Yves de Coulon

BianchiSchwald

Geneva www.bianchischwald.ch

yves.decoulon@bianchischwald.ch Tel: +41 58 220 36 00

Biography

Yves de Coulon (MRICS) is an FSA certified expert in construction and real estate law and heads BIANCHISCHWALD’s real estate department. His activities cover all the areas of real estate: transactions, construction, leases, financing, investment vehicles, public procurements, zoning and planning. He moreover possesses an extensive knowledge of the hotel industry. Furthermore, he is also chairman of Bonhôte Immobilier SICAV, one of the leading Swiss real estate investment funds and of the FPLC, Geneva real estate public foundation for the building of affordable housing.

What did you find most challenging about entering the construction and real estate market?

The greatest challenge is to understand the technical and organisational aspects of the construction and real estate world. This is something that is not easy to catch for a lawyer who has by definition not been trained in the technical field but must imperatively be able to understand the main issues at stake to advise the client the best possible way.

What do clients look for when selecting a specialist in construction and real estate?

In that field even more than in others, the clients are looking for a very professional, well informed, hands-on and pragmatic approach of the legal aspects of their construction and real estate issues. In construction related matters, time is of the essence. The suspension of the work on site may put at risk the financial balance of the entire development. Pragmatism and efficiency are thus equally paramount in real estate transactions. In the end, the clients want you to be available, responsive, well informed, perfectly in command of the legal and technical issues at stake.

On what type of matters have clients been coming to you with most frequently over the past year, and why?

In real estate, the matters you have to cope with are very varied, especially in the litigation field. However, one can say that most of the cases brought by the clients refer, directly or indirectly, to construction matters; they may look for advice related to zoning issues, drafting of GC contract, launch of a tender process, allegation of defects, legal mortgage or a lease agreement to be concluded once the construction process is completed.

As President of the FPLC, how do you anticipate affordable housing developing in the Swiss market over the next five years?

The main challenge for the FPLC, as for any private or public developer in Switzerland and especially in Geneva, will be to take over available plots to develop new projects. Construction of affordable housing is possible only in the development zone in Geneva, where the price of the land is controlled by the state. Such developments frequently need 15 to 20 years to be completed and the housing units delivered to the new inhabitants. Many big projects (for the creation of hundreds of affordable apartments) have been conducted over the past 20 years in Geneva and are now producing their results. This means that, as it has been the case in recent years, affordable housing construction will remain high in Geneva for some more years. In the following years, it will then be more difficult to launch new affordable housing developments. Indeed, the available land is missing and even in the development zone (which is supposed to receive such developments), the opposition of neighbours to new projects that increase the density of construction and deeply modify the environment is getting stronger.

How are ESG concerns affecting the construction field?

As just evoked, the environmental and social aspects will be crucial in the coming years for the development of new projects in Switzerland, and especially in Geneva. The “not in my backyard” reflex has also been strong but is probably developing in the present situation. While the federal zoning act (LAT) has been modified some years ago to promote the densification of the already built areas – with the objective to ensure as much as possible that the existing natural and agricultural lands remain untouched – it is increasingly difficult to get the population on site to accept such densification. In particular, the transformation of areas where small individual houses with gardens should be replaced by bigger buildings with more inhabitants, is severely criticised. Especially because it implies the sacrifice existing green areas and old trees and the modification the social environment. The opposition between densification and protection of the environment will therefore represent the main issue at stake in the construction fields for the coming years.

Why did you decide to establish BianchiSchwald?

We established our firm in 2001 under the corporate name BCCC (Bianchi Carnicé Christin & de Coulon). My three cofounding partners and I wanted to set up our own practice to develop our vision of a law firm working as a corporate structure. The Swiss business environment was at the time much more divided between the French-speaking and the Germanspeaking parts of Switzerland. Over the years, things have changed with international globalisation. Today, a client who wants to invest in Switzerland is looking for a lawyer who can act as a first port of call to serve him in the entire country, wherever he may be interested to invest. This is how we identified some 10 years ago the necessity to become national. This was achieved when we found the opportunity to be joined by a wonderful team led by HandPeter Schwald.

Looking back over your career, what has been your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement has been to develop a four-lawyer local law firm into a national law firm of 50 legal professionals.

What advice would you give to younger practitioners hoping to be in your position one day?

Be curious, don’t limit the scope of what is possible and … work hard!

WWL says: Yves de Coulon is recognised as a leading lawyer in Switzerland for his encyclopaedic understanding of real estate law and his outstanding work across the full spectrum of real estate issues.