Facts
S. SA, the owner of a building, notified the tenant spouses L. of a rent increase of 35.22% effective April 1, 1992. The justification for this increase referred to Articles 269a, letters a-b-e CO and 1 and following of the OBLF, as well as the reference mortgage interest rate of 7%.
Sued by the landlord, the Rental Tribunal and then the Rental Appeals Chamber of Geneva set the annual rent at amounts lower than those requested by the landlord. The latter then appealed to the Federal Tribunal.
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, Article 269d CO requires that the reasons for the rent increase be indicated precisely in the official form itself, in accordance with the requirement of the qualified written form. Information provided by other means may clarify or serve to interpret the reasons, but cannot extend or replace an omitted indication.
In this case, the landlord merely referred in general terms to Article 269a CO, without providing any additional explanations. However, these different legal…