Reprimand because of LDZ

State pays expensive office rent for 1,800 employees

The state should look for alternatives to renting the LDZ, the Court of Audit demands.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

The fact that the office space in the Landesdienstleistungszentrum (LDZ) in Linz is rented for 1,800 state employees and the RLB subsidiary Real-Treuhand collects the costs for this annoys the Court of Audit - and even more so that the state politicians are not looking for alternatives.

When the State Court of Audit (LRH) makes recommendations, it can be expected that at least some of them will be heeded. LRH Director Rudolf Hoscher is all the more annoyed at the moment. For 19 years, state politicians have ignored the suggestion to look for alternatives to renting space in the State Service Center (LDZ) at Linz Central Station.

Province in a "weak negotiating position"
Since the building was constructed in 2004, state employees - currently 1,800 - have been working there in the rented office space. On October 31, 2024, the 20-year waiver of termination for the state's lease in the LDZ expired, meaning that the rental conditions have to be renegotiated. The LRH is now annoyed that the state has not yet "developed an alternative concept for the lease that can be realized in the short term" and is therefore in a "weak negotiating position".

LRH insists on state-owned properties
Attempts by the state to buy the property have failed several times - Real-Treuhand does not want to sell and last communicated this in May 2023, as Hoscher emphasizes. "We recommend immediately entrusting Landes-Immobilien GmbH with the development of concepts to cover the need for office space at the Linz location on state-owned properties," clarifies the LRH Director.

Rental agreement extended, better conditions
State Office Director Thomas Schäffer does not want to let the criticism stand: Only recently, "significant improvements" could have been achieved for the state of Upper Austria when the rental agreement for the LDZ was extended. "The renegotiation reduces the annual rent by a six-figure net amount. At the same time, the landlord has agreed to make investments in terms of sustainability and attractiveness," says Schäffer. These include blackout precautions, expansion of the cooling system and e-charging stations. The state now has "15 years of planning security and sufficient time to develop a concept for the future".

The sale of the former agricultural college in Katsdorf is also criticized in the current LRH report: it was sold for 750,000 euros "below the market value last determined in an expert opinion".