The Communist Party of Austria (KPO) has intensified its campaign demanding immediate government action to tackle the housing crisis in the country. The party protested the insensitive and inadequate response of the government under the Austrian People’s Party (FPO)-Greens coalition in tackling homelessness and the soaring rent crisis. Last week, the KPO launched a petition demanding a freeze on rents until 2029. The party claimed that the housing subsidy of €250 million (USD 269.50 million) announced by the government earlier this year instead of a rent break will fizzle out and only end up in the pockets of property owners.
According to the KPO, the category interest rates in Austria increased by 5.5% for 140,000 tenants from July 2023—the fourth increase in just 15 months. “Since the start of this government in 2019, we have been paying an average of almost two months’ rent per year. Even though a rent cap guideline is envisaged in the Austrian tenancy law already, this applies to fewer and fewer apartments on the market,” KPO stated.
In March, KPO spokesperson Tobias Schweiger had noted that “In the middle of 2021, the average cost of housing in Austria was €550 (USD 593.23). The average cost of housing had already risen to €574.3 (USD 619.33) in the middle of 2022. After that, further increases were added to the free market and category rents. With the coming benchmark rent increases, the average rents (i.e. all rents in total) are at least €615 (USD 663.22). With rising operating cost, that’s an average increase in housing cost of 12% over two years.”
A report by Zeitung der Arbeit on June 11 stated that there were 20,000 registered homeless people in Austria, a number which may have increased by now. The number of unregistered homeless people is also very high, according to the report. The report cites a study by Statistics Austria stating that around 12,000 homeless people are present in the capital Vienna alone. Many tenants have also undergone temporary homelessness due to rent increases, evictions, high inflation, etc.
The major suggestions put forth by the KPO to tackle this crisis include: 1) expansion of the existing municipal housing and cooperative housing facilities and putting an end to their privatization, 2) introduction of binding rent caps which will cover a maximum of the rental facilities available in the market and ensuring that housing costs do not exceed over a quarter of the income, 3) abolition of fixed-term leases and capping of value retention clauses, 4) expropriation and re-municipalization of large real estate companies.
The ongoing cost of living crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and profiteering by multinationals has exacerbated the housing crisis in several countries in Europe. Progressive sections and housing rights groups in countries like the UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Serbia, and Netherlands, among others, have been organizing various campaigns demanding concrete actions from governments in this regard.
