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Klagenfurt: dozens of apartments “disappeared”

Those responsible in the town hall are currently searching for the missing apartments ...

(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta)

Around 40 apartments that belong to the city of Klagenfurt and could actually have been rented out to its citizens suddenly no longer appeared in the allocation system. One property manager was dismissed without notice.

The city of Klagenfurt cannot rest: after the turmoil surrounding municipal director Peter Jost and the ongoing drinking water scandal, everything now revolves around the city's apartments. After Alexander Kastner (Team Kärnten) took over from Deputy Mayor Alois Dolinar at the beginning of the year, and with him the housing department of the provincial capital, an inventory was carried out. At the same time, Gerhard Scheucher had also taken over the city's own company "Klagenfurt Wohnen" as managing director. "When we checked the data, we noticed inconsistencies," Kastner said in an interview with Krone.

Specifically, there were around 40 apartments that were suddenly no longer rented out: the corresponding keys could not be found, apartments were simply not "registered as vacant" after general renovations, and so on and so forth ...

Property manager was dismissed
In this context, a property manager at Immobilien Verwaltung Klagenfurt GmbH (IVK) was also dismissed: "On a personal level, he is fine, perhaps he was overworked," says Kastner. Nevertheless, the city of Klagenfurt could have lost several hundred thousand euros as a result. Among other things, the refurbished apartments have not been used by the city since 2022. Some may even have been sublet privately.

The property managers of IVK are responsible for "registering" refurbished apartments. This is why city lawyer Dr. Michael Sommer has also been called in: "We may have to sue for damages." In any case, the presumption of innocence applies to the property manager. 

Much was incomprehensible - now the whole issue is being investigated

Alexander Kastner, Vizebürgermeister und Wohnungsreferent

"All affected apartments will be inspected by the end of October, then concrete figures, data and facts can be provided," the Deputy Mayor explains the procedure. Mayor Christian Scheider also pleads for "complete clarification - we need to know about every single apartment", says the head of the city.

Demand for the entire city council to be investigated
"It is unbearable that we are constantly having to deal with new scandals instead of addressing the pressing problems of our city," criticizes Julian Geier, club chairman of the Klagenfurt People's Party, and calls for a comprehensive investigation of the entire city council: "We no longer have time to deal with new scandals every week. All facts must be put on the table, all potential scandals brought to light. This is the only way we can work for the well-being of the people of Klagenfurt again after a transparent investigation," said Geier.