Austria's rental price brake: Does this threaten affordable apartments?

Austria's rental price brake: Does this threaten affordable apartments?

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - In Austria, the announced rental price brake ensures considerable uncertainty among the non -profit housing associations. According to the chairman of the association for residential building funding (VWBF), KommR Mag. Michael Gehbauer, the economic basis of these organizations is at stake. From April 2024, the rental price brake is to be effective, which limits the annual rent increase to a maximum of 5 percent for certain apartments. This regulation concerns in particular cooperative apartments as well as guideline and category rents and is presented by the government as a necessary measure to relieve the tenants, as explained in the information from Immowelt.at.

The non -profit construction associations, which are responsible for one million apartments, are already subject to strict requirements such as the cost recovery principle, which ensures that only costs are being passed on. For many of these apartments, there are massive loss of intake that could hinder investments in new buildings and renovations. Already now led to considerable losses by the 3rd tenancy law inflation revival law (3. MILG), as Gebbauer emphasizes. He warns that a rental price brake under cost -covering ruinous financial losses would lead to the non -profit organizations, which puts the cheapest living forms on the market, as OTS reported.

rental price brake and their effects

The new regulation no longer enables landlords to adapt to the inflation rates from 2024, which is particularly critical in the current high -inflation phase. The gap between private and non -profit rental prices continues to open: While private rental contracts are unregulated and rents are allowed to increase by up to 25 euros per square meter, the non -profit providers are forced to keep rents under control, which places additional requirements for their economic basis. According to estimates, rents in this sector would even increase by 15 percent due to inflation, the government would not have intervened.

Politics now have a duty to rethink the advantages and disadvantages of the rental price brake, especially since the non -profit housing construction has recorded lower rent increases in recent years than the private providers. The future of the non -profit housing associations now depends largely on how the rental price brake is designed and, if necessary, adapted to ensure the supply of the population with affordable living space.