Land of tenants, Geneva in the battle of tenancy law

The Swiss population votes on November 24 on a tightening of tenancy laws. Launched in Bern at the beginning of the monththe campaign is also in full swing in Geneva, a land of tenants (78% compared to 61% at the Swiss level) and a canton accustomed to fierce political battles over housing.

In mid-October, at the Maison des associations, Asloca – supported in this battle by the left and… Pierre Maudet’s party, Libertés et justice sociale, – organized a press conference to say all the bad things it thinks about the two modifications to the Code of Obligations ratified by the bourgeois right in the federal parliament against which it therefore launched a referendum.

“These attacks are the most violent that tenants have suffered in a long time,” proclaims Sandrine Righenzi, vice-president of Asloca Geneva. For opponents, the impact of this reform would be particularly felt in Geneva, where the situation is hypertensive. We speak of a shortage when the rate of vacant housing does not go beyond 2%. At the end of the lake, it has not exceeded 0.54% for a quarter of a century, currently stagnating at 0.46% (which is equivalent to 1,114 available housing units).

“Important and current” need

The first object modifies the conditions under which an owner can recover his property for his “own needs” – or for a member of his family. Until now, he had to assert an “urgent” need. With the legislative amendment, it will have to justify a “significant and current” need.

“In this way, we are enormously extending the range of possibilities for being able to terminate a lease contract,” alarms national socialist councilor Christian Dandrès. With an identified risk: that lessors “sort out between more or less interesting tenants according to their rent”.

An unfounded fear, replies the right. “It will always be possible to contest a termination. The law does not change at this level,” says national advisor Vincent Maitre. “Today, urgency must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. “Judicial proceedings being what they are in Geneva, there is a good chance that there will no longer be any urgency at all when they come to an end, after three, four years or even more,” laments the centrist elected official.

The modification also concerns commercial premises. While Asloca fears seeing traders thrown out overnight, Vincent Maitre thinks that speeding up procedures will help businesses “acquire the space they need more quickly” to develop.

The adverb of discord

The second subject concerns subletting – of an entire apartment or just a room. If yes on November 24, a tenant wishing to sublet their accommodation will have to “request and obtain” written authorization from the lessor. This is often already the norm, at least in Geneva. But the lessor will now be able to refuse under certain conditions such as when the subletting exceeds two years, “in particular”.

The addition of this adverb raises eyebrows. “With this in particular, we lose a right, that of being able to sublet. You will need to have the consent of the lessor,” points out Christian Dandrès. The objective pursued would be the following: to be able to put an end to the lease contract. “What we see is that these apartments are re-rented at a higher price,” reports the Asloca lawyer.

Elderly people, who have occupied their apartment for a long time and thus benefit from low rent, would be the first to pay the price, as would young people who would then suffer these increases. In Geneva, the average rent is the fourth highest in the country behind Zug, Zurich and Schwyz.

For the right, the establishment of stricter rules will make it possible to fight against “abuses”: unauthorized subletting or abusive rents. Airbnb is regularly taken as an example. However, a framework already exists in Geneva where rental via this platform must not exceed 90 days.

Excessive control?

“From a Geneva point of view, this is not going to change much,” said PLR Diane Barbier-Mueller. “But seeing a written record not only protects the lessor, but also the tenant, in the event that the subletting goes badly,” adds the MP. It also puts the importance of “in particular” into perspective. “Lenders will not be able to invent just any clause,” she emphasizes.

But for Asloca, giving increased control powers to the lessor “is not trivial in times of shortage”. Lawyer within the association, Pierre Stastny reports that within the hotlines, the question that comes up 90% of the time is: “Am I risking leave if I contest?” The new provisions, he said, will discourage tenants from engaging in legal battles.

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