A tenant in Vienna has had his rent of €750 per month reduced to €500 by the courts, as his refurbished 80 square meter apartment was located near “a hotspot of drug crime” near the U6 station Josefstädter Straße.
The landlord had wanted to charge a “location surcharge” as a subway, doctors, shops and parks were nearby.
The tenant however argued that the increase should be rejected because he lived just 160 metres from the station, which the tenant argued was a drug and crime hotspot.
The tenant had his case rejected by the court in the first two instances, before launching an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court agreed with the tenant and overturned the previous rulings on appeal, finding the street-side apartment was affected by traffic noise and the station was a hotspot for drug and petty crime “with regular police deployments”.
The court rejected the location surcharge, the Kurier newspaper reports.
“This decision proves once again that it is worth having the rent checked,” says MieterHilfe boss Christian Bartok told Kurier.
As a result, rent increases in similar areas – i.e. with consistently loud noise or close to areas with prevalent criminality – may also be rejected.
More information about Vienna’s rental rules – including information on how to check if you are paying too much rent – can be found at the following link.
READ MORE: How to find out if you are paying too much rent in Vienna
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