Survey by the Chamber of Labor shows clearly: Affordable housing is sustainable protection against poverty.
Vienna (OTS) – Financial pressure is increasing, particularly on people with low incomes. “Especially for those 1.5 million Austrians who were already considered at risk of poverty before the multi-crisis,” says Volkshilfe Wien Managing Director Tanja Wehsely.
Price driver number 1: the rent
Volkshilfe Wien has been active in securing housing and preventing evictions for decades. “Fixed-term tenancies, which result in an increase in rent with each extension, affect all income groups
“, explains Wehsely. “The poverty trap is closing for more and more people, including those from the so-called “middle class.”
Fixed-term rental contracts are problematic for almost all tenants, regardless of whether they have higher or lower incomes. For the lower income groups, however, the consequences are much more serious. Wehsely: “Tenants are therefore open to blackmail – either they accept a rent increase that goes beyond the value protection clause, or the contract is not extended.
“Rents are the biggest price driver in Austria. “The cat is biting its own tail here,” explains Martin Orner, housing law expert at Volkshilfe Wien. “Rising rents fuel inflation, inflation drives rents further up.
“
Affordable housing ensures prosperity
What is particularly alarming for the housing law expert is the proliferation of fixed-term tenancies in the private rental segment: “This circumstance is primarily due to the rapid, profit-oriented housing construction. Over the last 20 years, a social policy instrument has become a profitable object of speculation.” Failure to renew a rental agreement can very easily lead to housing or homelessness if your income is low and there is little suitable supply on the housing market.
“An effective rent cap, an end to fixed-term tenancies, more non-profit housing and new, bold forms of housing – such as Volkshilfe Wien hafen* – are the key to an affordable life in Austria,” Wehsely continued, emphasizing: “Housing is, after all, a human right . Only affordable housing ensures prosperity in the country!”
Questions & Contact:
Volkshilfe Vienna non-profit company GmbH
Michael Glocker, BA
Press spokesman
+43 676 8784 1807
m.glocker@volkshilfe-wien.at
www.volkshilfe-wien.at