Facts
The Swiss Confederation filed a lawsuit against the Gartenstrasse Housing Cooperative in Basel. The Confederation requested that the defendant be ordered to reimburse a federal contribution of 27,825 Swiss francs plus interest. The federal contribution had been granted to the cooperative in 1948 for the construction of 7 multi-family houses.
The Confederation argued that various apartments in the subsidized buildings had been rented to families whose income or assets exceeded the limits set by the Confederation. Therefore, a misuse of purpose within the meaning of the Federal Resolution of October 8, 1947 on measures to promote housing construction had occurred, which justified the reclamation of the federal contribution.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the claim. It stated that the Federal Resolution of October 8, 1947 did not contain a clear and unambiguous legal basis for the federal contribution to be reclaimed if subsidized "general" housing units were rented to families with too high income or assets. The subsidy commitment itself did not contain this condition either.
Furthermore, the Confederation's claim for…