2024-03-02 09:52:04
For three years, Wiener Wohnen has been using detectives to take action against cases of non-use or subletting of municipal apartments. What was initially a pilot test quickly developed into a successful collaboration. A total of around 300 suspected cases have been identified since 2021, of which around 150 cases were examined in 2023 alone, the town hall and Wiener Wohnen announced on Saturday.
“The municipal building should be available to people as an affordable home to live in and not be used for profiteering. Because every apartment in the municipal building that is misused is one too many,” said Vice Mayor and Housing Councilor Kathrin Gaál (SPÖ). “If you don’t follow the rules, you have to face consequences.” It was not until 2022 that major investor Siegfried Wolf had to return his apartment in a municipal building in Favoriten due to a lack of “justified housing need”.
The use of detectives ensures that suspected cases that arise at Wiener Wohnen are checked professionally. It is observed, questioned and documented. If the suspicion is confirmed and there is enough solid evidence that affordable living space in the city’s residential complexes is being misused, Wiener Wohnen will bring a lease termination notice to the court, it said. The necessary strategic vacancy rate in municipal buildings – due to housing changes, renovations or mergers – is currently around three percent.
In 2023, around 150 suspected cases were examined by detectives, an increase of 15 percent compared to 2022. In a third, the suspicion of illegal subletting or non-use was confirmed. These apartments are already back in Wiener Wohnen’s portfolio. In another third of the cases, the court verdict is still pending, emphasized Wiener Wohnen. The rest is still being examined carefully by the detectives. Anyone who is convicted is thrown out of the municipal apartment and has to pay the legal costs, which can add up to several thousand euros.
The detectives are also on online platforms and check them randomly and weekly, warned Wiener Wohnen. Since 2022, the online platform Airbnb has been prohibited by court from offering municipal apartments in the City of Vienna for rent. Tenants who have offered or are offering their municipal apartment on this or other platforms are violating the contractual ban on subletting and must expect legal consequences.
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