Entrust the management of your property to Nessell
Entrust the rental management of your property to a Geneva-based agency: rent collected, formalities handled, assets preserved.
Optimise your investment in Geneva
In Geneva, a specialised cantonal agency secures the long-term yield of your rental property. The Geneva market has the highest proportion of tenants in Switzerland, a level of demand that keeps homes occupied and rents firm.
An owner turns this rental pressure into steady income when a local manager handles re-letting, rent collection and routine maintenance. A fine grasp of the neighbourhoods, of benchmark prices and of French-speaking Switzerland's rental practices secures every management decision.
Entrust the oversight of your building to Nessell, rooted in the canton, and devote your energy to your assets. Our managers master the Geneva landscape and defend your interests at every rental milestone.
What is a property management company in Geneva?
Its core duties
A property management company in Geneva is a firm appointed by owners to manage and administer their properties on a day-to-day basis.
- Collecting the rents
- Overseeing maintenance and works
- Keeping the service-charge accounts
- Handling the relationship with tenants
The management mandate
By signing a management mandate, the owner entrusts this administration to the company. This contract is a mandate within the meaning of Articles 394 et seq. of the Code of Obligations. The owner remains the sole holder of the property and retains control over the decisions that concern it. The company acts in the owner's name and on the owner's behalf, within the limits of this mandate.
A precise legal framework in Geneva
In Geneva, this management is bound by a strict legal framework. Landlord-tenant relations are governed by the Code of Obligations and by the Rules and Practices of Tenancy of French-speaking Switzerland (RUL). This dual normative foundation governs the setting of rents, condition reports, service-charge accounts and notices to quit.
More than mere management
Property management differs from other real-estate services such as brokerage, sales or the administration of co-ownership (PPE), activities subject to specific rules. Although an agency frequently combines several of these, the management mandate covers only the day-to-day administration of a rental property.
Such administration encompasses technical, administrative and financial management, ensuring continuity of operations and compliance with the legal obligations borne by the landlord-owner.
Régie, gérance or agence: what are the differences?
In French-speaking Switzerland, the régie manages a property over time while the agence handles the transaction, and the term gérance refers strictly to the same activity as a régie. Three players are distinguished by their role and by the type of mandate they hold.
Administers a let building over the long term, under a management mandate (Art. 394 et seq. CO).
Covers the same mission as the régie, of which it is the synonym in French-speaking Switzerland.
Handles a one-off purchase or sale operation, under a brokerage mandate.
The management mandate binds the owner to the agency for rent collection, maintenance and tenant follow-up; the brokerage mandate, for its part, pays solely for the introduction that led to a transaction. A single firm sometimes practises both trades, under two separate contracts.
What does a property management company do?
For the owner, a property management company has three missions: finding the tenant, day-to-day rental management and the technical and financial administration of the property. It acts under a management mandate; the owner remains the full holder of the property, the sole decision-maker on the major directions concerning it.
Finding the tenant
- Drafting and publishing listings on the relevant portals and networks.
- Showing the property to applicants.
- Assembling applicants' files and checking their compliance.
- Selecting the tenant against solvency criteria.
- Drafting the lease in line with the CO and the RUL, and having it signed.
Rental management
- Drawing up the entry and exit condition reports.
- Collecting the rents and issuing receipts.
- Reviewing the rent at its due dates and when the reference rate varies.
- Following up and handling rent arrears.
- Declaring and tracking claims with the insurers.
- Ordering and accepting repairs.
- Drafting the annual service-charge statement.
- Conducting end-of-lease and termination formalities.
The agency advises the owner on enhancing and maintaining their assets. It also administers co-ownership properties (PPE) and supports sale operations; these two activities each have their own page.
Why entrust your management to an agency?
Delegating your management to an agency meets 3 needs: saving time, securing your assets, optimising your yield. In practice, the owner is freed from the operational burden while retaining decision-making power.
Time saved
Rent collection, charge monitoring, condition reports, day-to-day relations with tenants.
Securing your assets
Our agency rigorously applies Geneva tenancy law, derived from the Code of Obligations and the rental practices of French-speaking Switzerland. We thereby limit the risk of disputes and procedural defects.
Optimising the yield
Adjusting the rent to the market within the legal framework, reducing vacancy through swift re-letting and a rigorous selection of applicants. This delegation is especially meaningful in Geneva, where tenant households make up a large majority: a market under pressure that calls for professional, responsive management.
How do you choose a property management company in Geneva?
To select your agency in Geneva, favour a USPI-accredited provider, specialised in your type of property and transparent about its fees. The Swiss Union of Real Estate Professionals, Geneva section, brings together some 40 members and traces its history back to 1879, the year the Society of Geneva Property Managers was founded. Its labels make it possible to identify the agencies that formalise their commitments.
Ask precise questions before signing the mandate.
- Itemise each fee item and the services billed in addition.
- Specify how often the management statements are provided to the owner.
- Verify whether an online owner portal exists and what it contains.
- Identify the contact dedicated to your file on a day-to-day basis.
- Confirm the average time to re-let a vacant home.
How much does a property management company cost?
The agency charges management fees proportional to the annual rental income, generally 3 to 7 % depending on the property (income building, villa, commercial premises) and the scope of services. These management fees are freely agreed between the owner and the agency, in accordance with the Code of Obligations. Value added tax applies at the standard rate of 8.1 %.
These fees therefore remain borne by the owner and are not re-charged to the tenant. The case law of the Federal Supreme Court recalls that the costs of finding a replacement tenant, in the order of 200 to 300 CHF or 1 % of the annual rent, are not owed by the tenant (anti-double-billing principle).
Included in the fees
- Collecting the rents and producing the statements.
- Keeping the building's accounts and the service-charge statement.
- Handling day-to-day relations with tenants.
- Overseeing ordinary maintenance and service contracts.
Billed in addition
- Setting up a new letting and the condition report.
- Overseeing renovation works and coordinating the contractors.
- Conducting legal proceedings before the competent authorities.
- Preparing the tax documents and the detailed annual statement.
How do you change property management company in Geneva?
In Geneva, changing your agency is straightforward: the owner terminates the current management mandate, then appoints a new agency that takes over the file. Under Art. 404 para. 1 of the Code of Obligations, the mandate may be revoked at any time, subject to a notice period and an expiry date agreed between the parties.
- Check the terms of the existing mandate (length of notice, expiry date, conditions of termination, fees outstanding).
- Notify the termination in writing to the outgoing agency, respecting the prescribed form and deadline.
- Appoint the new agency through a contract specifying the scope of services and the effective takeover date.
- Arrange the transfer of the file from the outgoing agency to the incoming one: current leases, rent guarantees, service-charge statements, condition reports and the history of the properties.
Changing the agency does not break the tenants' current leases. The owner remains the landlord, the lease contracts remain valid on the same terms, and only the entity in charge of administrative management and rent collection changes.
Why work with Nessell?
Nessell combines a generalist Geneva agency with a team dedicated to each owner. Based at the heart of the canton in Chêne-Bourg, the agency operates across the entire real-estate chain, mastering the specifics of the local market, from cantonal regulations to the rental practices of French-speaking Switzerland.
Manage the property day to day
From rent collection to technical follow-up.
Let the vacant homes
From tenant selection to lease signing.
Sell income properties and residential homes
Drawing on our expertise from luxury real estate.
A single point of contact gives you a direct link and transparency over the accounts. Entrusting your management to Nessell means delegating every step to professionals rooted in Geneva, close to your assets and to your tenants.
Do you need an agency to let your property in Geneva?
No, the owner is under no obligation to go through an agency to let a property in Geneva. Anyone who wishes to do so handles finding a tenant directly, all the way to the signing of the contract: turning to an agency is a matter of organisational choice, not a legal requirement.
For owners who prefer to delegate, the agency then takes charge of all the formalities.
- Organising the viewings and the distribution of the listing.
- Selecting the files and verifying solvency.
- Drawing up the lease and the entry condition report.
The owner keeps the final decision on the choice of tenant.
Can you manage your property without an agency?
Yes, an owner manages their property themselves if they have the time and the legal expertise. Self-management entails rent collection, the condition report, the service-charge statement, the application of the rental practices of French-speaking Switzerland and compliance with the deadlines of the Code of Obligations. It remains feasible for a single apartment let to a loyal tenant. An agency proves its worth as soon as the portfolio grows, tenant turnover multiplies, a dispute requires proceedings before the tenancy court, or a renovation project calls for ongoing technical supervision.
Is an agency liable for unpaid rent?
No, the agency does not guarantee the payment of rent: it manages the risk without taking it on itself. In the event of non-payment, it sends the tenant a reminder, then a formal notice coupled with a threat of termination within the meaning of the Code of Obligations. Failing payment within the deadline, it proceeds with recovery and with the formalities before the competent authorities. The financial risk of the unpaid rent remains borne by the owner; only unpaid-rent insurance, taken out by the owner, allows it to be transferred within the limits of the policy. The agency carries out the procedures, the insurance covers the guaranteed losses.
Does the City of Geneva have its own management body?
Yes, the City of Geneva does have its own management body, the Municipal Property Management (GIM). It administers the City's real-estate assets and manages more than 5 300 homes, about 5.25 % of the municipal stock, of which nearly 90 % is social housing. Its remit therefore stops at the assets of the public authority. In this sense, this public management body differs from the private agency Nessell, which acts under mandate from private and institutional owners. Any individual owner in Geneva will appoint a private agency to manage their property, never the GIM.
Family agency or large agency: which should you choose?
The choice depends on the property's profile and the owner's priorities: depending on the case, one suits better than the other, without either dominating in absolute terms.
A family agency offers precise advantages.
- Offers direct proximity with a stable point of contact.
- Reacts quickly to tenants' requests.
- Knows a neighbourhood's local fabric intimately.
A large agency plays on other levers.
- Manages an extensive portfolio of properties and mandates.
- Integrates technical, legal and accounting services in-house.
- Pools costs across a large volume.
A complex income building leans towards an integrated structure. A single property calls for close follow-up and finds its place in a human-scale agency.
Contact us to have a property managed
Leave us a message to entrust the management of your property to the Nessell agency. Our team will get back to you to frame the management mandate suited to your property: specify the type of property and its location, the current rental income and your management expectations.
Your Nessell advisor