Housing allocation

An explosive question: Who is the city actually building for?

Around 2000 people are waiting for a city apartment in Innsbruck. In future, there could be many more, as the city is softening the allocation criteria.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

On Thursday, the Innsbruck municipal council decides on new allocation guidelines in Innsbruck. However, this will make the list of candidates for a city apartment even longer than it already is. Also on the agenda is a report from the inspection office, which also contains some explosive material. 

The list of municipal housing applicants comprises around 2000 names - and has done so for years. Too few to declare a housing shortage in relation to the total number of inhabitants in Innsbruck, the provincial parliament recently decided and shelved the Innsbruck SPÖ's pet project.

More eligible applicants as a goal
But in all likelihood, the issue will not remain there. This is because the declared aim of the city's new allocation guidelines is to expand the number of eligible applicants, which could soon lead to 5,000 or more people needing a city apartment - as Housing Committee Chairman Benjamin Plach has already extrapolated in order to argue the alleged housing shortage.

This law will put a stop to the sell-off of land in Innsbruck.

Benjamin Plach

Once this has been declared, the Land Procurement Act would be activated. This would give the city priority over others when purchasing undeveloped land, explained legal expert Plach: "This law will stop the sell-off of land in Innsbruck. There is currently vacant building land here the size of around 100 soccer pitches. Up to 10,000 affordable apartments, green spaces and kindergartens could be built there."

Pressure from the left
Applause for these ideas from the self-confessed fan of party leader Andreas Babler came from the far left in the form of the KPÖ and the Alternative List, which have five seats on the municipal council. It will be interesting to see to what extent the ruling YES mayoral list has already given in to the pressure from the left and whether uncomfortable truths, such as the following, will also be addressed: More and more families are moving out of the city, but at the same time the population is not decreasing. While the demand for housing is increasing, the number of citizens is steadily decreasing, specifically by more than 5,000 since 2013. Whether the new allocation guidelines will improve transparency here will perhaps be revealed on Thursday at the public municipal council meeting.

Explosive inspection office reports
Inspection office reports have repeatedly caused minor and major political earthquakes in Innsbruck in the past period. This time, a report on the Innsbruck professional fire department will be discussed by the municipal council. According to reports, it is very critical and full of specific recommendations. One of the central points is the high number of employees who have a second job, which apparently raises a number of questions of a labor law nature. The accessibility of the west of the city in the prescribed time is also addressed. As reported in the "Krone", there are doubts as to whether the average speed of 42 km/h assumed in a study can be maintained by emergency vehicles in the city.