Facts

In October 2012, the "Housing for All" initiative committee submitted the popular initiative "For Affordable Housing" to the City Chancellery of the City of Bern. The eligible voters of the City of Bern approved the initiative on May 18, 2014. The Office for Municipalities and Spatial Planning of the Canton of Bern approved the amendment to the Building Ordinance on May 18, 2015 with two adjustments and dismissed an objection filed against it.

With the amendments made by the Office for Municipalities and Spatial Planning, new provisions were incorporated into the Building Ordinance of the City of Bern to ensure that in the case of rezoning and new zoning, at least one third of the residential use is created as affordable housing and permanently rented at cost rent or the land is transferred to a non-profit organization. Furthermore, an increase of the permissible utilization rate by 20 percent was provided for if affordable housing is created throughout the entire building and permanently rented at cost rent.

The unsuccessful objectors appealed against the approval decision of the Office for Municipalities and Spatial Planning, which was dismissed by the Justice, Municipalities and Church Directorate of the Canton of Bern. The appellants then appealed to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern, which also dismissed the appeal.

Against the judgment of the Administrative Court, the Bern and Surrounding Property Owners' Association, Adrian Haas, Rudolf Friedli and Beat Schori jointly filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal, insofar as it enters into it.

The provisions incorporated into the Building Ordinance of the City of Bern to ensure a sufficient supply of affordable rental housing are compatible with the principle of the primacy of federal law. They can be interpreted and implemented in such a way that their application does not generally involve unjustified interference with economic freedom or the guarantee of property.

The Federal Supreme Court states that the cantons can take proportionate measures to combat the shortage of housing, for example by subjecting the conversion…