Affordable housing

Room for improvement for non-profit housing

The residential complex in Laterns can be seen as an example of a successful project in the "Living with a future" exhibition.

(Bild: Alpenländische Heimstätte)

Michael Gehbauer, Chairman of the Association for Housing Subsidies (VWBF), has been dealing with the topic of housing for decades. In an interview with "Krone", he explains how much each employee pays in housing subsidies, why this should benefit a broader mass of people and how housing can become more affordable.

"Krone": Mr. Gehbauer, the touring exhibition "Housing with a future" opens in Feldkirch on Monday. What is the purpose of this exhibition?
Michael Gehbauer: The exhibition, which opened in 2023 and has already been shown in Vienna, Graz and Linz, is designed to focus on non-profit housing. This is a sector with a managed housing stock of one million apartments throughout Austria. Non-profit housing developers are an important part of the housing market - especially in the area of affordable housing. The aim of the exhibition is to explain what non-profit housing is, what the role of housing subsidies is and how affordable housing is created. All of this is shown using 20 examples from all over Austria.

Which Vorarlberg project was chosen for the exhibition?
A residential complex by Alpenländische Heimstätte in Laterns. The twelve timber-built apartments were occupied in 2022. The project is exemplary because attention was paid to the resource-conserving use of soil and building materials during construction.

What criteria were used to select the properties?
We focus on four areas. One of them is ecology. In other words, the effort to use sustainable building materials and to build in a forward-looking way in terms of energy supply. The new buildings are largely built using renewable energy. For existing buildings, there is a bigger task ahead.

About the person

Michael Gehbauer, born in Vienna in 1962, studied history, commercial science and economics. He has worked for the Wohnbauvereinigung für Privatangestellte (WBV-GPA) since 1993, becoming an authorized signatory in 1999 and managing director in 2004. He also holds other management positions in the WBV-GPA Group and in the private foundation for the education and support of employees. He has been Chairman of the Association for Housing Promotion since 2019 and Chairman of the Vienna Provincial Group of Non-profit Property Developers since January 2022.

What about mobility?
That's a second important point. When moving into a new apartment, everyone should think about whether they are still dependent on a car. We try to show that there are alternatives to private motorized transport.

What else is important when building non-profit apartments?
Urban planning in terms of land use. A dense low-rise building is certainly a better use of space than building a detached house.

However, high-density construction also offers more potential for conflict.
Which brings us to the fourth criterion, the issue of neighborhood. After all, living involves more than just your own four walls. It is also about cohesion and a sense of well-being in a complex. This can be supported by estate management, communal areas or joint meetings.

How big are the differences between the non-profit organizations in the various federal states?
Of course there are differences. Vienna is one of the leading federal states, but Upper Austria also has a high proportion of subsidized housing. Vorarlberg is one of the federal states where the proportion is not quite as high.

Why is that?
Among other things, it has to do with the special subsidies. Rental housing is primarily subsidized and the focus is very much on social criteria - which is basically very positive.

But there is a but?
Yes, because every employee in Austria makes a housing subsidy contribution through their income. This currently amounts to 0.5 percent for the employer and 0.5 percent for the insured person. This brings us to a total of one percent of the general contribution base. Due to the financing system, it is obvious that the funds should simply be spread more widely and used for affordable housing. This happens to a greater extent in some countries and not quite as much in others.

Has the state of Vorarlberg missed the turnaround in recent years? Around five years ago, buying property was still feasible for the middle class.
I don't want to give out grades now and it's not my place to judge this from Vienna. But in Vorarlberg there is certainly room for improvement in non-profit housing construction. The market share is 12 percent in Vorarlberg and 17 percent throughout Austria. That is significantly lower. And the market share for rental apartments is 33 percent in Vorarlberg and 40 percent throughout Austria.

Every employee makes a contribution through their income, so there should be broader access.

Michael Gehbauer, Obmann des VWBF

Bild: Georg Wilke

What would you do if you were the provincial housing minister?
It would certainly be desirable to expand activities, particularly with regard to housing subsidies. Vorarlberg is in the fortunate position of having the necessary financial resources at its disposal. The situation on the housing market is difficult, which is why increased public provision makes sense.

Will this change the high prices?
When more apartments come onto the market, this always has the positive effect of improving the price situation. There are studies that show that the higher the proportion of non-profit housing in a particular municipality, the stronger the correlation with private rents. This means that the construction of subsidized apartments also has an influence on the rent level in the private sector.

Vorarlberg's SPÖ leader Mario Leiter has proposed the construction of 11,000 non-profit apartments, while the ÖVP has described this as unrealistic.
11,000 apartments is very ambitious, especially when you know that far fewer are currently being built. However, I think some of the ideas in the 5-point plan are very good. For example, the idea of promoting housing models for older and disadvantaged people.

What do you think of the much-discussed vacancy tax?
I would grant the vacancy tax a certain amount of control, but it is certainly not a panacea. It would make more sense to assess demand and create the missing living space. Rent-to-own models are also good options in a property-oriented country.