Housing

The following pages are meant to provide help for finding housing. Due to the comprehensive range of different apartments and the multitude of individual factors which need to be taken into account when looking for a place to live, the following information must be considered merely a survey of this topic.

Additional information and useful links can be found here.

Please note:

In Austria, there are a number of obligatory registrations concerning housing that need to be heeded.

Property Ownership

The acquisition of property must be registered in the government land register. It is recommended that you seek a notary or lawyer to advise you and to help carry out this procedure.

Please note:

When purchasing an apartment or a house you should calculate approximately 10 percent of the purchase price for additional costs (e.g, notary, taxes, official administration, financing fees, estate agent commissions).

Rentals

In urban areas there is a greater percentage of rental apartments.The law on rental apartments differentiates between two types of rent relationships, a primary leasehold (Hauptmiete) and a sublet (Untermiete). The main differences are basically determined by the amount of the rent, as well as the scope of protection against being given notice to leave the apartment.

A primary leasehold is created when tenancy agreement a is drawn up between the person seeking housing and

• the owner of the building,
• the owner of the apartment,
• the tenant or lessor of the entire building or
• the future proprietor of the apartment whose ownership has not yet been entered into the land register. 

A sublet is created when a tenancy agreement [Mietvertrag] is established between a primary leaseholder and the person wanting to rent.

There is also a difference between limited and unlimited tenancy agreements.

In the case of a limited tenancy agreement there is a legal minimum term of three years; but no legal maximum term. If a limited tenancy agreement is extended, the legal minimum term of three years also applies.

The tenant, however, is not bound to the legal extension of three years. She/he can cancel the tenancy agreement at any time, bearing the three months? notice in mind.

Student Housing

Communal Apartments

The following types of tenancy agreements are possible:

• One person enters into a tenancy agreement, and the others move in as co-tenants. Disadvantage: If the person who negotiated the contract moves out, the tenancy agreement might not be transferred to another member of the commune and everybody may have to move out.
• All members of the commune sign the tenancy agreement, and thus enjoy equal legal protection as tenants. If one member of the commune moves out, this does not change the tenancy agreement for the rest of the group. Students should, however, make sure that the rights of the person moving out are transferred to the remaining tenants.
• Separate tenancy agreements concerning the rooms in which the individual members of the commune live are made with the landlord.

Student Dormitories

In all cities with a university, there are a number of student dormitories which are built and administered by various associations, foundations, and public corporations.

Please note:

Students must register for student dormitories one semester before they begin to study at a university.

Further information and useful links

Links

• Additional information can be found at oesterreich.gv.at.
• The Consumer Information Association (German) provides general information on issues concerning rentals.
• Legal advice on the situation regarding housing and tenancy agreements is available from the Tenants Association (German)
• The Austrian National Student Union of your university provides information on the apartments listed in this section.