Stable rents for practice rooms in Winterthur

The Grand Municipal Council of the City of Winterthur has reduced the 2015 global credit of the Neighborhood Development Office by twenty percent or around CHF 408,000. To help implement this decision, the Neighborhood Development Office has decided to increase the rents for the 41 music practice rooms it manages as of mid-2015. The announcement of this increase has sparked protests from musicians, according to a press release from the city.

In April 2015, the mayor met with the musicians concerned for a discussion. Following a review of the situation, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Services has now decided to waive the planned rent increase. The city thus acknowledges that it has acted incorrectly in some cases.

Despite the waiver of the announced rent increase, the Department of Culture and Services sees a need for action with regard to the music practice rooms, the press release continues. On the one hand, there are differently structured rental contracts. The aim here is to standardize them. Secondly, the rental prices are currently different.

The latter is to be adjusted - with the aim of "adapting the prices to the quality of the premises". The associated adjustments to the rental prices should be moderate, and the bottom line is that there should be no significant additional burden for the musicians. The Department of Culture and Services intends to tackle the adjustment next spring together with the tenants of the music practice rooms.

The Neighborhood Development Office is implementing the savings mandate of the Grand Municipal Council in the current year with numerous large and small measures. For example, one employee had to be made redundant and various support services for neighborhood activities were reduced or cancelled. The measure now being discontinued for the music practice rooms is to be compensated for with various savings in day-to-day operations.