2024-07-22 13:53:44
Carinthia has set a milestone in the fight against poverty with new housing assistance. Massive relief, especially for families
Klagenfurt(OTS/LPD) – The recently released Carinthian Poverty Study 2024 gives “poverty” a name and a face: a single mother with two children, a retired widow, a family affected by a father’s serious illness, a failed self-employed person – they all What they have in common is that their available income is below the poverty risk line. “It is intolerable that people are struggling to survive in a rich country like Austria. With the new Carinthian housing subsidy, we are creating a system that can eradicate poverty in a targeted and sustainable way. tool,” explains LHStv.in social officer Gaby Schaunig, who today presented the model parliament together with Carinthian ÖVP club president Markus Mahler at a press conference in Klagenfurt.
The draft law will be reviewed this weekend and will take about a year to prepare. “We reviewed all applications for housing assistance, heating subsidies and help in special situations to understand where the main problems were in Carinthia and how we could best solve them. We quickly found the answer: by meeting the basic requirements We can provide the most effective and sustainable help for your housing needs.
“The new housing benefit is a real milestone for several reasons: the different support services will be brought together so that in future people will only have to submit one application and the authorities will only have to review it. The burden of operating costs has been particularly reduced Consideration means that low-income homeowners can also take advantage of the assistance,” club president Mahler emphasized.
The new housing subsidy places special emphasis on children. If there are children in the family, the income limit increases significantly, by €200 per child. A single mother or father with two children and a monthly net income of €1,800 will in future be entitled to a monthly housing allowance of €325. So far it is 60.2 euros (housing allowance plus heating allowance). This amounts to an additional reduction of more than 3,000 euros per year in the family budget.
The new housing subsidy not only expands the scope of recipients, but also significantly increases the amount of subsidies. Low-income earners living in their own homes will also receive monthly support for the first time to cushion operating costs. People living alone receiving the minimum pension no longer receive a heating subsidy of 180 euros per year, but about 109 euros per month, which is equivalent to a reduction in the family budget of 1,122.72 euros per year.
The application process will also be streamlined as part of the shift to housing assistance on January 1, 2025. In the future, applications for digital housing assistance will be submitted directly to state governments. “However, for the sake of accessibility and accessibility for all people, it is important for us to continue to support personal simulation applications in the future,” Schaunig said. “Digital applications will bring huge relief to all parties, both citizens and authorities,” Mahler said.
In terms of budget, approximately 52 million euros have been allocated for the new housing subsidy project in 2025, and approximately 42,000 people are expected to be eligible. These are purely state funds, which means significant financial relief for municipalities. Funds from multiple areas are pooled together to cover the budget. Since the plan is implemented from January 1, the heating subsidy will be distributed again during the upcoming heating season and will be subsequently included in the housing subsidy.
New parameters for housing subsidies are added: the eligible living area per person is 50 square meters; for each additional person, the housing area increases by 10 square meters. The subsidy amount is 6.50 euros per square meter, and the actual amount depends on income. The lower the income, the lower the cost of housing one can expect to pay. Housing allowance is capped at €500 per month. Rent levels will also be capped: “We set the rent at 10.6 euros per square meter, which is equivalent to twice the statistical average rent in Carinthia. If the apartment price is higher, the rental agreement is not eligible for funding. We absolutely Don’t want to trigger an increase in private sector rents through housing assistance (end).
Questions and contact information:
Carinthia State Government Office, State Press Service
050 536-10201
www.ktn.gv.at
1721656626
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