A lawyer hired by the city took stock after a year and a half of inspections of leisure homes. There are currently 50 pending proceedings. The municipal council largely supports this aim, but there are still major shortcomings in the right of access. The current legal situation is perceived as insufficient.
Anyone who opposes the much-cited “Tyrolean sale” and just looked at these figures could rejoice in the Kitzbühel city council on Monday evening: The municipal lawyer took stock of its 450 checks on suspected illegal holiday homes. There are 50 open proceedings and two prohibited uses of residences. In 17 cases, because a valid leisure residence permit was available or the investigation invalidated the suspicion. The big but – and there was broad consensus among the political groups: the legal situation is unsatisfactory! This is true despite spectacular individual successes, such as against the one from Munich who failed his review before the Federal Administrative Court (the “Krone” reported).
Fear: “victory” for the administrative judge is not enough
“If it’s pointed and someone gets it done, the European Court of Justice could decide for the EU citizen. Whether our Constitutional Court will do,” fears GR Reinhardt Wohlfahrtstätter (SPÖ). He still finds state and federal laws “too vague.” Even the city, BH and the tax office are not connected to the data.
Alexander Gamper (FPÖ) also urges to compare registration data at EU level. Then it would be impossible to have a main residence in Munich and Kitzbühel. “The financial police should follow this up because taxes are being evaded.” Andreas Fuchs-Martschitz (UK list) suggests that the affected places are seeking legal advice and putting pressure on the state and federal government. In addition, with a view to transparency, he wants municipalities to be able to view the list of holiday homes.
The mayor also criticizes the legal situation
Does a Tyrolean city or municipality have sufficient recourse against illegal holiday homes? Speaking about the ongoing debate, Kitzbühel Mayor Klaus Winkler says: “The legal situation is completely unsatisfactory and I am very critical of the implementation. The mayors are always left like lashes.”
What is the disease? According to Winkler, political courage has so far been lacking to finally reach an intergovernmental solution. In concrete terms, a fine-grained comparison between spatial planning, registration law and international tax law. In concrete terms: those who have their primary residence in Kitzbühel also have to pay their taxes here and not in Germany. In addition, the mayor also wants to link the rent allowance to new conditions: “It cannot be the case that tax money is used to build apartments that are then used as illegal leisure homes.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
