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RENTING

Reader question: Could Austria scrap the broker’s fee on apartment rentals?

Renting a home in Austria can be expensive, especially if you consider the number of fees a renter has to pay. The country is planning some changes, though.

Published: 9 June 2022 10:15 CEST
Reader question: Could Austria scrap the broker's fee on apartment rentals?
Only residents of Austria can get mortgages. But with some exceptions, it's still possible for foreigners to buy. (Photo by Dimitry Anikin / Unsplash)

Austria is one of the best countries to live in, and its cities are among the ones with the highest standard of living constantly. But it is not a cheap place to live, especially concerning rent and property costs.

The average rental price in Vienna is much lower than in other capitals.

According to a European Union research, a 2-bedroom flat in Austria’s capital averages a monthly rate of € 1,250. In Berlin, the price is € 1,400, while in Bern, the average is € 1,550.

Average prices can be tricky, though, and prices in Austria, especially in Vienna, go down substantially when lower-cost subsidised homes, cooperative-based apartments and old rental contracts are taken into account.

READ ALSO: Reader question: How does Vienna’s rent control system work?

None of which are accessible to all residents of Austria, especially those who are just arriving or haven’t lived in the same city for a few years.

The brokerage fees

Besides having to pay high rents, several associated fees weigh on the pocket of renters. One of the most controversial ones is known as the Provision.

The provision is a fee paid to the broker (Makler) after a rental contract is signed. In Austria, this fee is paid by the person renting a property, not by the property owner, even if they were the ones hiring the service.

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

Even if you find a property online, do your research alone, and have no say in who the broker is, you will probably still have to pay their fee. Unfortunately, the price is also quite high, at about two months’ rent.

Is Austria about to change that?

It’s very likely.

In March 2022, the federal government announced that it would scrap the broker fees favouring a “buyer’s principle”. Instead, the person who hires the broker pays the price.

READ ALSO: Renting: Austria to scrap brokerage fees from 2023

Austria wants the person who commissions the real estate broker to also pay the fee in the future. The government estimates that about €50 million a year, which tenants pay, will be at the landlord’s expense.

“It is a great injustice to pay for a service that you have not commissioned yourself’,” minister Zadic said at the announcement. She added that the cost represents a significant financial challenge, especially for low-income families and students.

When will the changes come?

After the changes were announced, a draft law went into the revision process, and it is still in Parliamentary procedures.

The government expects the new law to be valid by the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023 – and there is a six-month transitional period is provided.

What are the chances of the draft regulation not passing?

Since the current coalition has a majority in parliament, and the draft regulation has not been opposed by any significant opposition party, the rules will likely be put in place by the timeline presented.

READ ALSO: Vienna vs Graz: Which city is better for foreign residents?

Still, the process could be delayed, and changes to the drafted text could make the amendment take longer to be signed into law. Renters waiting for the new rules to be adopted before finding a place to live in Austria will need to consider this before deciding to postpone their plans.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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