She feeds the pigeons in her window ...
She feeds the pigeons in her window ...
"In a small PPE building in the town centre, a landlady is going to great lengths to feed pigeons and sparrows on her windowsill. A neighbour told her about it, and I contacted the property management office, which reported the problem to the landlady. But since then, there's been no improvement; the communal and private windowsills are littered with rubbish, given the constant coming and going of birds. What legal means do the housing association and the owners of the building have to deal with this problem?
Laetitia, Geneva
Condominium ownership (PPE) is a special form of co-ownership in which each owner acquires a specific share of the entire building as well as the rights to a residential unit. The community of owners is represented by a specially appointed administrator.
The rights and obligations of each owner of a single-storey property are defined not only by law or the land register, but also and above all in a specific set of regulations. The legal basis for condominium ownership is set out in art. 712a et seq. of the Civil Code. These articles state in particular that each co-owner has the power to administer, use and develop his or her premises as long as he or she does not restrict the exercise of the rights of the other co-owners or damage the common parts, works and installations of the building, hinder their use or alter their external appearance. However, by soiling and damaging the edges of communal and personal windows, your neighbour is damaging communal areas, which is prohibited by law and no doubt by your by-laws. The administrator of your PPE will therefore have to take the steps provided for by your by-laws and by the law to put an end to the disturbance caused by this co-owner by taking the matter to court if necessary, which you can also do personally.
If your neighbour does not comply, you should know that, in extreme cases, the law provides that the general meeting of co-owners may decide by a majority to take the matter to court in order to exclude this owner who is exceeding her rights (art. 649b CC).
