How the square-metre formula works
The Swiss approach borrows from the German Wohnen für Hilfe movement, itself rooted in American experiments of the early 1970s. A 14-square-metre room means fourteen hours of help each month, roughly three and a half hours a week, while the student normally covers a share of utilities.
Typical tasks include grocery runs, gardening, smartphone and computer help, small repairs and accompanying the host to a concert or exhibition. Personal care and nursing are excluded, and each arrangement is set down in writing before the student moves in.
Geneva: a university-run programme
The University of Geneva launched 1h par m² in 2016 with Pro Senectute Geneva, the Rentes genevoises foundation and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation. By May 2024 the university reported that more than 330 people in training had found a room with 214 hosts.
Why Geneva invested in it
The university points to an imbalance: about 35 percent of homes in the canton are considered under-occupied while students struggle to find rooms. A poster campaign on Geneva public transport and in post offices sought new hosts in late May and early June 2024.
Official recognition
The programme won the Geneva youth parliament's youth prize in 2019. The cantonal seniors' portal lists it among ways to keep living at home longer, alongside supported housing blocks for older people, day centres and respite stays.
Zurich and German-speaking Switzerland
In Zurich the scheme is run by Pro Senectute Kanton Zürich from its city service centre. In a September 2025 interview with Swiss radio SRF, the social worker in charge for nine years said about thirty living partnerships existed across the canton.
How long do Zurich pairs last?
Often about a year, though some students stay for an entire bachelor's degree and a few for four or five years. Participants come from Switzerland or the European Union, and the ZHAW university of applied sciences promotes the scheme on its student housing page.
Does the canton pay for it?
No. A Basel-Stadt government report published in August 2026 notes that Zurich provides no cantonal contribution and that demand remains low in both city and canton. Pro Senectute therefore funds matching and follow-up from its own budget.
Where schemes have closed
The same report is blunt: Bern stopped at the end of 2019 despite a city coordination office, St. Gallen ended its benewohnen project in late 2024, and Fribourg dropped its offer for lack of interest. Two Basel attempts, launched in 2016 and 2020, also struggled to attract hosts.
Basel's 2026 decision
A motion in the Basel-Stadt cantonal parliament asked for a subsidised programme and was referred to the government on 19 December 2024. On 11 August 2026 the government declined a new pilot, concluding that third-party matching takes too much staff time for too few results.
An alternative model under watch
Basel is instead observing Socin-Haus, opened by the Bürgerspital in spring 2026 under the name Wohnen mit Service. The building combines flats for older people and for people with disabilities with student studios, the students taking on some support tasks in return.
What the numbers say
Homesharing remains a niche in Switzerland: a few hundred pairings in Geneva over eight years and around thirty in Zurich. Organisers openly say it cannot solve housing shortages or loneliness, but it offers a targeted response for people who want it.
Who is a good fit?
The model suits an independent older person in a spacious, well-connected home who enjoys company and accepts sharing the kitchen and bathroom. On the other side, it suits students or apprentices on tight budgets who can keep track of hours alongside their studies.
Comparing the two active programmes
The table summarises information published by the organisers. Utility contributions are not fixed nationally; they are negotiated in each written agreement, which is why international students should ask for an estimate before accepting a room.
| Feature | 1h par m² (Geneva) | Wohnen für Hilfe (Zurich) |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | University of Geneva with Pro Senectute Geneva | Pro Senectute Kanton Zürich |
| Exchange | one hour of service per square metre | one hour per month per square metre, plus utilities |
| Typical length | a semester or a year, renewable | around a year, sometimes a whole degree |
| Published scale | 330 people housed, 214 hosts (2024) | about 30 partnerships (2025) |
| Excluded | medical care | personal and nursing care |
Landlord consent and tax
If the host rents the flat, Swiss tenancy law makes subletting subject to the landlord's consent, which may only be refused on specific grounds. Tax treatment of a services-only exchange varies by canton, so hosts should ask their cantonal tax office.
Getting started, step by step
The process differs slightly between Geneva and Zurich but always runs through a third-party organisation that screens, introduces and supports the pair throughout the year.
- Measure the room and work out the monthly hours it implies.
- Contact the relevant scheme: the university in Geneva, Pro Senectute in Zurich.
- Receive a home visit to discuss the room and expectations.
- Meet one or more candidates proposed by the organisation.
- Write the agreement: tasks, schedule, utilities, length, house rules.
- Obtain written landlord consent where needed and tell the household insurer.
- Review the arrangement regularly and renew or close it at the end of term.
Common pitfalls
Cantonal reviews show that failures rarely stem from personal conflict; they come from vague expectations and too few hosts. These mistakes recur in accounts from Geneva and Zurich.
- Estimating hours loosely instead of keeping a simple monthly log.
- Drifting into personal care, which both schemes rule out.
- Leaving utility costs unallocated until the first bill arrives.
- Looking for a programme in Bern, Fribourg or St. Gallen after it has closed.
- Ignoring public transport links, a decisive factor for students.
Frequently asked questions about homesharing in Switzerland
These answers rely on information published by the programmes and by cantonal authorities up to autumn 2026. They give general pointers and do not replace a conversation with the organisation supporting a particular pair.
Can apprentices take part?
Geneva refers to people in training, a wider group than university students. The Basel motion also targeted low-income apprentices. Zurich mainly addresses students at universities and universities of applied sciences, so apprentices should ask before applying.
Is there a national platform?
No. There is no federal programme, and each scheme depends on a university, a foundation or a cantonal branch of Pro Senectute. Outside Geneva and Zurich, the best starting points are university housing offices and private notices.
How many hours for a large room?
A 20-square-metre room equals twenty hours a month, about five a week. Beyond that, the commitment becomes hard to reconcile with full-time study, which is why organisers prefer medium-sized rooms for these exchanges.
What about Ticino or Valais?
No active scheme there appeared in the sources consulted. A private arrangement remains possible if both sides draw up a clear written agreement, and the cantonal Pro Senectute branch can still advise older residents on staying at home.
Useful organisations and resources
- University of Geneva, 1h par m² — University housing service matching students with Geneva hosts, with Pro Senectute Geneva and Rentes genevoises.
- Pro Senectute Kanton Zürich, Wohnen für Hilfe — Flyer from the Zurich older people's charity that organises room-for-help partnerships with students.
- ZHAW student accommodation — University of applied sciences page in English pointing students towards housing options in the Zurich area.
Official and legal references
- Basel-Stadt government report on Wohnen für Hilfe (August 2026) — Official German-language review of Swiss homesharing schemes explaining why Basel declined a new pilot project.
- Basel-Stadt parliamentary motion on Wohnen für Hilfe — Motion text describing the one-hour-per-square-metre model and the cantons where it has been offered.
- Canton of Geneva, adapted housing for seniors — Official cantonal page in French presenting 1h par m², supported housing and other options for living at home.