Cooperative flats in Zurich: cooperatives, waiting lists, tips

Zurich has many cooperatives and yet hardly any available flats. Here you learn how allocation typically works, where to find cooperatives and what improves your chances.

The starting point

In the 2026 vacancy count the rate in the city of Zurich was 0.11 percent according to the City of Zurich, and 0.52 percent in the canton according to the Canton of Zurich (previous year: 0.48). That means almost nothing is available, and this applies to the whole market.

The City of Zurich pursues the so-called one-third target. According to its programme Wohnen 2026, the share of non-profit flats among rental flats is to reach one third by 2050.

How cooperatives in Zurich allocate

Nothing is uniform. The regional association WBG Zurich writes that most cooperatives no longer kept waiting lists and that you should apply for advertised flats. The directory zuri.net, on the other hand, writes that cooperatives mostly had long waiting lists. Both can be true; it depends on the individual cooperative. So check for each how it does it.

Using the largest, the ABZ, as an example: it has no waiting list for outside applicants. Available flats appear only on the ABZ website and stay online for at least 24 hours. You apply through an online form; calls and emails do not count. A random generator invites 15 people to the viewing, after which the ABZ chooses according to its letting regulations. A waiting list exists only internally, for members who have lived there for at least five years and want to change flats. The ABZ also writes that new buildings offer the best chances.

Finding cooperatives

You find a directory with addresses at zuri.net, including ABZ, ASIG, BAHOGE, Baugenossenschaft Freiblick, Frohheim, GISA, Glattal, Graphika and Hagenbrünneli. The regional association WBG Zurich offers a map of non-profit housing providers. On Wohnify you also find an overview in our cooperative directory.

Practical tips

• Make checking the websites a routine. According to WBG Zurich, cooperatives advertise available flats on their own websites, usually only briefly.
• Also set up a search alert on portals. The association names Homegate, Flatfox and Newhome.
• Have your file ready: debt enforcement register extract, tax statement, payslip or the payslips of the last three months, ID copy, all as PDFs.
• Watch new-build and conversion projects. According to WBG Zurich, there are often better chances with larger new buildings, and conversions bring more tenant changes. With replacement new buildings, old-building flats are sometimes let for a fixed term.
• Only apply for suitable sizes. The rule "persons plus one" often applies.
• Get advice if the budget is tight: the association refers to Domicil, AOZ, Caritas (WohnFit), WOKO and Juwo.

Wohnify and Zurich

Because listings are sometimes online only briefly, we built Wohnify: an alert service that watches cooperatives and tells you about new listings (CHF 9 per month, 7 days free). You find an overview for Zurich on the page Cooperative flats Zurich. But you can also do the whole search by hand, with the tips above.

What else you should know about the ABZ

Anyone who gets a flat at the ABZ becomes a member with an open-ended contract and pays share capital that depends on flat size: CHF 4'500 for 2.5 rooms, CHF 5'500 for 3.5 rooms, CHF 6'500 for 4.5 rooms. The amount is due by handover and is repaid after you move out, provided all obligations under the tenancy are met. More in the article on share certificates and occupancy.

Internally the ABZ allocates by priorities: first moves because of a building project, then reasons for an early move, then living quality. That explains why little is often visible from outside. As early as 2015 SRF wrote that at the ABZ most changes happen internally and only what cannot be allocated internally is advertised externally. The figures from back then are outdated, but the principle behind it is still described by the ABZ today.

A short checklist before applying

• Does the cooperative allocate by waiting list, draw or listing?
• Where and for how long are available flats advertised?
• Are membership and share capital required, and in what amount?
• Does a minimum occupancy apply, and does it suit your household?
• Are there income or asset limits (subsidised flats)?

More on the topic

• Waiting lists in Zurich
• Finding a cooperative flat: the overview
• Share certificates, occupancy, income