Austrian Government Considers Rent Cap

According to the current legal situation, around 300,000 households are threatened with a sharp rent increase in April. Because most rents are linked to the consumer price index - and this shows an increase of 8.6 percent for the past year. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPOE) and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPOE) have long favored stopping the guide value increases. In the meantime, the governing parties OEVP and the Greens are said to be interested in a law change regarding a lower rent increase, according to ORF.

"We are currently in a parliamentary vote," said Nina Tomaselli, member of the National Council and spokeswoman for the Greens for housing and construction. After all, it is unfair if rents increase by 10 percent, but the costs for the landlords have not increased to this extent, as stated by Kurier. However, there are also positive signals from the OEVP that a solution can be found together. Therefore, different variants are currently being examined. For example, a different index could be used to adjust the reference value, or the inflation allowance could be capped. "But a new index could eventually be developed," added Tomaselli.

As reported by Vienna.at, Peter Weidinger, member of the National Council and consumer protection spokesman for the OEVP, also pointed out in the program "Im Zentrum" on Sunday evening that a solution was being worked on. One of the solutions could be indexing. According to Weidinger, it is also about strengthening purchasing power. Tomaselli noted that it is currently being examined which solution has the most advantages and will therefore also receive the appropriate approval in Parliament in the event of a vote.

According to ORF, it was originally planned that the benchmark rents would rise by 8.6 percent on April 1. If things go according to the previous plan, the Ministry of Justice will publish the increase in the guideline values in March. Anyone who has signed a lease after March 1, 1994, for example in a private old building built before 1945, is subject to the benchmark system. The increase would therefore affect all contracts concluded in the past 27 years, as they often have corresponding adjustment clauses in the contract and new contracts. The benchmarks vary from state to state. Unlike other countries, Austria does not have a rent price cap. In France, for example, the National Assembly voted in favor of a rent cap in July 2022.