Procedure, mediation and arbitration

The work hasn't started... " I've hired a company to carry out renovation work on the ground floor of my house, at a cost of over CHF 100,000, according to the company's estimate. I've already paid half of this amount, but the work hasn't started, even though it was supposed to...

State subsidies for building " I've heard that when you build a house, you're entitled to a state contribution towards all the work that saves energy. How does that work?" Michel, Vaud At national level, the federal law on subsidies establishes a general framework for...

The legal holidays "I had to defend myself in legal proceedings and I received a ruling from the Tribunal while I was on holiday for the end-of-year celebrations. The ruling gave me 30 days to appeal. I've heard that there are holidays during the festive season, so what exactly does that mean?

The different ways of guaranteeing a tenancy To help my friend find accommodation, I co-signed his tenancy agreement thinking I was acting as guarantor, but I now realise that we appear on the document as "tenants jointly and severally liable". Does this change anything for me? A,...

The dangers of subletting "I'm 75 years old and I've lived in Geneva since 1958. Thirteen years ago, a friend helped me find a flat and put it in his name, because I'd been sued. Three years ago, the building was bought. The new tenant wants to terminate the lease...

The flatmate's sub-tenant doesn't pay his share...". I live in a shared flat with a friend. We both signed the contract. My flatmate has gone on a long trip and decided to sublet his room. The sub-tenant doesn't pay me the rent. As I can't afford the amount...

The accumulation of periods of protection in employment law "Like the employee of the lady who wrote to you last week, I was ill for a long time and, after a month's wait, my employer gave me my notice. Once I'd recovered, I came back to serve my notice, but now I've had an accident...

Short-time working in COVID-19 " My employer has put me on short-time working. How does this work? Does he have to ask my opinion? If I refuse, do I then get 100% of my salary? Thank you for your reply. "Arnaud, Geneva In this period of health crisis, many companies are...

The service charge apportionment key " My service charges increase from year to year by 10 to 30 %! Before 2017, each tenant received their hot water meter reading and had to pay what they had used. Now, the total hot water bill for the dozens of tenants in my building is divided up according to the surface area of the...