Facts
This case concerns the validity of a notice of termination served by landlords to their tenant on an old official form, as well as the starting point of the 30-day deadline to contest this notice of termination.
The landlords served the notice of termination on January 11, 2012 using an old official form dating from 2007, whereas a new form had been adopted by the Canton of Vaud on January 18, 2011 and had been in force since January 25, 2011. The tenant contested the validity of the notice of termination, arguing that it should have been served on the new form.
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, the use of an old official form does not necessarily result in the nullity of the notice of termination. Indeed, the purpose of the obligation to use the official form in force is to inform the tenant of their rights to contest the notice of termination or request an extension of the lease. As long as the tenant was actually able to exercise these rights just as well as with the new form, the notice of termination served with the old form must be considered valid, to avoid excessive formalism.
Regarding the starting point of the 30-day deadline to contest the notice of termination under Art. 273(1) CO, the Federal Tribunal confirmed that the theory of absolute receipt applies. Thus,…