Real rights: property and possessions

Every Easter, I organise an egg hunt for my children in my garden. As they get older, they've got to know every corner of it, so I thought I'd look for hiding places in the forest in front of my house, which separates me from my neighbours. He's already told me it's his private property...

How do you create a right of habitation? "I own a plot of land and the villa built on it. I would like to create a right of habitation over the house for my daughter and her husband. Do I need to create one or two rights? Can I stipulate that the right of my daughter's husband will lapse...

Cutting off the neighbour's branch? "When my son was playing in the garden the other day, he hit a large branch of my neighbour's tree that was sticking out over my house. I've asked my neighbour several times to look after his tree to avoid an accident. This time, however, I had to bring my son...

Misuse of a sticker? "My neighbour has put the logo of a security company on his front door to make thieves think his house is protected. Does he have the right to do this even though he's not a customer of the company?" Virginie, Geneva Individuals are increasingly turning to security companies to protect their...

Disturbed by a carwash "I live on an industrial estate next to a carwash that's open 24 hours a day. The noise sometimes bothers me and I wonder whether the owner of the carwash should close it down at night. What about it? Jean, Carouge Like...

The rights and duties of the usufructuary " I am the usufructuary of the house I live in. What costs do I have to pay (repairs, maintenance, etc.)? To what extent am I obliged to pay them? Louise, Geneva Under article 745 of the Civil Code, usufruct confers on its beneficiary a right of enjoyment...

Are hives on my roof legal? Bees are essential to the ecosystem, and have rightly received a great deal of attention in recent years. But while it's great that beekeeping is raising awareness among a wide audience, the practice is far from trivial and requires a number of steps to be taken.Honey producers, bees are considered to be "livestock"...

Maintenance of a right of way " I have a right of way on my neighbour's property. However, he is not at all interested in maintaining it, and the path is becoming unusable because of the branches and grass that are invading it. According to the law, who is responsible for maintaining...

Lease terminated after the death of my spouse. Is this legal? "My spouse has died. We weren't married and we were flatmates. The landlord told me that I was not entitled to keep the flat on my own and asked me to leave. Did he have the right to do that? Ariane, Vaud It's important to...