Facts
The case concerns a rent increase for a four-room apartment in Basel. The defendant, [A.] , has been the tenant of the apartment since 1986. The landlord, the municipality of the city of Basel, increased the rent from CHF 476 to CHF 662 as of May 1, 2001. The defendant contested this increase. After a legal dispute through several instances, the case ultimately reached the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dealt in particular with the question of whether the rent increase was abusive. It concluded that the increase to CHF 662 was not abusive. Although the "rent price grid" of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, on which the lower instances relied, does not in all respects meet the requirements of the case law for a suitable official statistic, it nevertheless provides objective indications for determining the customary local rent. Given the significant price difference between the disputed rent of CHF 662 and the statistically reported customary local rent of around CHF 1,120 for a comparable apartment, the rent increase is not considered abusive.
Furthermore, the…