Facts
On 19 March 1992, the owners, Urs H.K. and Charles O., notified their sub-tenant, Christian G., of a rent increase as of 1 April 1992, referring to the official form of the main landlord. They also sent an accompanying letter informing the sub-tenant that he had to continue paying the old rent, as they contested the rent increase announced by the main landlord. Subsequently, the owners reached an agreement with their landlord on the amount of rent, which they communicated to Christian G., who refused to accept it.
The owners then brought a lawsuit to obtain payment of the rent difference and terminated the sub-lease agreement. The sub-tenant contested the termination, but the court of first instance rejected his application. The cantonal court annulled this decision and rejected the owners' request for eviction.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the motivation for the rent increase must be stated on the official form of notice of increase. According to Article 269d of the Code of Obligations (CO), the motivation for the rent increase must be indicated on the official form, which must meet the requirements of qualified written form.
The Federal Court considered that the motivation for the rent increase cannot be indicated only in an annex or accompanying letter, but must be stated on the official form itself. In this case, the owners did not meet this requirement, as they referred to the official form of the main landlord without indicating the motivation for the rent increase on the official form.
The Federal Court also…