800 workers from Higher Austria have been surveyed regarding their housing state of affairs in April 2024. Whereas tenants needed to pay a mean of 761 euros in lease final 12 months, this determine rose to 783 euros within the second quarter of 2024. In comparison with 2023, lease costs per sq. meter on the non-public rental market rose by round six p.c to 10.30 euros (median worth). In backed housing, they rose by round 4 p.c to 9.30 euros.
Nearly two-thirds of tenants acknowledged that the lease will increase of the previous two years are a burden for them. In line with the Chamber of Labor (AK), the outcomes are consultant of the dependently employed in Higher Austria – round 780,000 individuals in line with Statistics Austria. The general worth of the AK housing satisfaction index is 69 factors within the second quarter of 2024 – the dimensions ranges from 0 (detrimental) to 100 (optimistic). In line with the Chamber of Labor, it has not improved in comparison with 2023.
Because the survey exhibits, greater than half of the AK members fee the affordability of their housing state of affairs as important or poor. The determine rose to 54 p.c, in comparison with 49 p.c within the first quarter of this 12 months. Housing prices are a significant burden for individuals with an earnings of lower than 1,350 euros. The teams affected embrace the unemployed, individuals on maternity go away or in part-time employment, and folks below 30.
Little impact of the lease cap
The lease cap that got here into power in April eased the monetary burden of lease prices for 15 p.c of these surveyed. A fifth of these surveyed had no consciousness of the difficulty in any respect. 60 p.c stated that their state of affairs had “not likely” or “under no circumstances” improved on account of the measure. When requested whether or not the federal authorities was doing sufficient to make sure reasonably priced housing, solely 16 p.c of these surveyed answered sure.
Andreas Stangl, President of the Higher Austrian Chamber of Labor, needs to restrict lease will increase to a most of two p.c per 12 months, retroactively from January 2023. As well as, he needs a housing bonus of ten p.c of housing prices (as much as a most of 800 euros) for all workers.
The state of Higher Austria also needs to levy a emptiness tax for vacation houses and second houses: “Each vacant condo reduces the availability available on the market and thus harms individuals in search of reasonably priced housing,” stated Stangl. In line with Statistics Austria, round 92,000 flats are vacant in Higher Austria.
