Swiss Man Evicted From Home to Make Way For Asylum Seekers

A Swiss man in Zurich has claimed that his local municipality has given him an eviction notice for his apartment in order to use it to accommodate asylum seekers and refugees.

The 47-year-old states that he received a letter from the municipality of Seegräben, which owns his apartment, to vacate the premises by the end of May after the local government received an order from the regional government to provide more housing for asylum seekers.

“I’m incredibly sad. I have lived here for over 15 years. My children grew up in this apartment,” the man said, 20 Minutes reports.

According to the newspaper, the man lives in the apartment after his former wife and his children moved out around six years ago but does sublet part of the apartment.

“I’m scared. I don’t think I will find another affordable home in the area in the next three months that can accommodate myself, my children who visit me every two weeks and my pets,” he told the newspaper.

While there has been an outcry on social media over the move, the municipality explained, “this decision was very difficult to make. Unfortunately, this measure was the last possibility to reach the quota of reception of refugees prescribed by the canton [regional government].”

After he is removed from the apartment, five migrants will be placed into the flat, which is located above a local kindergarten.

Although it is rare for people to be evicted from their homes to make way for asylum seekers, the phenomenon is not unknown and has been reported in prior years. In 2015, a German woman was evicted from her home during the height of the migrant crisis to make way for refugees as well.

Gabrielle Keller was the second woman to be evicted to make room for migrants that year, according to an October 2015 report. Keller’s home, much like the man in Switzerland, was also owned by the government.

A year later, in the city of Bonn, a pensioner couple were forced to live in an accommodation among asylum seekers due to a lack of housing or face homelessness as the city ran out of housing.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.