False Minergie claims trigger rent disputes in Kaiseraugst

About 100 flats in a development in Kaiseraugst were marketed as meeting the Minergie standard, but the label was later withdrawn. Around 70 tenant households are now seeking rent reductions, SRF reports.

The flats were advertised as Minergie homes in 2010. In 2014, an expert found that the development’s ventilation system did not meet the label’s requirements. The landlord, a Swiss insurance company, challenged the withdrawal, but a court upheld it.

Minergie is a protected Swiss quality standard for sustainable construction and renovation. A tenant who noticed the discrepancy sought an 8% rent reduction retroactive to the start of the tenancy. In 2022, the Rheinfelden district court awarded him a 5% reduction instead. The ruling is now final.

That decision is being cited as a precedent by around 70 other tenant households from the development, which are also seeking lower rents. One of their cases began at the Rheinfelden district court on Friday.

Andreas Béguin, a lawyer and co-president of the Baselland and Dorneck-Thierstein Tenants’ Association, represented the tenant in the first case. He says tenants can check with their cantonal specialist office or consult the online list of Minergie buildings. The association advises tenants to pursue their rights if they are paying for a feature that their home does not have.