Procedure, mediation and arbitration

Can I share my commercial premises? "I'm renting a commercial arcade and I'm lucky enough to have someone willing to share it with me by paying me a sum of money each month that will help me out. However, I want to keep the lease on my own. Can the landlord object to this transaction? Gérard, Genève You are about to...

Can I demand that my flat be renovated? I'm getting on in years and the bathroom in the flat I've rented for many years now is not adapted to my age. Can I force my landlord to replace the existing bath with a shower, which would be much more practical for me? C. Vaud...

Can I demand double-glazing? "When I visited the flat I've been living in for the last 11 months, the landlord mentioned plans to change the windows. The windows are single-glazed, and the people living on the first floor feel as though they're living on the road below. What's more, the air passes under the windows...

Can I dispute a rent increase? "I registered on the list of people interested in a beautiful flat in Eaux-Vives. As the paintwork has been redone, the management has decided that the rent will be CHF 1,900 instead of CHF 1,700 as it was for the previous tenant. This rent seems...

PPE: who should pay for the shutters? "How should the cost of repairing or replacing some of the shutters in a condominium be shared? Should they be paid for by the condominium, or should each condominium owner be responsible for his or her own costs? Is it possible to replace some of the shutters...

Why pay for what I don't use? In my PPE, there's talk of redoing the laundry room and replacing the washing machine and tumble dryer. I don't use this room at all, as I have a washing machine in my flat. In fact, I've given my laundry day to one of my...

Heat pump: administrative sweats? I've just bought a villa in the canton of Vaud that I want to renovate because it has old fossil-fuel heating. My heating engineer has advised me to install an air-to-water heat pump, but he hasn't asked me to sign a planning permission application. I'm assuming that as a...

Planning permission: neighbours not given special notice "When planning permission is put out to public enquiry, does the local authority have to notify the neighbours of its favourable opinion on a request that would involve a departure from the regulations? Shouldn't it be up to each individual to read the...

Eleven weeks of hell in Lancy "I'm a tenant in a ten-storey building and the owner has decided to bring all the kitchens and bathrooms up to standard. During the 11 weeks of work announced, all the building's tenants will be deprived of their bathrooms (toilets and washbasins) and...