Housing policy
The City of Lugano aims to promote access to moderately priced housing to support people with low to middle income; it has therefore decided to implement several measures.
Goals
Based on two studies from 2019 regarding the analysis of the housing stock and the local residential market, the City of Lugano aims to:
- encourage the construction of moderate-rent housing
- facilitate the construction of housing promoted by public utility entities
- promote centripetal development of settlements to encourage higher housing density in specific locations and limit resource consumption
- consider the needs of specific groups, for example, the elderly
- safeguard green areas
- activate the development potential of the City's housing stock
- strengthen the management and coordination of housing policy issues
Housing allocation Regulations
The Regulations clearly and unambiguously define the allocation of apartments and favor low and middle incomes. It sets the (cumulative) conditions for being eligible for housing, including the determining income (ascertained on the basis of the submission of the taxation notification of all persons who will occupy the housing), which may not exceed the limit of 4 times the amount of the total annual rent at the time of the conclusion of the contract, and 6 times the same amount during the tenancy. If the latter limit is exceeded, the City shall submit to the tenant a maximum of two substitute housing proposals; however, it is not obliged to propose alternative solutions if the determining income exceeds CHF 120,000. In the latter case, as well as in the case of non-acceptance of the alternative proposals, the lease may be terminated in the manner provided for in the relevant provisions of the Codice delle obbligazioni (Code of obligations).
Regolamento per l'assegnazione degli alloggi di proprietà del Comune di Lugano
Competition for Via Lambertenghi 3
As part of its measures to promote the construction of affordable housing, the City of Lugano decided to organize a competition for the granting of a standalone and permanent surface rights agreement to public utility entities on the site at Via Lambertenghi 3. The municipality launched a competition for the construction of a building intended for affordable housing on the upper floors and for commercial and artisan activities on the ground floor, which concluded in November 2020.
Two applications were submitted for the competition. The City selected "Cooperativa di abitazione Vivere Lambertenghi" as the winner. This is a public utility entity established on the initiative of the OCST union, the Associazione GenerazionePiù, and private individuals interested in affordable housing in Lugano.
Competence center
In addition to the competition for the building on Via Lambertenghi, an internal competence center within the City of Lugano Administration will be created to coordinate and manage the various housing-related issues and, at the same time, ensure communication and dissemination measures to the outside world, particularly with the Canton of Ticino and the Confederation.
Development potential of municipal properties
The development potential of some properties in the City of Lugano will be further investigated. In particular, some compartments of priority interest have been identified:
- former PTT / former Swisscom in Viganello
- former Spohr in Pregassona, Via Industria
- Via Torricelli/Via Trevano in Cornaredo
- Via al Chioso in Cassarate
Credits for the necessary studies will be activated by ad hoc messages and considered for the housing part in the CHF 10 million credit allocated by the City Parliament for housing policy.
Renovation interventions
The City of Lugano has allocated a credit of CHF 10.99 million in 2020 for renovations and planned extraordinary maintenance of its income properties for the years 2019-2026, with the aim of ensuring better efficiency of use, while maintaining affordable rents.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.