Why it is hard, and why it is worth it
At the end of 2023, 27.0 percent of the rental flats in the City of Zurich were non-profit (gemeinnützig): about 58,100 of 215,000. The city aims for one third by 2050. These flats belong to cooperatives (Wohnbaugenossenschaften), foundations and the city. They are let at cost rent (Kostenmiete), with no profit added, and the City of Zurich puts cooperative rents about 25 percent below the free market.
The city's rent survey 2026 (reference date 1 April 2026) shows the gap in median net rents: a typical 75 m² flat costs CHF 1,149 from a non-profit landlord and CHF 1,987 from the others; a 2-room flat CHF 964 against CHF 1,670. That gap is why cooperative vacancies go fast. The Zurich cooperative association (Wohnbaugenossenschaften Zürich, wbg-zh) notes that cooperative flats posted on portals are often online for only 15 to 30 minutes.
How Zurich cooperatives let flats today
According to wbg-zh, most cooperatives no longer keep waiting lists. They publish vacancies on their own websites, often briefly, and often also on Homegate, Flatfox and newhome. Seven examples, each according to its own website, checked on 15 October 2026:
Apply online, then a draw or a fixed procedure
- ABZ: vacancies only on its own website and in its newsletter; online applications stay open for at least 24 hours; a random draw picks 15 applicants for the viewing; no waiting list.
- FGZ: no waiting list; vacancies appear under "Freie Objekte" at 16:00 with an online form, and a computer program assesses every application by the same rules.
- mehr als wohnen: vacancies on its own site and on Homegate; no unsolicited applications and no external waiting list.
Membership needed or preferred
- BEP: more than 1,800 flats; the waiting list for its flats in the city of Zurich is open to existing members only.
- Kraftwerk1: you must be a member to apply (CHF 550 to join), and vacancies are announced in the members' newsletter.
- WOGENO: membership is required (a CHF 3,000 share, then a 3-month wait before you may apply); it says that, depending on the area, it takes 6 to 9 years to be invited to an allocation meeting.
- GBMZ: registration is currently closed.
Open procedures reward seeing the vacancy in time; member cooperatives reward joining early. For the rest of Switzerland, see how to get a cooperative apartment in Switzerland.
The rules to check before you apply
- Occupancy. Most cooperatives follow the rule "persons plus one": at most one room more than people in the household (wbg-zh). A household of three gets at most a 4 or 4.5-room flat; two people applying for 4 rooms usually waste their time.
- Share capital. Cooperatives can ask tenants to pay in share capital (Anteilscheinkapital). Examples: ABZ from CHF 3,500 (1.5 rooms) to CHF 8,500 (6.5 rooms); GBMZ usually 6 percent of the flat's investment value; WOGENO CHF 3,000 to become a member.
- Income limits for subsidised flats only. There are no general income limits on cooperative flats; subsidised flats have them (Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz). For subsidised flats in the Canton of Zurich (buildings from 2006), the 2026 limits, based on 2025 taxable income, are CHF 53,400 for one person at move-in and CHF 63,000 for two or more people; assets at most CHF 200,000; at least 2 years' residence in the canton; foreign nationals also need a settlement permit (C) or a permanent residence permit (Daueraufenthaltsbewilligung); rooms minus one equals persons, and flats with 4 rooms or more go to families only. wbg-zh notes these limits are checked every two years.
- Permit. Some cooperatives set their own conditions; FGZ, according to its website, asks for a Swiss passport or a B, C or Ci permit.
A practical routine
- List 10 to 20 cooperatives in the districts you want. The wbg-zh member list links to each member's website; check the rules, flat sizes and estates there.
- Join early where membership is required (for example Kraftwerk1 or WOGENO). Waiting periods such as WOGENO's 3 months start only once you have joined.
- Subscribe to every newsletter that announces vacancies, such as ABZ's.
- Watch vacancies every day: cooperative websites, search alerts on the portals, and a feed or alert service that collects cooperative vacancies (see below).
- Keep your dossier ready: ID or permit, salary certificate (Lohnausweis), debt extract (Betreibungsauszug), references. See what documents you need to rent in Switzerland.
- Apply within hours, and only for flats that fit your household under the occupancy rule.
- Also try the City of Zurich's own flats (not cooperative flats). The city owns about 6,900 flats in 59 estates plus about 2,600 in single buildings. It lets them online through E-Vermietung without a waiting list: a random generator picks who may view, and only viewers can apply. Conditions include occupancy of at least rooms minus one person, household income at move-in of at most four times the gross annual rent, and residence in the city by move-in.
For the wider Zurich search, see how to find an apartment in Zurich and the Zurich city page.
Tools that help
- The cooperatives' own websites, reached through the wbg-zh member list. You always apply there.
- aptari checks the websites of about 800 Swiss housing cooperatives and other non-profit housing providers every day and shows the open flats it finds in its free feed, next to the listings of Homegate, ImmoScout24 and Flatfox. Browsing needs no login. Cooperative flats carry a "Cooperative" badge, and a source filter shows just them. A cooperative listing opens on the cooperative's own website, and you apply there. aptari is not a cooperative, does not hand out flats or manage waiting lists, does not cover every cooperative, and cannot show flats a cooperative offers only to its members or in its newsletter. Passport Apply and the Apply Agent work only on listings from aptari partner agencies, so not on cooperative flats. New-listing alerts on saved searches come with Pro (CHF 9.90 a month at the launch price) and Ultra, and during the 14-day free trial.
- Alert services: several paid alert services watch cooperative websites for you, such as genossenschaftsscout.ch and genossenschaffen.ch for Zurich cooperatives, and mietradar.ch and laos.io, which say they cover all of Switzerland; wohnschaft.ch offers a free search and a daily email, with paid options. Compare which cooperatives they cover before you pay.
No service, aptari included, guarantees a flat.
Last checked: 15 October 2026.