Can I dispute a rent increase?
Can I dispute a rent increase?
"I've put myself on the list of people interested in a beautiful flat in Les 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 with the previous tenant. This rent seems very high to me, so what can I do?
Phillip, Veyrier
First of all, you need to determine whether you can dispute the rent: under art. 270 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), a new tenant of a property may dispute the initial rent before the conciliation authority only if (a) he or she was forced to enter into the lease by personal or family necessity or because of the situation on the local housing market or (b) the landlord has substantially increased the initial rent for the same thing compared with the previous rent. Where, as in Geneva, the canton requires the use of the official form for the conclusion of any new lease because of a housing shortage, the court will accept without further investigation that hypothesis (a) is fulfilled. In your situation, the rent has also increased significantly compared with the previous tenant, since it has risen by more than 10%; the conditions of assumption (b) of art. 270 para. 1 CO are therefore also met. For these two reasons, and if you sign the proposed lease, you will have the right to dispute the initial rent.
This does not yet mean that you will win your case, as it will be up to the judge to determine whether the rent is unfair. To do this, the judge will generally refer to the so-called "absolute" criteria set out in articles 269 and 269a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), which allow the rent to be set in absolute terms, without taking account of changes over time. As a general rule, rents are not unfair if they are within the limits of the rents customary in the locality or neighbourhood, or, in the case of recently built properties, within the limits of the gross yield allowing costs to be covered. Barring exceptions, the judge will not take into account "relative" criteria that would justify an increase compared to the previous tenant, such as an increase in costs.
If you feel that the initial rent is unfair, you must refer the matter to the Lease and Rent Conciliation Board within 30 days of receiving the keys. In principle, this procedure is free of charge, but you will have to pay the initial rent while it is pending.
