, warns UBS on Monday in a dedicated study. .
The reduction to 1.25% currently, once morest 3.50% fourteen years ago, had already not been enough to compensate for a general increase in prices fueled by new leases that are systematically more expensive than the rents for current leases, underline the experts of the bank with the three keys. However, the increase had been less marked than if the rents had not been indexed.
Assuming that the Federal Housing Office will raise the reference interest rate twice next year by 25 basis points, in March and then in September, the authors of the study calculate that homeowners will be entitled to demand 6% more rents in the event of indexation by the end of 2023. The integration of inflation might even allow them to raise rents by 7% to 8% over the period.
Recalling that only one in five tenants has in the past used their right to rent adjustment during successive reductions in the reference rate, UBS doubts that all landlords will directly apply the authorized increases, in particular in areas with high vacancy.
The fact remains that if the reference rate follows the scenario outlined by the forecasters of the number one Swiss bank to reach 2.5% by 2025, rents might increase by some 20% compared to their current level. The phenomenon coming on top of the expected increase in charges, many tenants might then find themselves in difficulty.
/ATS
