From Collective Centres to Private Accommodation: Housing Trajectories of Asylum Migrants in Switzerland

The housing situation of refugees and asylum seekers has recently attracted political attention due to the shortage of appropriate accommodation and the increased use of underground bunkers as a temporary solution. Asylum migrants encounter many obstacles in accessing the private sector of the housing market; thus, local authorities play an active role in shaping opportunities for social inclusion. Using the Swiss population register (2012-2019) for complete cohorts of asylum migrants, this study analyses the transitions from collective (communal) centres to private housing from the deposition of an asylum claim and during the first eight years in the country. Cox models for interval-censored data show the association between individual and contextual factors and the speed of access to private housing. Despite the quasi-autonomous management of refugee housing by region (cantons), priority rules regarding access to private housing were found to apply across the country. When choosing between different profiles, women, older asylum migrants, married individuals, and members of larger national groups are favoured in obtaining access to private housing. Nevertheless, the time spent in collective centres largely depends on the region to which a claimant is assigned, pointing to the minimal agency asylum migrants have during their first years of residence. Focusing on the early stages of the residential trajectory of asylum migrants this study provides insights into the logistics of housing attribution and different rationales governing these procedures.