Rental price stop: New government brings relief for households in Austria!

Rental price stop: New government brings relief for households in Austria!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - In a significant step, the newly formed government of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS decided on a rental price stop at their first Minister Council meeting on March 3, 2025. The SPÖ delegation manager Andreas Schieder welcomes this decision and emphasizes that the high housing costs pose a great burden for many people. In April, rents would have increased by about three percent without this intervention. The rental cover applies to both old buildings as well as to municipal and cooperative apartments and is expected to lead to a saving of 140 million euros in rent expenses, as the State Secretary Michaela Schmidt confirmed, as with Die Presse reports.

The new government has also taken other important measures that are promoted in the legislative process. This includes the introduction of a bank tax and the abolition of educational leave. This was discussed as part of the budget renovation, which should be completed by the end of April or early May. Schieder emphasizes that these first steps in tenancy law also have a European dimension, since they show how social democratic politics can improve the lives of people in the EU, in particular by supporting the creation of an apartment commissioner and a corresponding committee in the EU Parliament href = "https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250305_ots0165/spoe-schieder-mietpreisstopp-in-oesterreich-ist-fuer-europa"> OTS reported.

The Chamber of Labor also demands that freely financed apartments are also included in the rental price stop, since rents there are often very high. While some political voices consider the rental price stop to be insufficient, the government emphasized the importance of this immediate measure. The time pressure for the budget negotiations is assessed as high to ensure that Austria remains a reliable partner at EU level. The implementation of these measures already shows that the new government is willing to act quickly and determined.