Huge price increases – old tenants under pressure from speculators

In Vienna alone there are 20,000 houses that were built before 1945 and are therefore subject to the Renochtwet. This regulates the amount of rental prices with the directive (currently 6.67 euros per square meter in Vienna, plus possible position allowances). But actually, so live expert Thomas Ritt van AK. “According to our research, around 90 percent of the old rents are exaggerated, many pay around 2000 euros too much. The reason is that the houses became speculative objects.”

According to Study, 6,400 old houses have been sold since 2000 to 2022, even 1600 of them even several times. Buyers were almost exclusively professional real estate investors who were looking for “concrete gold”.

Zinhäuser since 2000 with 511 percent more expensive
And every time the market value increased. In the past, a fear house was received with an average of 573,000 euros, investors paid 3.5 million for this in 2022 – an increase of no less than 511 percent!

And: in two years, solved houses, where the owner has hardly put anything in the renovation, the profit rose to EUR 815,000 by selling an average of 91,600 euros. “Of course, buyers had to finance this crazy price dynamic. Rental users are therefore not unusual, but almost a condition for this business model,” said AK Expert Rode.

In principle, the guideline interest rate still applies, but the new landlords often use brutal methods to put pressure on residents. “It is not uncommon for the existing tenants to stand in the way and must be brought to move,” says Mara Verlic of the AK according to surveys.

How old tenants are sold

Four methods are used:

• Neglect of the building material: no more repairs are carried out, sometimes there are even short -term damage to the partial demolition
• Rental increases: According to paragraph 19, the lease can be undermined as improvements in the house. Then limited increases are allowed. Whether the operating costs are ruined
• Press contracts: Tenants are easily presented and encouraged to sign new lease contracts. Or you try illegal dismissal.
• Disruption of the sense of security: methods are, for example, frequent home inspections by the landlord, the front door is not repaired so that strangers can go into the house or people are deliberately in four until the others in the house undress.

The AK, on ​​the other hand, helps with free rental checks, ie checking contracts for the suitability of the rent. If this is excessive, you can complain about the AK. Also free and without a complaint.

Advice is not enough, stricter legal possibilities against “rental sharks”.

Firstly, a simpler transparent rental law, where the legal rent is accurately defined and the allowances are limited to a maximum of 25 percent.

Furthermore, a ban on time limits. Even because many of them do not dare to defend themselves affected, despite excessive contracts.

In the case of renovations of the Althaus, the costs can currently be set at rental prices for 10 years. This period must be double up to 20 years, the burden for residents would distribute and reduce longer.

And finally, rental fraudsters must fear harder penalties. At the moment only ends in a way that the individual tenant has too much interest paid. All others continue to cash. The AK requires that the double inflated rent must be repaid and that the prison conditions are also imposed. In addition, unlimited is automatically converted into fixed term contracts.