2023-11-30 20:58:16
Published30. November 2023, 9:58 p.m.
Geneva: Dry toilets, covered facades, zero compensation
From 2019 to 2021, the small Lignon tower was renovated. Two years later, several tenants are still waiting for rent reductions relating to serious nuisances.
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The “small” Lignon tower was renovated between 2019 and 2021.
20 min / equal
Tarpaulins on the facades for months, noise, dust, holes in the bathroom walls and, icing on the cake, dry toilets for six months. From 2019 to 2021, the small Lignon tower underwent heavy renovation work (renovation of the thermal envelope and sanitation of the toilets, in particular). The large number of residents suffered considerable inconvenience. Two years later, some are surprised to have not yet been compensated.
Reminders without response
On social networks, the testimonies of tenants are similar: no, they say in unison, the Naef management has not yet offered them anything. “I contacted them at the beginning of September,” says a woman. They told me that compensation was being studied by the owner” (the Zurich pension fund BVK, the largest in the country). Since then, despite reminders in October and November, she has had no further news. Questioned at the foot of the tower, in the Verniolan district, several residents indicated that they had not requested a rent rebate, and for good reason: they were simply unaware of this possibility.
“No obligation”
This silence from the management does not surprise Pierre Stastny, lawyer at Asloca, the tenant defense association. “There is no obligation to pay compensation, just a right to request it.” Often, landlords therefore do not offer anything spontaneously, banking on the fact that only a few tenants will demand a reduction in rent. This is clearly the case in Lignon.
“Prove the harm”
However, explains the lawyer, in the event of proven nuisance, “in general, the compensation ranges between 15% and 35% of the net rent (editor’s note: without charges, parking, etc.)”. If the owner refuses to enter into the matter or makes an insufficient offer, it is possible to refer the matter to the conciliation commission. But be careful: on the one hand, “what is complicated is not calculating the compensation, but proving the nuisance”. Pierre Stastny therefore recommends keeping regular records and photos of the work. On the other hand, “tenants’ rights are lost after five years.” In other words, the reduction in rent relating to March 2019 (here, the announced start date of the work) can no longer be claimed from March 2024, that of April 2019 from April 2024, and so on.
Too early to calculate compensation
Asked about its policy at Lignon in terms of compensation for nuisances, the Naef management company explains that the sanitation of the “small tower took place during the pandemic, which made the work more complex. She says she is “in the process of carrying out the work to finalize the renovations (receipt of guarantee after two years). This includes remedying the latest defects that have appeared. It is only once this work is completed that it will be possible to calculate any retroactive rights to compensation.” The authority specifies that the owner, the BVK, “in principle does not provide any information on individual calculations”.
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