Campaign against rental sharks – Vienna now takes the first house away from speculators

The town hall’s campaign against slum speculators, launched at the beginning of November, is beginning to bear fruit: the owners of the house at Salzachstrasse 46 in Brigittenau are no longer in charge there. The city’s tenant assistance team fought in court to have a trustee appointed to carry out necessary maintenance work, after the owner ignored requests to do so.

The goal is fear and terror among hired sharks
But it is about more than restoring humane conditions in the home. Instead, the city uses rental law as leverage to hit profiteers where it hurts: the money. The necessary work is paid for from the rent, which is now transferred directly to the curator. This also has broader implications – just as the city had hoped.

Banks that previously focused on profiteering are already starting to distance themselves from their shady customers, reports tenant assistance boss Christian Bartok. If there is no rental income, sooner or later there will be no more repayments.

“Now there is movement”
The public declaration of war in November, the current concentration on the processes with the best chances and the deliberately loud drumming of the first successes – all this is also part of the deterrence strategy in the fight against speculators. They should be afraid. That apparently works: the black sheep among the landlords often did not even respond to letters from the city in the past, but now “there is movement,” says Bartok: “Some of the work has already started on its own.”

Next processes already in preparation
The first successes were also achieved in the trial around Othmargasse 42/44, also in Brigittenau, and Bartok estimates that by the end of the year a handful of more lawsuits “will be on the judges’ table.” Bartok is not afraid that the campaign will harm the entire low-rent segment and thus the entire Viennese housing market: “Rental law certainly makes it possible to maintain a house and have a decent existence at the same time. No apartment building owner should go hungry.”

New cheap loans for entering into rental agreements
The financial bar is too high for many people, not only with dishonest landlords, but also with subsidized housing in Vienna, because they cannot raise enough money to enter into the rental agreement – for example through participation in the construction costs, a cooperative share or a transfer fee. Cheap loans from the city have already been provided under the awkward name of “equity replacement loan.” From the turn of the year, the requirements for this will be significantly reduced again.

From January 1, people with less or more money than before can apply for the subsidized loans: on the one hand, you do not have to provide proof of a minimum income, and on the other hand, the income limits above which you no longer have an income that will no longer be eligible for financing, will be increased. In addition, they will be automatically adjusted for inflation in the future.

Instead of the previously longest possible loan term of 20 years, 25 years can also be agreed in the future. And finally, the credit model becomes more flexible: in the event of unforeseen financial emergencies, installment payments can also be suspended or reduced. The measure is accompanied by a rental ceiling for new pupil and student housing, in which the city has a say because it financially supported the construction.