Until June 30, 2025

Housing cost cap goes into extension

Rents in cooperative apartments will remain frozen at the end of 2022 until the end of June.(Bild: P. Huber)

Rents in cooperative apartments will remain frozen at the end of 2022. The measure will save more than 10,000 households around 34 million euros. 

There is good news for all tenants of cooperative apartments: The housing cost cap will be extended until June 30, 2025. The measure, which was introduced in April 2023, has proven to be extremely effective in mitigating the effects of inflation.

Stabilization of housing costs by switching to fixed interest rates
More than 10,000 households have benefited so far and tenants have been relieved of almost 34 million euros, explained Provincial Councillor Heinrich Dorner and Alfred Kollar, Chairman of the Provincial Group of Non-profit Building Associations (GBV). For tenants, the extension of the housing cost cap means that rents in cooperative apartments will remain frozen at the end of 2022 until the end of June. The state will continue to waive annuity jumps on its housing subsidy loans and thus waive the collection of rent increases.

In addition, the state has agreed with the non-profit building associations that they will subsequently use the looming reduction in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB) to contractually secure more favorable conditions in the longer term by means of fixed interest rates. "This should stabilize housing costs regardless of interest rate fluctuations," says Dorner.

Provincial Minister Heinrich Dorner and Alfred Kollar, regional chairman of the non-profit building associations (GBV), presented the extension of the Burgenland housing cost cap.(Bild: Landesmedienservice/Hans Christian Gmasz)

The state has budgeted six million euros for the extension of the housing cost cap, while the non-profit building associations are expecting an additional four million euros for this six-month period. Tenants will then have to expect a socially acceptable increase in rents from July, they say.

Federal housing package
The federal government's housing package was also discussed. Burgenland has 16.6 million euros at its disposal until 2028 for owner-occupied housing and almost 34 million euros until 2026 for multi-storey housing. For non-profit building associations, a non-repayable subsidy will be paid out for the construction of rented or owner-occupied apartments or terraced houses on the basis of a state funding guideline, depending on the thermal quality of the housing built. In addition to the provincial renovation loan, a non-repayable grant amounting to 50% of the direct loan for the thermal renovation of rental apartments is also paid out for renovations. The aim here is to promote thermal building refurbishment in the interests of climate protection and the economical use of energy in multi-storey residential buildings.