Having an air-conditioned home is not a simple matter in Switzerland, as in many places you must have an official ‘ok’ to do so. But does your landlord have to sign off on it too?
During heatwaves, you may be dreaming of having some cool and refreshing air circulating through your home.
But depending on where in Switzerland you live, installing a fixed A/C unit is not a simple matter.
That’s because every canton has its own energy laws, with some being more restrictive than others when it comes to installing air condition devices.
You can find out more about this here:
READ ALSO: Why getting permission for air conditioners is so hard in Switzerland
But assuming that you do get your canton’s ‘go-ahead’, do you have to ask the landlord’s permission as well?
Additional hurdle
With the official permission in place, you may want to immediately call a company that sells and puts in air conditioning systems to come to your house.
Not so quickly though.
If you are a tenant, you can’t just install the A/C unit in your rented accommodation, even if you have your canton’s permission.
You also have to obtain te approval from your apartment’s management company — especially if installing the fixed-in-the-wall A/C system involves any modifications to the building.
That’s because some systems alter the building’s façade and are therefore considered a building alteration.
Depending on the canton where you live, a permit may be required for any such changes.
You may have better luck with units that are entirely indoors and don’t affect the facade, but there too you may have to ask for approval.
It looks like this:
Image by Lucio Alfonsi from Pixabay
Don’t try to do this on the sly — on one hand, the noise emitted by the unit may alert the neighbours, and on the other, the landlord may notice that your energy consumption during the summer has increased substantially, and become suspicious.
Now, if you know that other apartments in your building have air conditioning, then the landlord can’t deny you that right as well — especially if the canton approved your request for valid reasons.
The management company can, however, demand that you remove the indoor unit when you move out, and revert the wall or ceiling to its original condition.
You don’t, however, need any approval for a mobile cooling unit.
Keep in mind though that they are very bulky, heavy, and notorious energy guzzlers, so your energy bill will go up quite a bit during the summer, but that is one alternative for which you don’t need either the canton’s or landlord’s permission.
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What if you own your property?
If you live in a single-family house, then you can install any A/C system you want.
On the other hand, if you own an apartment in a building, then the rules are the same as for rental properties regarding fixed units: for any alterations to the building’s façade, you need the consent of other owners.
You can, however, install the indoor unit without seeking anyone’s permission.
