University study shows:

An additional 3900 apartments needed per year in Tyrol

Deputy Governor Georg Dornauer (left) and Christian Obermayr presented the study.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

The outgoing Tyrolean Deputy Governor Georg Dornauer hosted the penultimate press conference in this function. A study by the University of Innsbruck dealt with housing. Explosive: 100,000 apartments in Tyrol are without a main residence registration.

Georg Dornauer (SPÖ) hosted his penultimate press conference as first deputy governor on Tuesday. As reported, he will resign from office on Wednesday following the Benko hunting affair. A press conference is scheduled for midday.

On Tuesday, Dornauer presented the Tyrol 2024-2033 housing needs study together with Christian Obermayr from the University of Innsbruck. A team of several people from the university worked on it for a year. Cost: 77,000 euros.

There are currently 440,000 residential units in Tyrol, 100,000 of which are not main residences.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

More than 100 pages of facts and figures
The central questions that were investigated: What challenges and social trends have an impact on the housing sector in Tirol? What is the current and future housing demand in the districts? And how many apartments need to be built in the coming years in order to meet demand? The study comprises over 100 pages and can also be accessed online on the university's or the state's homepage.

In the course of village renewal, the renovation of old buildings and redensification have been promoted and implemented for decades.

Georg Dornauer

Bild: Johanna Birbaumer

100,000 apartments are without a main residence
The most important results: There are currently around 440,000 residential units in Tirol. What is particularly striking: "Almost 100,000 apartments are not registered as main residences, which corresponds to around 22.6 percent of all apartments. Of these 100,000 apartments, only around 24,000 have at least a secondary residence registration," calculates Obermayr.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

According to the expert, possible reasons for the 76,000 or so apartments without any registration are that "they are old burdens in the register, they are leisure residences or vacation homes, they are vacant, the apartment serves as a relocation reserve, it is an investment, it is planned for later owner-occupation or it is occupied but not registered".

LHStv. Georg Dornauer (right) and Christian Obermayr presented the study.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

The study also shows that around 35,000 additional apartments will be needed by 2033 in order to meet housing demand. This equates to just under 3,900 apartments per year. "In view of the fact that around 7,000 apartments have been built each year in recent years, I was very surprised by this figure," admits Dornauer.

Housing policy strategies must be tailored to the respective regional circumstances. Sustainability criteria must be taken into account.

Christian Obermayr

Bild: Johanna Birbaumer

Study also provides five recommendations for action
The outgoing LHStv, who incidentally does not believe in a main residence requirement, emphasizes the importance of five recommendations for action defined in the study:

• Mobilize building land: Spatial planning instruments such as contractual spatial planning and redensification should be used to a greater extent in order to mobilize building land efficiently.
• Activate vacancies: A nationwide vacancy database should identify unused living space. "Support measures could help to make vacant or uninhabitable apartments habitable again."
• Housing needs planning: In order to better meet the needs of different population groups, a joint definition and regional recording of housing needs as well as coordinated allocation is crucial.
• Prioritize affordable housing: Municipalities should set target values for affordable housing and monitor affordability in new construction. Greater use should be made of spatial planning instruments to ensure affordable housing.
• New forms of housing: An important step for the future is the promotion of innovative housing typologies. For example, multi-generational living or inclusive housing.

Slides were also presented at the press conference.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

"Study not worth more than the paper it's written on"
According to Dornauer, the state government is working on the survey and mobilization of vacancies. "And the Tyroleans are being given targeted support with housing subsidies."

There was already criticism during the presentation. Zeliha Arslan from the Green Party said in a press release that "the results are an expensive farce. 77,000 euros of taxpayers' money was wasted to present results that have long been clear to everyone: Tyrol needs affordable housing. The study is worth no more than the paper it is written on".