I'm lucky to have a landlord who proactively passes on rent reductions. If he didn't — I probably would never have known I could claim one. Many of my friends still don't know. And I suspect most tenants in Switzerland are in the same position.
This isn't a technical problem. It's a human one. This right isn't in your lease. It isn't communicated. There's no reminder, no deadline letter, no official notification saying: "The reference rate has dropped — you're entitled to lower rent." If you don't hear about it by chance, you don't hear about it at all.
And those who do find out are often afraid. Afraid of how the property management will react. Afraid of being seen as a difficult tenant. In Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland, the myth of a blacklist persists — a supposed list of "troublesome" tenants circulated between property managers. This myth is demonstrably false. ASLOCA Geneva calls it an urban legend. The president of the Swiss real estate association confirms: there is no blacklist. And Swiss law protects you against retaliatory eviction for three years after submitting a reduction request. But the fear remains — because the whole thing doesn't feel normal. It feels like a dispute you'd rather avoid.
A study by Zürcher Kantonalbank then really woke me up: 88% of eligible tenants in Switzerland never claim their rent reduction. In Zurich, where over a third of the population comes from abroad and simply doesn't know the Swiss rental system, it's over 70%. I was stunned. Not by the law — that exists, clear and unambiguous. But by the silence around it.
There are apps and institutions that help with drafting and submitting reduction requests. Tenants' associations offer advice. Calculators exist. But people don't use them enough — not because the tools are missing, but because nobody talks about it openly. Because it doesn't feel normal. It feels like a dispute you'd rather avoid — even though it's pure administration.
That's the problem Wohniq wants to solve. Not a tool problem. A normalisation problem.
Making complex legal structures accessible — for everyone, not just those with the right resources or connections.
Normalising rent reductions. Making it visible that this is everyday — and that there is nothing to be afraid of.
The mechanism of rent reduction based on the reference interest rate is — as far as we know — unique in the world. Not self-evident, not known, not explained. Wohniq wants to change that: through a public registry of all claims in Switzerland.
Every claim submitted through Wohniq or one of our partners appears anonymously in the public ledger. Tenants can see what neighbours have achieved. Property managers can see that their behaviour is being measured. And everyone — tenants, institutions, researchers, authorities — can see how this right works in practice.
To preserve anonymity, participants receive a historical name — people who asserted rights against powerful institutions: Rosa, Nelson, Emmeline, Harvey, Sophie. Names that remind us that rights are not self-evident. And that they are worth claiming.
As a natural byproduct of this transparency, the Wohniq Score emerges: a public measure of how property managers handle rent reduction requests. Not intended as leverage — but as a consequence of finally speaking openly about something that has always been normal.
Wohniq offers an open partner API. Apps and institutions that help tenants draft and submit reduction requests can report these directly to Wohniq via the API and post status updates. Wohniq shows which tool or institution submitted the claim. The API is and remains free.
The goal is not a competing product. It is a neutral platform that helps people finally talk openly about this right — and makes claiming it feel normal.
I'm lucky to have a landlord who proactively passes on rent reductions. If he didn't — I probably would never have known I could claim one. Many of my friends still don't know. And I suspect most tenants in Switzerland are in the same position.
This isn't a technical problem. It's a human one. This right isn't in your lease. It isn't communicated. There's no reminder, no deadline letter, no official notification saying: "The reference rate has dropped — you're entitled to lower rent." If you don't hear about it by chance, you don't hear about it at all.
And those who do find out are often afraid. Afraid of how the property management will react. Afraid of being seen as a difficult tenant. In Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland, the myth of a blacklist persists — a supposed list of "troublesome" tenants circulated between property managers. This myth is demonstrably false. ASLOCA Geneva calls it an urban legend. The president of the Swiss real estate association confirms: there is no blacklist. And Swiss law protects you against retaliatory eviction for three years after submitting a reduction request. But the fear remains — because the whole thing doesn't feel normal. It feels like a dispute you'd rather avoid.
A study by Zürcher Kantonalbank then really woke me up: 88% of eligible tenants in Switzerland never claim their rent reduction. In Zurich, where over a third of the population comes from abroad and simply doesn't know the Swiss rental system, it's over 70%. I was stunned. Not by the law — that exists, clear and unambiguous. But by the silence around it.
There are apps and institutions that help with drafting and submitting reduction requests. Tenants' associations offer advice. Calculators exist. But people don't use them enough — not because the tools are missing, but because nobody talks about it openly. Because it doesn't feel normal. It feels like a dispute you'd rather avoid — even though it's pure administration.
That's the problem Wohniq wants to solve. Not a tool problem. A normalisation problem.
Making complex legal structures accessible — for everyone, not just those with the right resources or connections.
Normalising rent reductions. Making it visible that this is everyday — and that there is nothing to be afraid of.
The mechanism of rent reduction based on the reference interest rate is — as far as we know — unique in the world. Not self-evident, not known, not explained. Wohniq wants to change that: through a public registry of all claims in Switzerland.
Every claim submitted through Wohniq or one of our partners appears anonymously in the public ledger. Tenants can see what neighbours have achieved. Property managers can see that their behaviour is being measured. And everyone — tenants, institutions, researchers, authorities — can see how this right works in practice.
To preserve anonymity, participants receive a historical name — people who asserted rights against powerful institutions: Rosa, Nelson, Emmeline, Harvey, Sophie. Names that remind us that rights are not self-evident. And that they are worth claiming.
As a natural byproduct of this transparency, the Wohniq Score emerges: a public measure of how property managers handle rent reduction requests. Not intended as leverage — but as a consequence of finally speaking openly about something that has always been normal.
Wohniq offers an open partner API. Apps and institutions that help tenants draft and submit reduction requests can report these directly to Wohniq via the API and post status updates. Wohniq shows which tool or institution submitted the claim. The API is and remains free.
The goal is not a competing product. It is a neutral platform that helps people finally talk openly about this right — and makes claiming it feel normal.
I'm an IT architect with over a decade of experience bridging technology and business — first at ipt Innovation Process Technology, where I served as Principal IT Architect and Director, and now at the Federal Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications (BIT).
My background is deliberately hybrid: software developer by training, then a Master's degree in Business Administration at the University of Bern — with distinction. I believe the best solutions emerge when technology and business truly understand each other. Wohniq is exactly that: a technical problem with a human core.
I like straight talk, have no time for solutions that only work on paper, and believe technology must create real value — for real people. Wohniq is my attempt to do exactly that.
Wohniq is a product of Digital Front GmbH, a technology company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Wohniq complements existing services — it doesn't replace them. Here are the key organisations for Swiss tenants:
The largest tenants' association in German-speaking Switzerland. Offers legal advice, template letters and local sections in every canton. Membership recommended for complex cases.
The equivalent of MV for French and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Offers legal advice in French and Italian.
Official source of the reference interest rate. Publishes the rate four times a year and provides information on Swiss tenancy law.
For disputes with your landlord, the cantonal conciliation authority (Schlichtungsbehörde) is the first point of contact. The process is free.
Questions, feedback, or just a quick hello? I'd love to hear from you.