⏱ 1 min read
Background
In Geneva, some assisted-living buildings for older people fall within a sector subject to state control. Rents there are monitored by the cantonal administration. In one privately run assisted-living building, a handful of residents challenged a rent increase. This challenge revealed excessive rents.
The key points
The Geneva Housing Office has ordered refunds of up to CHF 100,000 to some residents, the Tribune de Genève reported on 9 November 2026. Two women in their eighties, Brigitte Wahl and Claudine Piguet, won their case. They are represented by lawyer Laïla Batou.
The lawyer pointed to a lack of transparency between the various cost items billed to residents. The Housing Office confirmed this. The residence, however, disputes the very notion of “rent” and has taken the matter to the administrative courts.
Who says what
- Laïla Batou (tenants’ lawyer): the cost items billed lacked transparency
- The residence : it disputes that the amounts in question are rents
What's next
- The case continues before the Court of First Instance for administrative matters
