Lift breakdown: what are my rights?

Lift breakdown: what are my rights?

I live on the 9th floor of a block of flats and, for the last twelve days or so, the only lift has broken down. This is a major inconvenience for all the tenants on the upper floors: just imagine the effort it takes to get to work, go shopping or use the laundry room in the basement. When I asked about this, the company responsible for maintaining the lift told me that a cable had to be changed; according to the management, it would be another week before the cable could be replaced. Is it legal to deprive tenants for so long of the vital service provided by this single lift serving ten floors?

R.G.

As such, it is not illegal in Switzerland to offer for rent a flat located on the upper floors of a building without a lift, regardless of the number of floors involved.

In a building with a lift, if the lift breaks down, it is up to the tenants to report the problem to the owner or the management company, so that the necessary repairs can be carried out as quickly as possible. Tenants have little choice but to wait for the repairs to be carried out and, if necessary, ask for their rent to be reduced.

By entering into a lease for a flat on the 9th floor of a building with a lift, for example, a tenant can legitimately expect the lift to be working. According to the Swiss Code of Obligations, if a defect hinders or restricts the use for which the property was rented, the tenant may demand from the landlord a proportional reduction in the rent from the time the landlord became aware of the defect until it is rectified.

As you have clearly understood, the first step is to ensure that the landlord is aware of the defect, by documenting it accurately. However, in order to obtain a rent reduction, it is not necessary for the landlord to be directly responsible for these defects; noise pollution from a neighbouring building site may, depending on the circumstances, justify a rent reduction.

In this case, your landlord is already aware of the situation, so you can send him a written request (by recorded delivery) for a rent reduction, calculated as a percentage of the net rent and based on the specific case. The courts have already granted a rent reduction of 10% for a broken lift and a property on the 4th floor.

If this reduction is refused, you will have thirty days to contest your landlord's decision before the Conciliation Board for Leases and Rents.

Alternatively, you can send a letter to the landlord stating that if the damage is not repaired within a reasonable period of time (a specific number of days), you will deposit the next rental payments with an office designated by the canton. Rents deposited are deemed to have been paid. It is then up to you, within thirty days of the due date of the first rent deposit, to submit your claims against the landlord to the conciliation authority.