Real estate and construction law

Can I take action against my landlord? "In your article last Monday, you explained how to take action against an odour nuisance neighbour. I too suffer from this kind of nuisance but I don't have the means to take legal action. Can't I ask my local authority to take action?

Can we exclude an obnoxious neighbour? I can't take it any more! In what used to be a peaceful block of flats owned by people of good company, living with a new young next-door neighbour has become unbearable: he stores half his stuff in the corridors, lets his dog do his business,...

Painting in a condominium " I own a villa in a condominium of four houses. When I came back from holiday, I noticed that one of my neighbours had painted the front of her house a different colour from the others. Does she have the right to do this? Rita, Versoix

Photovoltaic panels: my roof leaks I had photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of my house in 2013. Since then, the company has had to intervene several times to repair water leaks in the attic. This work has proved ineffective. I therefore gave the company three months to...

We're freezing and the heating company won't heat any more " Ever since the district heating system was installed in my building this winter, I've been shivering while turning the radiators up to maximum. Despite our complaints to the heating company (phone calls, registered letters) nothing has changed. In 2015 everything was fine with this heating system and...

Getting a digital code installed "When I leave my house in the morning, I sporadically find my doormat flooded with urine. The building management only agreed to install a code at the entrance to the building in return for a rent increase of CHF 11 per month per flat. As some tenants did not agree, the code was not installed. What can I do?

Don't let the blues get you down! My family owns a small, modest building in the canton. One of our tenants has informed me of an infestation of cockroaches and rats that urgently needs to be treated throughout the building. The problem is that another tenant, who is a bit of a maverick, stubbornly refuses to let the company in charge of...

Can my son be added to the lease? Can my management company add my son, who has now come of age and is still living with me, to the contract as the leaseholder? A. M., Geneva The lease contract binds two separate parties, the landlord on the one hand and the tenant on the other. This contract...

Deceased tenant: what about the lease? "My partner and I live in a flat where only she is officially the tenant. The owner of the flat has told me that if my girlfriend dies, he will terminate their lease with immediate effect. Does he have the right to do this? René, Chêne-Bougeries A lease...