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In Ennetbaden, commercial premises may not be converted into apartments without further ado.
IMAGO/Depositphotos
Building without a permit can be expensive. A property owner who illegally converted commercial premises in Ennetbaden AG into apartments has now found this out. She has to undo everything.
The requirements of the building and usage regulations (BNO) in Ennetbaden AG are clear: in buildings in bathing zone B, at least 30 percent of the area is reserved for health, care and wellness facilities. This is in order to preserve the character of the historic spa district.
Despite this, one owner converted her property in 2021 - into two large apartments, which she then rented out. However, she did not have a permit for this, as reported by the "Aargauer Zeitung".
The affair came to light when the new tenants registered with the municipality. They were not particularly pleased: the owner was initially fined 1,000 francs for building without a permit. The subsequent application was rejected in August 2022. The property owner was told to give notice to her tenants.
This was incomprehensible for the owner: she went through all the cantonal courts and argued that the location was unsuitable for medical practices or wellness facilities and that there had been no demand for the commercial premises at all. Moreover, in view of the situation on the housing market, it would be a good idea to create new living space.
None of this helped. The property owner was rebuffed by one court after another and finally took her case to the highest Swiss court.
But she was also turned down by the Federal Court in Lausanne. The judges ruled that even if the areas at the rear of a building are less advantageously developed than buildings directly on the street, they can still be used in accordance with the zoning regulations.
"Exceptional permits are not there to override the applicable zoning rules," the "Aargauer Zeitung" quotes from the Federal Court's ruling. "The appeal proves to be unfounded and must be dismissed."
The apartments may now no longer be rented out. The rooms must be used again in accordance with the bathing zone. The owner must therefore not only pay the 4,000 francs in court costs, but also an expensive restoration.
