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Is Salzburg going through a housing emergency?

Homes - even rentals - are becoming a luxury item in Austria's Salzburg city, where authorities are debating declaring a 'housing emergency'

Published: 5 April 2023 13:59 CEST
Is Salzburg going through a housing emergency?
Salzburg is a beautiful city with many attractions (Photo by Free Walking Tour Salzburg on Unsplash)

As the Salzburg regional election day approaches near the end of April, one topic seems to be brought more and more to the headlines: the housing crisis in the province. 

According to a study by the Salzburg Institute for Regional Planning (SIR), housing costs account for 44 percent of household income on average. In the last state election in 2018, people were still spending 36 percent of their income; in 2015, it was 29 percent. 

For this reason, Salzburg KPÖ municipal councillor Kay-Michael Dankl submitted a motion at Wednesday’s municipal council meeting to declare a housing emergency based on the Innsbruck model, the newspaper Der Standard reported. 

READ ALSO: READERS REVEAL: Is Salzburg a nice place to live?

Dankl, who is also running for the KPÖ in the state parliamentary elections on April 23, wants to reactivate the 40-year-old Land Acquisition Act, which gives municipalities a right of first refusal on large, undeveloped plots of land.

What is the Innsbruck model?

In Innsbruck, the municipal council declared a housing emergency last July at the request of the SPÖ with the support of most parties. So far, however, nothing is in place as the city waits for the province to issue a specific decree allowing it to have pre-emption rights for all undeveloped plots of land with an area of more than 2,000 square metres that have been designated as building land. 

In the Tyrolean capital, 80 plots of land would be eligible for this.

In Salzburg, the Green Citizens’ List and the SPÖ supported the motion. However, the political majority of ÖVP, FPÖ and Neos were against it. The decision on whether to declare a state of emergency was postponed for the time being. 

Currently, around 5,000 people in the city of Salzburg are registered with the magistrate as looking for housing.

READ ALSO: Discover Austria: How to explore Salzburg in one weekend

How bad is the situation in Salzburg?

Currently, 1,557 people in Salzburg are affected by an acute housing shortage, as shown by the current housing needs survey. This means that they are either homeless, have no place to live and are staying with institutions, friends or boarding house rooms, or are affected by an unacceptable housing situation. 

After a decline during the pandemic, the number of people affected is now back at the high level of 2018, with 411 people homeless, having to spend the nights outdoors or in an emergency shelter. Financial or family problems are the most common reasons people suddenly find themselves without a home.

The number of minors is high, Der Standard added. The Forum for Assistance to the Homeless already warned of the dramatic development last year. The numbers have risen again since then, from 277 to 371 children and young people affected by housing needs. Thirty-six of them are homeless. 

READ ALSO: Property in Austria: Can I still buy a holiday home in Salzburg?

“These children and young people have worse chances than others right from the start,” Petra Geschwendtner of the Forum Homeless Assistance told the newspaper. If no countermeasures are taken, poverty will take root long-term. 

“These children, therefore, need to be helped out of this situation as soon as possible so that they do not continue to be deprived of their developmental and educational opportunities,” Geschwendtner added.

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RENTING

Can I get out of a rental contract in Austria?

Have you viewed an apartment in Vienna o elsewhere in Austria and hastily signed a contract? Don't you like the apartment after all? These are your withdrawal rights in Austria.

Published: 23 April 2024 17:24 CEST
Can I get out of a rental contract in Austria?

In Austria, the rental market is highly competitive, with apartments often staying on rental platforms for short periods due to high demand and limited supply. This, coupled with brief apartment visits (sometimes with other prospective tenants) and the pressure to secure a place, can lead to hasty contract signings. 

Understanding your withdrawal rights is essential in such a market.

READ ALSO: Renting in Austria – The key things foreign residents need to know

If you signed a rental contract and then realised you don’t want the place, you might feel stuck in your contract. Austria does have really strict rules on contracts, so that “anyone who signs a rental offer makes a binding declaration that they wish to rent the apartment at a certain rate”, Austria’s Tenants Association says.

The real estate agent will also remind you that you cannot leave your contract, as you signed a contractual agreement (“verbindliches Angebot“, which means a binding offer). But what exactly are your rights then?

It’s all about timing

Basically it’s very tricky and almost impossible to back out after signing a rental contact in Austria.

According to Austria’s Chamber of Labour (AK), Austrian law is on your side – but only in a particular case. 

Under a consumer law that applies to all types of contracts, including rental agreements, you are protected against potential pressure from real estate agents and property owners. If you view an apartment and sign an agreement on the same day, you have the right to withdraw from the contract within the week. Furthermore, if the estate agent fails to inform you of your right to cancel, you can withdraw from the contract within one month.

READ ALSO: Shopping in Austria – What are your consumer rights when purchasing goods?

The Tenants Association is more critical and explains that withdrawal is only possible within the “narrow” limits of the Consumer Protection Act. “If you as a consumer submit your contractual declaration on the same day that you viewed the apartment for the first time, you can withdraw from your contractual declaration in writing within one week.”

If the offer was not signed on the day of the very first viewing, though, there is no right of withdrawal in Austria.

READ ALSO: Tenant or landlord – Who pays which costs in Austria?

If you have the right to do so, the most effective way to withdraw from a rental contract is to do it in writing, preferably by a registered letter, as explained by the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). This not only provides a clear record of your intent but also empowers you to navigate the legal aspects of the process with confidence. 

If you signed the offer after the viewing, you don’t have the right to withdraw from the contract you signed. In that case, you could ask for a mutual agreement termination, seeking an amicable termination option with the landlord. Otherwise, you’d be bound by the contract, which in Austria usually means you’d have to stay for one year in the apartment and give three months’ notice before leaving.

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