Tribunal des baux et loyers

Mrs. Sandrine ROHMER
President

Mrs. Hanna VEUILLET-KALA
Vice-President

Mrs. Isabelle ZEHNDER
Ad-Interim Director

The Tribunal des baux et loyers deals in particular with conflicts concerning a lease contract or a non-agricultural usufructuary lease contract, involving an immovable property (e.g. flat, business premises), whether the latter is concluded between tenants and owners (landlords) or between tenants and subtenants. It rules in particular in the following areas:

• Amount of rent (setting of the initial rent, increase or decrease)
• Rental security
• Termination of the lease
• Extension of the lease
• Request for works with or without a rent deposit
• Rent decrease for a defect
• Claims for payment (e.g. due to late payment of rent)
• Termination of the lease and request for the eviction of the inhabitants from the dwelling

As an execution court, it is also competent to order the eviction of a tenant following a judgment of the Tribunal des baux et loyers or the Chambre des baux et loyers de la Cour de justice.

A collegial and multidisciplinary jurisdiction

The Tribunal des baux et loyers is composed of a tenured judge who sits in hearings and rules on cases, assisted by an assessor judge representing the tenant advocacy organisations and an assessor judge representing the landlord advocacy organisations.

In proceedings for the enforcement of an eviction judgment relating to a dwelling, the composition of the court also includes representatives of the department responsible for housing and the Hospice Général.

The court’s judges also work in close cooperation with jurists and clerks for the administrative follow-up of the proceedings and the recording of minutes in a court hearing.

The Tribunal des baux et loyers’ Office can be reached by telephone at the indicated opening hours, for questions relating to a pending proceeding. It does not provide legal advice.

A brief overview of actions to take

The Tribunal des baux et loyers normally intervenes following the failure of a conciliation before the Commission de conciliation en matière de baux et loyers.

The proceedings are free of charge.
 

The proceedings before the court involve several steps:
 

Step 1: bring the case before the Tribunal des baux et loyers

You must write your application in French and send it to the Tribunal des baux et loyers by post or by handing it directly at the desk of the court or at the Greffe universel.

Your request must indicate against whom it is directed, what you wish to obtain (your conclusions) and state as clearly as possible the grounds on which it is based. The application must be dated and signed. In particular, the following must be attached to your application: the authorization to proceed issued by the Commission de conciliation en matière de baux et loyers and all the documents invoked as evidence (in particular the lease contract).

Step 2: conduct of the proceedings

Depending on the nature of the cases:

• Either you and your opponent are summoned directly to a hearing.
• Or an exchange of written submissions is carried out beforehand to enable the opponent to comment in writing about your request.
• The number of hearings that follow depend on the nature of your case.

Step 3: end of the proceedings

At the end of the proceedings the judge will render his/her judgment, which will be notified to you in writing within a few weeks (8 weeks on average).