The ÖVP and the Greens want to continue to negotiate a solution
Vienna (PK) – The SPÖ made another attempt today in the National Council to stop the forthcoming 8.6% increase in benchmark rents. The time for a solution is running out, asserted SPÖ building spokeswoman Ruth Becher, referring to the adjustment date of April 1st. She therefore campaigned for the 3rd Rent Law Inflation Relief Act proposed by the SPÖ and called for a vote on it in the coming week. However, a corresponding motion to set a deadline did not find a majority in today’s meeting either. Only the FPÖ supported the SPÖ initiative.
ÖVP construction spokesman Johann Singer was still willing to talk regarding halving the inflation adjustment this year, but insisted on a package solution including the real estate transfer tax. However, the Greens are not willing to make this connection, as Agnes Sirkka Prammer explained. There is no reason to further favor heirs, she said. In addition, landlords and tenants would benefit equally from a lower inflation adjustment with simultaneous tax incentives for thermal renovation and boiler replacement. Despite the lack of time, Prammer does not yet see everything in black: A consensus has always been reached in the past.
SPÖ and FPÖ: Many people can no longer afford housing
Specifically, the SPÖ proposes suspending the inflation adjustment of the reference rents, the category contributions and other tenancy law amounts for the next three years – i.e. until 2026. In addition, the increase should be limited to a maximum of two percent in the long term. According to Becher, this would have to be decided at the National Council meeting next week, otherwise the law might not come into force in time before April 1st.
Becher’s claim is justified by the fact that 60% of tenants already find the rent to be very onerous. If rents continue to rise, there will be no money for daily shopping, heating and other necessary expenses. In addition, an 8.6% increase in benchmark rents would fuel the already high inflation in Austria.
According to Becher, examples from other EU countries such as Spain and Portugal, where there is a cap for rent increases, show that there is another way. It is time that Austria followed suit. “We have no time for a relationship dispute between the ÖVP and the Greens,” urged her party colleague Maximilian Köllner for a solution.
FPÖ MP Dagmar Belakowitsch took a similar line. She pointed out that the forthcoming 8.6% increase in reference rents was offset by a pension increase of 5.8%. The money will have to be diverted from food, school items and heating, especially since many people are already saying that “there is not enough in front and back”. People would be pushed into poverty. “It’s anti-social and inhuman,” Belakovich said. Those who cannot afford the rent also have nothing to do with the easier purchase of property. One must either suspend the inflation adjustment or “press it down to a reasonably tolerable level”.
Singer: ÖVP is still ready to talk
ÖVP building spokesman Johann Singer opposed a unilateral decision to the detriment of the landlords. The rental income would often be used to maintain the old stock, and the landlords would also expect an index adjustment, he pointed out. At the same time, Singer assured that the ÖVP was and will remain open to talks.
According to Singer, the ÖVP proposed three points in the negotiations with the Greens, which he says should be understood as a “package”. For example, he can imagine dividing the forthcoming inflation payment over two years – 2023 and 2024 – with a respective increase of 4.3%. At the same time, a tax incentive model is needed for the thermal renovation of living space or the conversion of heating systems.
The third point for Singer is making it easier for Singer to buy his first home in the form of a real estate transfer tax exemption for the first €500,000. According to him, the resulting loss of revenue for the municipalities should be replaced by the federal government.
Green: time is of the essence
On the part of the Greens, Agnes Sirkka Prammer pointed out the urgency of a solution. People are struggling with the effects of inflation every day, with those who have had it hardest hitting them hardest. When it comes to rent, you can’t save or spend less, you have to pay what’s asked for. The government might have helped many of those affected with the “living umbrella”, but that alone is not enough.
In this sense, the Greens would do everything possible to reach an agreement with the ÖVP, Prammer emphasized. There is already “a balanced package” on the table that would not only bring advantages for tenants and landlords, but would also have an overall inflation-dampening effect. This would make it easier for landlords to invest in thermal renovation and boiler replacement. However, Prammer sees no reason for linking the inflation relief with the real estate transfer tax.
NEOS: SPÖ application is cheap populism
NEOS MP Gerald Loacker qualified the SPÖ application as “cheap populism”. After all, this would only affect reference value rents and thus only every 8th tenancy. But inflation affects everyone, tenants and owners alike. A rent cap is also counterproductive if you want owners to thermally refurbish their apartments.
Loacker called for the burdens to be shared between tenants and landlords and for tax purposes to be differentiated between those who renovate apartments and those who let apartments and houses “decay”. He also spoke out in favor of relaxing the rules for housing loans and starting with the real estate transfer tax and the insurance tax for household insurance. The MP accused the government of fueling inflation “with a watering can” through subsidies. (Continued National Council) gs
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