I moved into a flat in Basel in December last year. A few weeks ago I received a letter from the landlord (a Swiss pension fund) stating that balcony/facade renovation would be starting soon. They referred to a letter that they had sent in November (before I moved in) warning tenants of the forthcoming works. The building work has started now and involves drilling and hammering from 7am. It will last for a total of 3 months. For 6 weeks, including sunny May and June, I will be unable to use the balcony (for which I am paying rent), and the whole of the front of the building is covered in scaffolding and netting making it very dark inside. I approached the landlord and asked for a rent reduction/compensation for the inconvenience. I received a letter back from the builders/architects telling me they were entitled to make noise from 7am and stating that they would not provide compensation. I didn't expect them to. Is it unreasonable in Switzerland to expect to be compensated by the landlord when quiet enjoyment of your apartment is made impossible by renovation and where part of the rented space (i.e. the balconies) is unusable, when the landlord was aware that the work was planned when you signed the contract? The building was totally refurbished in 2002!

Hmmm, trying to get money back from the Swiss - somehow I don't think so...

A friend of mine had building work inside the flat. this made the flat uninhabitable and she was offered either a reduction or a full refund for the trouble.

I'd guess that your living space is habitable, so I'd doubt they would spring for a rebate.

Still annoying though, sorry to hear that

I think if you press the landlords hard, you will be able to get a reduction for the non-use of the balcony. You will need to find the name of the person concerned at the department at the pension found concerned.

They have simply passed the buck so far. But don't expect the amount to be much.

I know for certain that these landlords do give reductions in rent when, for example, interest rates go down - but only when asked...

It's worthwhile to join the association which represents tenants rights (mieterverband) - they can assist you when you have problems with your landlord, inform you of your rights, point you to the relevant section of the law, etc. Unfortunately their website is only in German, but you can find it here.

I've found something on the Mieterverband website:

Yes, you can ask for a rent reduction for the months without balcony. There's an arbitration board if you don't come to an agreement. It's free for both parties in the first instance. But first I'd write again to the landlord and quote the above information and law.

There's no specified reduction for the loss of a balcony but the linked bulletin quotes ca. 10% as the empirical value.

On a sidenote: The landlord might raise the rent once the renovation is complete, if it significantly added to the quality of your appartment. But that's another story.

Thanks for the responses. I will contact the landlord again and see if we can reach an agreement. I must confess to being a bit nervous about seeking arbitration or mediation in a foreign country, but perhaps the threat would be enough! Thanks again for the advice. This is a very useful forum. I used it to set up my sky satellite dish - the use of which has also been curtailed by the renovations!

I lost my small garden because of construction work, and we agreed on a 10% reduction on the rent. The inital offer was 5%, but I responded with a letter, detailing the reasons why I should get 10% (noise, dirt, distruption, traffic bla bla bla), and they promptly agreed, stating that they had not considered some of the reasons I sited.

I have legal insurance, and even thought I was disruptive, the pension fund refused compensation when I asked. It took the lawyers several letters but they managed to get me 50% reduction for 3 months of the work.

so even if they initially say no, tell them it is not over. The law is on your side. Take photos of before and after.

Best of luck NickP, you're gonna need it.

On a similar note, does anyone have experience of getting a reduction / compensation for construction work occuring next door?

A building next to mine has been having renovations for over 10 months and the noise and pollution six days a week is very annoying. You can't enjoy the balcony and even having the windows open results in fine dust from the site settling on everything.

The street consists of one block of differently owned but attached 'houses', hence whenever there's banging or hammering going on next door it's right on the other side of my wall. It's driving me ker-azy. I've approached the Foreman... but you can imagine the depth of his concern The architects just say "It's a building site". Any ideas?

I am happy to report that after lots of to-ing and fro-ing the landlord has agreed to refund one months rent as compensation for the nuisance, inconvenience, noise etc........!

I suspect it will be more difficult to get compensation from the landlord of a neighbouring block - sounds like a similar level of nuisance though.

Generally you must write a letter during the construction: that you want compensation or a reduction with rent. its hard getting money from a next door building. As you have to ask your landlord, who then has to ask the next door neighbor. If one refuses you it may turn to be costly. My friend asked for a reduction and the landlord said no. After "withholding" some rent, and going to the council, the owner evicted her as soon as he could. = moving costs. so it may not be worth it in the long run. If i were you i would ask, But not fully follow through with legal intervention...

best of luck to you
also join local tenants association, you will need their help.

When living in Zurich I found the tenants association (mieterverband) in to be very good, they spoke English on the phone which was a great help, they reviewed the situation on the phone and provided detailed information and advice at no charge even though I was not a member.

My ex landlord was quite shocked when I wrote to him about a situation in the apartment block and mentioned that I had spoken to the mieterverband and was now following their advice. Where as previously he had been uncooperative and unfriendly, the work "mieterverband" changed his attitude considerably.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but here's a start: Guidelines on building noise.

Versions are available in PDF format in English, German, French and Italian.

See "Tab. 2.2 > Quick test > Measures for general and noise intensive building work ", and work your way from there; in the English version that table is on Page 14.

Hello Everybody,

My landlord is replacing the heating system (he was forced by law) and decided to replace the petrol system with a geotermic one. For next 3-4 weeks we will suffer lot of noise inside and outside the house. What are my rights here? Can I claim any compensation (f.e., rent reduction)?

And can he increase my rent afterwards (not sure if this new heating system falls into "added quality" to the house)?

Many thanks

Martin

If a part of your flat is not available due to construction for some period, then you can ask for some deductions, proportionally.
But just because of noise, it's a challenge if you can get something out of it!

We got no compensation when they built the house next to us and installed Geothermal heating. Made our house shake.

It's soon over. We just spent more time out of the house during the day.

I've merged this thread with an older one that already provides some answers. As for the new questions and specific situation:

This kind of hassle qualifies for a compensation but I'm not sure if the length does, too.

The new heating system shouldn't influence the future rent because it doesn't affect the living quality of the renters.


And by the way, construction noise from neighboring parcels also entitle renters for compensation if the landlord isn't responsible for it.

Unfortunately a siret number does not reflect any qualification in any feild of trade, any one could gain a siret numbr for a labourer etc and trade as a General builder, all a siret number proves i sthat they are paying a self employed social corribution.

Regardl;ess of how nice their signs are etc make sure they can prove they have qualiification either from an english college or a reputable employer ei Bovis French kier etc. as when we had work done my father a qualified MCOB qualitiy survayer asked of see qualification to they could be contacted and none of the builders returned!!!!

contact the place of their empler in england or college to clear up any doubt as building work is expensive and you dont wanna be had regardless of avdertising and how many tool sthey have if they have nothing to hide they will be more than happy to prove their qualifications.
Unfortunatey i know a builder (supposedly ) in 87 how was a french polisher and when in france suddley become a builder. be aware