Expensive, but hardly any space

Vienna’s living space is reaching its limits

When it comes to housing, Vienna and the rest of Austria are drifting further and further apart.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Vienna is growing, but living space is not growing at the same rate. This leads to crowding right down to the individual apartments. The city is barely keeping up with its measures. New figures show that the federal capital's capacities are at their limit. The consolation: relief is in sight.

A house in the countryside for half the monthly rent: for the majority of Austrians this is a reality, but for the Viennese it is a dream - and one that is becoming increasingly distant. New figures from Statistics Austria show that the housing situation in Vienna and the rest of the country is becoming increasingly divergent.

Disproportionate increase in burden for tenants
The housing gap is already widening in terms of costs: On average, housing costs have risen by 48 percent since 2010, but by 63 percent in Vienna. This is due to the rise in rents. Although they are higher in Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, there are many more tenants affected in Vienna, namely 77 percent of the city's population.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Krone KREATIV, stock.adobe.com)

Overcrowding on the rise
The costs also mean that more and more people are sharing increasingly scarce living space in Vienna: One in twelve main residences in Vienna is now overcrowded, and increasingly so: 17 percent of the city's population live in apartments that are too small. Municipal housing is no exception. Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Housing Kathrin Gaál admits that "we need even more affordable housing", also because of the "price-dampening effect on the entire housing market". 

The recipe for affordable housing is both simple and complex at the same time: it involves the further expansion of social housing, combined with intensive refurbishment activity - these are the keys.

Vizebürgermeisterin Wohnbaustadträtin Kathrin Gaál

Bild: Holl Reinhard

City almost on its own as a developer
In Vienna, almost one in three rental apartments is already owned by the local authority, whereas in the other federal provinces it is less than one in ten on average. Gaál points to the city's housing construction offensive: 7400 subsidized apartments are currently under construction, with a further 8700 in planning. In addition, 6100 apartments are being built by the housing fund and other developers. However, affordable new housing is now almost exclusively being built by the city itself - as can be seen from the general rate of new construction: Since 2001, this has been 23.2 percent for Austria as a whole, but only 17.8 percent for Vienna.

Hopes for rising housing satisfaction
The population forecast promises hope. It assumes that Vienna will grow more slowly over the next few years and will have a constant population of around 2.2 million in 2053 - time to catch up with building activity.

Satisfaction with housing could then also increase again. Vienna is currently at the bottom of the league in Austria. However, a look at the details shows that it is primarily about one's own living situation, with factors such as noise and poor air quality. But if everything fits, the Viennese actually prefer to live here than all other residents of larger Austrian cities in their home country.