First 45-minute meeting, CHF 200, deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.
Objections, appeals, permits
Termination, extension, rent, transfer
Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland
Etude Convergence Avocats
In construction as in commercial leases, rights are often lost for want of acting in time, and the time limit is frequently thirty days, whether to object to a project, appeal against a permit or challenge a notice of termination. An initial discussion lets us check that time limit, then assess the stakes and the options available, in complete confidence.
A dispute with the contractor, the seller or the landlord goes to negotiation or court, and a conflict between shareholders of a real estate company to business law.
A building, an extra storey, an extension or an antenna published in the official gazette or put out for public inspection. Review of the file, comments or objection within the time limit, then an appeal if the permit is granted.
Appeal by a neighbour or an association against your building permit, refusal by the cantonal department or the municipality. Defence of the project in court and negotiation with the objectors.
Noise, vibrations, cracks, loss of light. Action against the owner who exceeds their rights, to stop the nuisance and obtain compensation.
Notice received or to be given, challenge before the conciliation authority within 30 days, extension of up to six years for commercial premises.
Initial rent or increase challenged, unpaid rent and the 30-day payment deadline before termination.
Taking over a restaurant or a retail unit, transfer of the commercial lease, landlord’s consent, seller’s warranties.
A building permit is argued before the administration and then the administrative courts, a commercial lease before the conciliation authority and then the civil courts. Matters are handled with Etude Convergence Avocats, active in construction and tenancy law, and Sentinel Legal contributes negotiation as well as company law where the property is held through a company.
The time limit to object, appeal or challenge a notice is checked at the first meeting, before any other step.
Objections drafted with the appeal in mind, leases and construction contracts written for the day they are challenged.
Withdrawal of an objection in exchange for changes to the project, agreement on the term or rent of a lease. Negotiation moves forward alongside the appeal or the conciliation.
A single point of entry for the client, with the skills of both firms brought in as the matter requires.
Drawn from the firm’s matters, anonymized.
With a fixed price, rising material costs are in principle borne by the contractor, barring extraordinary circumstances assessed by the court. Better to settle the question before work starts. The construction contract was negotiated to allocate this risk at signing.
A similar situation? Get in touch → 02 · Foreign buyersFor a foreign buyer living outside Switzerland, buying a vacation home generally requires a permit, counted against a cantonal quota. In municipalities where second homes already exceed 20%, no new ones can be approved. The options were checked before any promise to sell was signed.
A similar situation? Get in touch → 03 · Real estate companyIn a real estate company, a dispute between shareholders often starts with the right to information. Here, governance and loans granted to shareholders were also at stake. The directors were advised on each of these points, then supported through to the commercial register filing.
A similar situation? Get in touch →Every matter is different. The outcome of a past case does not predict the outcome of another.
It depends on the canton. In Geneva, the permit application is published in the Feuille d’avis officielle, and anyone may consult the file and send written comments to the cantonal department within 30 days (Art. 3 paras. 1 and 2 LCI). In the canton of Vaud, the application is put out for public inspection for thirty days, during which reasoned objections are lodged in writing with the municipal registry (Art. 109 paras. 1 and 4 LATC). The other French-speaking cantons have their own rules, so the time limit should be checked as soon as the project is published.
In the canton of Vaud, an appeal is open to anyone who took part in the proceedings before the lower authority or was deprived of the opportunity to do so (Art. 75 para. 1 let. a LPA-VD), which is why an objection during the public inspection matters. In Geneva, standing to appeal also belongs to any person directly affected by the decision who has an interest worthy of protection in its annulment or amendment (Art. 60 para. 1 let. b LPA). Before the Federal Supreme Court, the appellant must have taken part in the proceedings before the lower authority or been deprived of the opportunity to do so, and be particularly affected by the decision (Art. 89 para. 1 FSCA).
In Geneva, decisions of the cantonal department may be referred to the Administrative Court of First Instance (Art. 145 para. 1 LCI) within 30 days for a final decision (Art. 62 para. 1 let. a LPA). Permits are published in the Feuille d’avis officielle, and those who submitted comments are informed by simple notice (Art. 3 para. 5 LCI). In the canton of Vaud, objectors are notified of the decision by registered letter stating the means, form and time limit for appeal (Art. 116 LATC), and the appeal to the Cantonal Court must be lodged within 30 days of notification (Art. 95 LPA-VD).
Owners must refrain from any excess that harms a neighbour’s property, and in particular noise, vibrations or loss of light that have a harmful effect and exceed the limits of what neighbours must tolerate are prohibited (Art. 684 CC). A person harmed or threatened with harm may sue to have the situation restored or the danger removed, and claim damages (Art. 679 para. 1 CC). Where it is the building itself that deprives the neighbouring property of certain qualities, the action requires that the building rules in force when it was built were not complied with (Art. 679 para. 2 CC).
A party wishing to challenge a notice of termination must apply to the conciliation authority within 30 days of receiving it (Art. 273 para. 1 CO). Notice may be annulled where it is contrary to good faith, and reasons must be given if the other party so requests (Art. 271 CO). For a lease of indefinite duration, a request for extension must be filed within the same time limit (Art. 273 para. 2 let. a CO), and a lease of commercial premises may be extended by up to six years (Art. 272b para. 1 CO).
A tenant who considers the initial rent abusive may challenge it before the conciliation authority within 30 days of taking over the premises, if they were compelled to sign because of the local market or if the landlord significantly increased the rent compared with the previous one (Art. 270 para. 1 CO). A rent increase the tenant considers abusive may be challenged within 30 days of the notice of increase (Art. 270b para. 1 CO).
Not automatically. The tenant of commercial premises may transfer the lease to a third party with the landlord’s written consent, which may be refused only for good cause (Art. 263 paras. 1 and 2 CO). The outgoing tenant remains jointly liable with the buyer until the lease expires or is terminated, but for two years at most (Art. 263 para. 4 CO). The landlord’s consent should therefore be secured before the sale of the business is signed.
The landlord may set a written deadline for payment of at least 30 days, stating that the lease will be terminated if payment is not made within that time (Art. 257d para. 1 CO). If payment is not made, a lease of commercial premises may be terminated with at least 30 days’ notice to the end of a month (Art. 257d para. 2 CO).
A first 45-minute meeting, at CHF 200, lets us check the applicable time limit, then assess the stakes, the risks and the options available, in complete confidence. The amount is deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.
First 45-minute meeting, CHF 200, deducted from the first invoice if you retain us.