Facts
A.X. and her mother B.X. have been tenants of an apartment in Geneva since 1993. In 2002, A.X. married M., who took her surname. Since October 2004, H.Z. and F.Z. have been the owners of the apartment.
On May 19, 2009, H.Z. and F.Z. terminated the lease effective August 31, 2009, citing their personal need to house one of their relatives. A.X., B.X. and M.X. contested the validity of the notice, on the grounds that it had not been notified to A.X.'s spouse.
The Rental and Lease Tribunal declared the notice valid and ordered the tenants to vacate the premises. This decision was upheld on appeal by the Court of Justice, Rental and Lease Chamber.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the tenants' appeal. It considered that, according to the general rules on the burden of proof, it was for the tenants to prove that the apartment still constituted a family residence at the time of the notice of termination, which they had failed to do.
The Federal Tribunal also ruled that the tenants were abusing their rights by invoking the lack of notification to A.X.'s spouse, when the…