Legal Advice on Deferred Maintenance

Questioner

Deferred maintenance and neglect of neighbor's owner-occupied home. The problem is that our neighbor is neglecting his home and this is now creating unsafe situations. Neighborhood mediation, outreach care and the local police officer have all done their best, but the situation does not change. Everything has been tried. The municipality now indicates that it will not take any action on the basis of the ASO law (Article 151d of the Municipal Act), as there is no noise pollution. To what extent could we rely on Article 1a or 1b of the Housing Act, and what are the obligations of the municipality, the homeowner and us as neighbours?

Lawyer

The Housing Act can be invoked by filing a complaint with the municipal Building and Housing Supervision department due to overdue maintenance of the property in question. The owner will then be urged to proceed with repair and maintenance if necessary. This has no consequences for you.

Lawyer

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