Campaign against rent sharks

Vienna takes away the first house from speculators

The building at Salzachstrasse 46 in Vienna-Brigittenau is now in receivership.

(Bild: Mieterhilfe)

Vienna's fight against rent sharks is proving successful: one house is already under forced administration, with more to follow. The business model of speculators in the city is beginning to falter. And there is even more good news for tenants in Vienna, namely a new opportunity for cheap loans from January.

The campaign launched by City Hall at the beginning of November against slum speculators is bearing its first fruits: the owners of the building at Salzachstrasse 46 in Brigittenau are no longer in charge. The city's tenants' association won the appointment of a receiver in court to carry out the most necessary maintenance work after the owner had ignored requests to do so.

Fear and terror among rental sharks as a goal
However, it is about more than restoring decent conditions in the building. Rather, the city is also using tenancy law as a lever to put the thumbscrews on the profiteers where it hurts: the money. This is because the necessary work is paid for from the rents, which are now transferred directly to the forced administrator. Just as the city had hoped, this is also having a wider impact.

It is noticeable that the unrest is already reaching the handful of speculators in the city. I believe our signals are clear.

Christian Bartok, Leiter der Wiener Mieterhilfe

Bild: privat

Banks that have been involved in the business so far are already starting to back away from their shady customers, reports Christian Bartok, head of Mieterhilfe. Where there is no rental income, sooner or later there will be no more loan repayments.

The fact that the owner did not want to rectify the defects became a legal lever in court.

(Bild: Mieterhilfe)

The proceedings are not just about construction defects: in houses like these, tenants are also deprived of their rights through sham subletting.

(Bild: Mieterhilfe)

The owner has so far ignored repair orders.

(Bild: Mieterhilfe)

Mold on the walls, the bare flooring visible: the city is now remediating all of this.

(Bild: Mieterhilfe)

"There's movement now"
The public declaration of war in November, the current focus on the processes with the best chances and the deliberately loud drumbeat of initial successes - all of this is also part of the deterrence strategy in the fight against the speculators. The idea is to scare them. It's obviously working: the black sheep among the landlords often didn't even reply to letters from the city in the past, but now "there's movement", says Bartok: "Some of them are already starting to work on their own."

Next lawsuits already in preparation
Initial successes have also been achieved in the lawsuit surrounding Othmargasse 42/44, also in Brigittenau, and Bartok estimates that another handful of lawsuits "will be on the judges' tables by the end of the year". Bartok is not worried that the campaign will damage the entire low-cost rental segment and thus the entire Viennese housing market: "Tenancy law makes it possible to keep a house and make a decent living at the same time. No apartment building owner has to go hungry."

Twelve houses in Vienna

City Hall has initially set its sights on twelve houses in its campaign against rent sharks. These are the ones with the best chance of success in court. The aim is to teach others to be afraid.

New cheap loans for entry into rental contracts
The financial bar is too high for many people, not only in the case of unfair landlords, but also for subsidized housing in Vienna, because they are unable to raise the funds to enter into a tenancy agreement - for example by contributing to construction costs, a cooperative share or a redemption. In the past, cheap loans were already available from the city under the unwieldy name of "equity replacement loans". From the turn of the year, however, the conditions for this will be significantly lowered once again.

From January 1st, people with both less and more money than before will be able to apply for the subsidized loans: on the one hand, proof of a minimum income will no longer be required, while on the other hand, the income limits above which people are no longer eligible will be increased. They will also be automatically adjusted for inflation in future.

Instead of the previously longest possible loan term of 20 years, 25 years can also be agreed in future. And finally, the loan model will become more flexible: in the event of unforeseen financial emergencies, installment payments can also be suspended or reduced. The measure is flanked by a rent cap for new apprentice and student residences, in which the city has a say because it supported the construction with subsidies.