When is a house still habitable?

The living conditions in two houses on the main road to the Aegeri valley are marginal - the canton accommodates refugees here.

The house at Zugerstrasse 91, as you enter Unteraegeri, appears derelict, but is obviously inhabited. The house has a crumbling and heavily stained façade, a broken letterbox system and windows that are partly nailed shut with boards. What is this terrible house? Do people really live there? Who benefits from renting out this eyesore as a landlord, and what are the authorities doing to remedy this situation?

Ten people who have received negative asylum decisions, so-called “emergency aid recipients”, live in this derelict house in Unteraegeri. They cannot leave Switzerland because they come from countries like Morocco, which currently does not take back refugees. When asked about the minimum standards for accommodation for refugees, the head of the cantonal Social Welfare Office, Iris Bischof, refers to the corresponding ruling of the canton. Provisionally accepted refugees are, for example, entitled to access to the Internet, while rejected applicants are not. Both groups, on the other hand, have the right to basics, such as a bed and a fridge. Accommodation for emergency relief recipients is always "of the simplest standard", says Bischof, and should be chosen by the canton to be as cost-effective as possible with regards to rent and maintenance. Depending on the complexity of the expulsion procedure, the Confederation only provides the canton with a one-time lump sum from CHF 400 up to a maximum of CHF 6,000 per person. But everything still has to be paid for: rent, medical expenses, food and so on - and sometimes for months.

The house at Zugerstrasse 91 is also a thorn in the side of the community, as confirmed by the municipal president, Josef Ribary. "I receive emails about this building almost every week," he says. "It is one of the first houses you encounter just before the entrance to the valley." The municipality has been in contact with the owners for some time. “We were assured that something would soon be done.” He would be happy if “something finally works out”, says Ribary. He has never been inside the building himself, but, when asked about the housing conditions, he replies: "It's up to the canton, we have nothing to do with renting apartments to asylum seekers." From Ribary's point of view, there is nothing wrong with using a house “where nobody else wants to live” as an asylum shelter. "That's legitimate, the canton has its rules here."

Photos: Zugerstrasse 91 and 103, a view of the kitchen in Zugerstrasse 103

A total of 92 refugees are housed in 15 properties in the municipality of Unteraegeri. The rule in the Canton of Zug is that the canton is primarily responsible for letting the objects. The municipalities only have to find accommodation if the canton cannot find enough itself. There are also refugees living in the house at Zugerstrasse 103, only a few hundred meters away from the "eyesore" on the road to Neuaegeri. It is also appears to be no longer in good condition from the outside, but, in comparison to the building with the number 91, does not appear dilapidated. A man from Syria lives here, together with five other men from Eritrea or Tibet. Some are recognised refugees, while others have the status of "provisional". Depending on the status of these people, either CHF 261.82 or CHF 381.20 per person per month is available to the social services for the rental costs. "We mainly rent old buildings, derelict objects and objects that can be used until they are renovated," says Iris Bishop.

In the house at Zugerstrasse 103, a stained carpet leads to a narrow staircase to the first floor, where the man from Syria lives. Each of the residents has its own small room, toilets are located in the corridor, and cooking takes place in the communal kitchen, which has the bare necessities. He used to regularly find mice there, he reports. He complained to the authorities, and was given some chemicals to use. He still finds mice, but now dead ones. His colleague from Eritrea joins us. "Do you find it cold?" the Syrian asks the younger roommate. "Not yet," replies the Eritrean. He lives in the single room on the top floor. "That was my room last year," says the Syrian, "it was so cold that I got sick regularly and had a fever in the winter." He goes up one floor and knocks on the wall of the small room, indicating that it is badly insulated. When the room on the second floor became vacant, he took it immediately. He's been less cold so far, but wears a cap anyway. As a visitor, you cannot escape the fact that is definitely cool in the whole house. A temperature of 18 to 21 degrees in the kitchen and/or the living rooms is tolerable according to general recommendations of the Social Welfare Office.

The houses described here belong to SAE Immobilien AG, formerly Spinnereien Aegeri. At the beginning of 2018, a representative told our newspaper that planning for the rehabilitation of House 91 was well advanced. How does it look now? Managing Director René Koch provides information: "Zugerstrasse 91 will be renovated next year," he writes. The approval process for the renovation of a building in such an exposed location takes a good deal of time. "It goes without saying that only the most necessary repairs are therefore carried out, and an (intermediate) use in the form of a letting is normal." When reproached that, instead of promoting a renovation, profits are being made from cheap and poorly maintained apartments, Koch commented as follows: "We don’t hear this kind of criticism from either the residents or the canton." The apartments are cheap and habitable. "We don’t force anyone to rent these apartments, on the contrary, we have ongoing requests for such objects."

When asked what the interior of the house on Zugerstrasse 91 looks like, René Koch explains: "The conditions inside are better than the impression from the outside. And private individuals lived in these apartments as tenants before they were rented to the canton. "All concerns were dealt with immediately. And in general: mice are a normal case in hundreds of buildings in the canton of Zug, especially in winter. "One reason is the improper storage of food, and hygiene in general." The managing director did not want to comment on the rental income. The conditions are "very favourable," said the social services.

SAE Immobilien also wanted to renovate the power plant of the Inneren Spinnerei on the Lorze. The Federal Supreme Court recently ruled that franchised private rights must be replaced by concessions, however, which affects all small hydropower plants in Switzerland. René Koch: "A simultaneous renovation of the Unteraegeri power plant and house at Zugerstrasse 91 was planned, so that the construction infrastructure, such as cranes, would only have to be assembled once." A prerequisite for this would have been simultaneous building permits. "We now have to separate the realisation of these two construction projects, which also drives up the construction costs, and also the rents."