As anywhere, trying to negotiate tenancy laws in Switzerland can be tricky. Disputes can range from the level of maintenance work the landlord is required to undertake to tenants refusing to pay rent. Whether you are the owner or the renter, it is best to have an expert on your side before things get out […]

Your garden, terrace or balcony with its elegantly shaped box shrubs may be looking its best, but beware. The smart look of your home may be in jeopardy. Your decorative box shrubs may become the unwitting host and victim of the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), an unwelcome Asian invader with no natural predators. Originally […]

If you are considering buying a place to live in Geneva or its environs, be aware that the purchase cost per square metre is expensive. Add to this the following requirements made of a purchaser and it becomes clear why, as we reported in a previous article, only 35% of Swiss residents own the property […]

Some statistics on Geneva housing may help explain the lack of accommodation in the area. A housing market is considered to be fluid when it has a vacancy rate between 1.5 and 2%, depending on who one speaks to. The vacancy rate column in the table below sets the stage. Geneva has been in a […]

Buying a home can seem like a more attractive financial option than renting, considering the equity that is built up over the years and that home prices continue to increase steadily. It is important, however, to take into account all of the financial costs of buying a home and what experts sometimes call “the two […]

If you forgot to shut a window when you left your house this morning, no worries, there’s an app for that. Home security is becoming increasingly advanced, and more Swiss households are buying in as crimes rates rise. Data from the Federal Office for Statistics shows that property theft rose approximately 11 percent from 2011 […]

GENEVA As Switzerland moves away from nuclear energy, experts are looking into ways to encourage people to switch to renewable energy sources for their homes, such as solar power. The clean energy source is more environmentally friendly than many others, they say, but this is not what led to a 33% increase in solar-panel sales […]

Whether renovating a house or putting finishing touches to those dirt-prone skirting boards, there are distinctive advantages to being cross-border savvy. Some items, such as paint and electric drills, can be purchased more cheaply in Switzerland, while timber is better picked up in France. As a rule, Swiss workmanship and material quality trump French, but […]

ZURICH Buying a house or a flat in Switzerland is a less attractive proposition now than it has been in the last 10 years. While property values have reached a high, according to the UBS Real Estate Focus Report 2014 earlier this week, there has been a decline in momentum, which could mean that residential […]

Switzerland’s geothermal power cure – energy provided from underground sources – is nothing new in Switzerland. “Taking a cure” at a Swiss mountain thermal spa is a tradition that has been enjoyed by Europe’s elite for centuries. Only since the beginning of this century, however, has geothermal power begun to be taken seriously as a […]