To sign up for chamber mailing lists, please come to the Ciguë office, 23 Boulevard du Pont d’Arve, 1203 Geneva, at the time indicated here.

How to get a room at La Ciguë

1. Discover La Ciguë

Explore our site to understand the aims of La Ciguë: Our housing policy; Structure and operation; History of the cooperative; Our housing.
Find out about Ciguë events and activities on our social networks.

---

2. Receive announcements and Perm’ intro

To receive announcements of available rooms, you need to come to one of our offices (see calendar above) to sign up for the mailing list. We won’t be able to sign you up at any other time.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive the full list of available rooms (address, rent, roommate contact details) for two months. If you wish to continue receiving listings after this period, you can either come back permanently or send us an e-mail cigue@unige.ch.

NB: the offices are manned by volunteers who live at La Ciguë, so you can ask them any questions you may have.

---

3. Answering advertisements

When you apply for a room, you’ll be writing directly to your potential future flatmates. Be honest, attentive to the particularities of each flatmate and creative!
Roommates are completely independent in their choice of future roommates; it’s they who choose from the e-mails whom they’d like to interview.

---

4. Interview

If the residents like your e-mail, they’ll invite you to an interview to meet in person and visit the room in question.
Some shared flats may not respond to unsuccessful applicants. La Ciguë employees have no influence on these decisions.

---

5. Final decision

If the roommate decides to award you the room, congratulations: you can make an appointment to sign the lease at the Hemlock office. We’ll then check that you meet all the criteria. You’ll sign your lease and subscribe to a share in the cooperative: from then on, you’ll be a member of the cooperative, with the right to take part in General Assemblies, committees and elections to the Board of Directors.
If the roommate has taken on another person, don’t be discouraged! La Ciguë does its best to keep a stable number of affordable apartments, and rooms become available every week.

 

Beware of scams!

Scams are common and there are many different methods. Here are some basic tips:

La Ciguë does not use other websites (Homegate, ImmoStreet, ImmoScout24, Immobilier.ch). Contact us if you come across one of these offers!

And in general:

Use common sense: Be wary of offers that are too tempting and implausible (rent well below local market rates), whose so-called landlord is abroad and which can only be visited after you’ve paid a sum of money.

Never share your private data (identity card, bank details, e-mail address, etc.).

Never transfer money in advance (rent deposit or viewing fees). Refuse to pay to visit a property (if you really like it and can’t see it any other way, ask the agency).

Never sign a lease before visiting the property.

Don’t hesitate to report suspicious ads to the real estate platform manager, the Fédération romande des consommateurs and/or the property management company. And, if you’ve been the victim of a scam, lodge a complaint with Asloca or a lawyer.