Welcome to Geneva! ~ A practical Guide to
Download 0.55 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Mappy Maporama SwissGeo ViaMichelin Living in Switzerland
- Living in neighbouring France
- Finding short-term accommodation
- Administrative Instruction (AI), Rental subsidies and deduction
- Hôtel-Résidences les Nations
- The International Geneva Welcome Centre
- The City Of Geneva Tourism
- The Tourist Offices
- Regie Schmid CGI Immobilier Agence Immobilière Dunand Bory Immobilier Naef Agence Immobilière Grange
- Livit Real Estate Rytz Cie Bernard Nicod
- La Côte
- AlpesWeb Groupe 4807 Bochaton Immobilier Evian-Properties Immobilier ImmoFrance Ain
AccommodationBack to table of contents▲
To find a suitable apartment in the area of Geneva or neighbouring France is challenging because of the limited number of rental apartments available on the market. Our experience is that newcomers take several weeks, sometimes months, until they find a suitable apartment. Please refer to page 9 (§1.4 Finding short-term accommodation). In your search for somewhere to live you may need to find a town, village, or other geographic location. Below are a few very good websites that can assist: Mappy Maporama SwissGeo ViaMichelin
International officials who are holders of a “carte de légitimation” are not required to register with the local authorities (l'Office cantonal de la population - OCP). Members of household or long-term visitors who are not eligible to obtain a “carte de légitimation” must be registered in accordance with local law and must hold the appropriate residence permit. ITC registers new staff members and their families with the Swiss authorities and obtains Legitimation-cards (carte de légitimation or CDL) for staff members and eligible family members. There is a wide variety of apartments in Geneva. However, about 20 per cent of these are subsidized by the city of Geneva (HZBN, HCM, HLM, HM) and are not available to international civil servants. In Geneva, the kitchen is counted as a room, therefore a four-room apartment has only two bedrooms, a salon/dining room and a kitchen. This is not the case in the Canton of Vaud, where a four-room apartment is understood to be a three-bedroom apartment. Third-party liability insurance is a legal requirement in Switzerland. In the Canton of Vaud tenants must also take out insurance against fire and natural disasters.
In France, apartments are advertised as F1, F2, etc. or T1, T2, etc. An apartment F4 has 4 rooms (3 bedrooms and a living room). There is no difference between the designations F and T.
Many newcomers require short-term accommodation during the first weeks. Two good sources for finding short-term (and long term) accommodation are the bulletin boards in the Palais des Nations (corridor between the bank and the cafeteria) as well as the UNOG’s intranet bulletin board access accessible from the ITC intranet (under Staff Services and then Classified Ads). Occasionally you might find an offer for vacant accommodation on the ITC Board (outside the Library). Check them regularly for “to let” or “for rent” (à louer) notices, or put up your own “rental wanted” (cherche à louer) sign. Word of mouth - tell everyone you meet what you need! Prices are high as compared with many countries. The rental subsidies applicable to qualifying staff members can help during the first years of rent (please refer to the Administrative Instruction (AI), Rental subsidies and deduction. Below is a list of contacts for furnished accommodation, which can be rented for short periods. This list is not complete; it only offers you some guidance. Ask for UN rates. Hôtel Montbrillant Offers Studios on a monthly basis, cost CHF 3450.- per month (CHF 115.- / night). Location within walking distance to ITC and very close to main train station. Tel. 022 733 77 84
Hotel chain (3 or 4 stars) with different locations in the Pâquis area of Geneva. Central reservation office: info@manotel.com Fax: 022 909 81 99 (Office Hours) Hôtel-Résidences les Nations Offers short and long-term accommodation. Location within walking distance of ITC. Tel. 022 734 30 03
Offers furnished studios on monthly basis, cost CHF 800.- per month plus refundable deposit of CHF 1000.- (minimum stay 2 months). Accommodation is basic, but adequate. Location: within walking distance of ITC. Tel. 022 339 80 00 Fax. 022 339 80 01 Email: gerpar@bluewin.ch
Offers furnished apartments and studios in two locations in France within a short distance from the Swiss border. The Ferney-Voltaire location is nearest to ITC, approximately 20 minutes by bus. The bus stops just in front of the ITC office building. Another hotel of this chain is in Gaillard (direction Annemasse), just behind the Swiss border. The International Geneva Welcome Centre can provide you with a list of furnished accommodation. Welcome Centre services are usually not provided on line. Therefore, you may need to make an appointment and visit them. Address: International Geneva Welcome Centre Villa "La Pastorale" 106, Route de Ferney p.o. box 103, 1211 Geneva 20 bus 5, stop at "Intercontinental" Tel.: 022 918 02 70 Fax.: 022 918 02 79 E-mail: welcome@etat.ge.ch Opening hours: Monday to Thursday: from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 4 to 5.30 p.m. Friday : from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
The majority of dwellings in Switzerland are rented or sold through agents, so-called “Régies”. The régies advertise available accommodation in the press or on the web. Prospective tenants make arrangements with the régie to visit the accommodation. In case of interest, a request is filed with the régie. Usually there are several interested parties for each flat/house, and the decision as to who gets it is made by the owner and the régie. The régie also handles the lease and related formalities. Most régies do not charge the tenants for their service, apart from an administrative fee. However, you should obtain confirmation in advance that the service is not subject to a fee. Listed below are some of the larger régies in the Geneva/Vaud area:
For a search by location try: Immoclick Homegate SwissImmo Most newspapers include advertisements for rental accommodation. For example: La Tribune de Genève (daily paper; real estate section every Tuesday). GHI (weekly paper; distributed free to all households on Thursdays). If you are still in temporary accommodation and not receiving the weekly GHI to your mailbox, look out for green GHI newspaper boxes available throughout Geneva. Copies are also delivered to ITC (Lobby). Alternatively, (since the boxes are usually empty very quickly) you can get it at: GHI (Genève Home Informations) 22, avenue du Mail C.P. 167 1211 Genève 4 Tel. 022 807 22 11 / Fax 022 807 22 33 E-mail: info@ghi.ch. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm. La Côte (weekly; covering region of Nyon, Rolle, Morges) Tout L’Immobilier (weekly; distributed to all households) Le Matin (daily) Le Temps (daily) 24 Heures (daily) Genève Immobilier This specifically Geneva and Nyon real estate portal, covers a wide range of offers among the different “régies”. A small number of apartments/houses are rented directly by the owner. Advertisements can be found in the local newspapers or their websites listed above. A good number of UN staff live in neighbouring France. There are many real estate agents in the towns and villages across the border. You can pick up some of their free monthly catalogues at supermarkets and in shops in France listing all accommodation on offer. Listed below are some examples: AlpesWeb Groupe 4807 Bochaton Immobilier Evian-Properties Immobilier ImmoFrance Ain Immobilière Domaine de Coudrée ABI Immobilière Reference Immobilier Immobilier Arve On Bonjour you can place an advertisement. CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has a useful website on housing covering both, France and Switzerland. There is a list of accommodation for rent but please note that the CERN Housing Service does not provide assistance to UN staff. However, sometimes contact details for vacant accommodation are available on their list of accommodation for rent.
|