Real rights: property and possessions

Termination of a lease for non-payment Unfortunately, owners of residential or commercial premises are sometimes faced with tenants who fail to pay their rent on time. But while Swiss law provides for rights that are often discussed, it also imposes obligations on both landlords and tenants, so when a...

When your neighbour's hedge is in the way " I own a villa with a garden surrounded by a hedge. My neighbours also have a hedge, but the problem is that theirs is 3 metres high and encroaches on mine. Is there anything I can do? "Thomas, Geneva In Switzerland, the...

Can I prune my neighbour's tree? A twisted old tree in my neighbour's garden has several rotten branches sticking out onto my property. My granddaughters often play there, and I'm afraid they'll be knocked unconscious if one of the branches breaks off and falls on my side of the...

Can I have my neighbour's hedge trimmed? "My neighbours' hedge has been overhanging our property for several months. Unlike in previous years, they haven't trimmed it since September and it's becoming a real nuisance. In addition to the aesthetic and shading inconveniences, the plants are encroaching on our property and we're...

Clarification on usufruct and right of habitation "I read with interest your two previous articles on the right of habitation or usufruct that it is possible to give our children over a house, instead of entering into a lease, but I'm not sure that I fully understood the difference between them. Thank you for clarifying things for me once again...

PPE: what about the person who doesn't pay? I live in a condominium where one of the co-owners has not been paying his utilities for some time now. What can we, the other co-owners, do to ensure that the contributions are paid? Who can or should take action against him? Y, Vau En...

Passing over your neighbour's land? "I'd like to be able to drive over my neighbour's land to get to the road. However, he says that it's his property and that I don't have the right to go that way. What's the situation?" Pascal, Geneva In principle, every owner of a thing (movable or immovable) has the right to...

Lost property and personal data " In February and May 2015, I found two iPhones in Geneva. I was told that, for this type of object, it is impossible to return them to the person who found them after one year because of the personal data...

Nuisances in a condominium property In a condominium property, the various co-owners share the use of communal areas. The rules governing the administration and use of the condominium may stipulate what is tolerable and what is not, and in particular what space is to be used by the co-owners....