AK President warns

Housing billion with boomerang effect in the province

Housing developers such as Vogewosi manage to have apartments built below the prescribed cost limits.

(Bild: Vogewosi)

Vorarlberg housing developers are clawing back 15 million euros that should be made available for non-profit housing, asks AK President Bernhard Heinzle. In fact, private housing developers could use part of the Housing Billion to boost their business and drive prices up further.

The federal government is making exactly 34.8 million euros available over the next three years as part of the Housing Billion. According to the federal government, half of the funds are to be used for the construction of owner-occupied or buy-to-let apartments and the other half for rental apartments. "However, the legislator leaves open whether the money should flow into non-profit or commercial housing - the only important thing is that the price for the next 25 years is formed according to the requirements of the Housing Non-profit Act," criticizes Vorarlberg's AK President Bernhard Heinzle.

AK President Bernhard Heinzle.

(Bild: Stiplovsek Dietmar)

Just under half of the 34.8 million euros is now earmarked for private housing construction. "That would not be a problem if the developers were actually creating more affordable housing. Unfortunately, however, reality clearly shows that subsidized housing in Vorarlberg is far from being affordable housing," criticizes Heinzle.

Housing subsidy guidelines open up leeway
The reason for this is the state's housing subsidy guidelines. These stipulate that the construction cost limit for private developers may be ten to twelve percent higher than for non-profit developers. The result: private developers make higher profits. Prices for apartments are rising. "The 15 million euros from the Housing Billion for more affordable housing ends up as a direct price increase for home buyers," says the AK President angrily. The actual goal of the Housing Billion, namely to create more affordable housing, can therefore no longer be discussed!

For the head of the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labor, the fact that 15 million of the Housing Billion will go to private developers is outrageous: "Under no circumstances should housing subsidies be misappropriated to ensure that the construction industry continues to make huge profits instead of making housing more affordable," he demands.