2023-06-02 00:17:17
The rise in the benchmark interest rate, which will lead to an increase in rents, is “disastrous news for the poorest”, warns Caritas. It comes on top of inflation and a sharp increase in health insurance premiums, she recalls.
For a family of four with two young children whose previous rent was 1,800 francs, the additional cost will be ‘136 francs per month just for accommodation’, says Andreas Lustenberger, member of the management of Caritas in an interview broadcast on Friday in the German-speaking newspapers of the Tamedia press group.
Added to this are the rise in food prices and the sharp increase in health insurance premiums, he adds, pointing out, for the latter, a new significant increase which is emerging for next year. ‘We can speak of a multiple crisis for people on low incomes’.
‘This can no longer be endured’
The Covid-19 pandemic had already shown that a fifth of Swiss people did not have 2,500 francs in savings, continues Mr. Lustenberger. ‘Now we are a few crises away and this cannot be taken any longer.
Caritas grocery stores recorded a turnover 40% higher in the first three months of the year than in the same period of 2022, notes the manager. He advises tenants to check whether a rent increase is justified.
Caritas offers in the short term ‘additional services for people in precarious situations’, continues Mr. Lustenberger, but in the medium term, the political world ‘should ensure that there is more affordable housing’.
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