Des retards d’indemnisation pour les locataires de la petite tour du Lignon, rénovée entre 2019 et 2021

Tarpaulins on the facades for months, noise, dust, holes in the bathroom walls, and, to top it off, dry toilets for six months. From 2019 to 2021, the small Lignon tower underwent heavy renovation work (thermal envelope renovation and sanitary facilities renovation, in particular). The many residents endured considerable nuisances. Two years later, some are surprised to have not yet been compensated.

On social media, tenants’ testimonies 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 under consideration by the owner” (the Zurich pension fund BVK, the largest in the country). Since then, despite reminders in October and November, she has not heard anything further. Questioned at the foot of the tower, in the Verniolan district, several residents indicate that they have not requested a rent reduction, and for good reason: they simply did not know about this possibility.

This silence from the management does not surprise Pierre Stastny, a lawyer at Asloca, the tenants’ defense association. “There is no obligation to pay compensation, just a right to request it.” Often, owners therefore do not offer anything spontaneously, counting on the fact that only a few tenants will demand a rent reduction. This seems to be the case at Lignon.

However, explains the lawyer, in the case of proven nuisances, “generally, the compensation ranges between 15% and 35% of the net rent (editor’s note: without charges, parking, etc.)”. If the owner refuses to consider it or makes an inadequate offer, it is possible to refer the matter to the conciliation commission. But beware: on the one hand, “what is complicated is not calculating the compensation, but proving the nuisances”. Pierre Stastny recommends keeping regular records and photos of the work. On the other hand, “tenants’ rights are lost after five years”. In other words, the rent reduction for March 2019 (the announced start date of the work) cannot be claimed after March 2024, that of April 2019 after April 2024, and so on.

Asked about its policy at Lignon regarding compensation for nuisances, Naef management explains that the “renovation of the “small tower” took place during the pandemic, which made the work more complex. It is “in the process of completing the renovation work (collection of guarantees after two years). This includes remedying the last defects that have appeared. Only once these works are completed will it be possible to calculate any retroactive rights to compensation.” The management specifies that the owner, BVK, “in principle does not provide any information on individual calculations”.