February 27, 2024
The government reacts to criticism of the housing construction slump © APA/THEMENBILD/HARALD SCHNEIDER
The government has agreed on a housing package. As Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) announced on Tuesday, one billion euros will flow into the construction or renovation of residential buildings. For home builders, additional fees will be waived for their first home, and states will also be supported in granting affordable housing loans. Details will follow tomorrow after the Council of Ministers.
Specifically, the funds will be used to create 10,000 homes and an additional 10,000 rental apartments. 5,000 properties are to be renovated and put back on the market. In order to support families in financing their first home, the government is also eliminating the land register entry fee and the lien registration fee (for the first 500,000 euros) during construction. The Chancellor calculated that this would mean relief of up to 11,500 euros.
Given the current high loan interest rates and the strict lending rules, the federal states should also provide affordable housing loans for house builders and future home owners. Nehammer spoke of loans of up to 200,000 euros at maximum interest rates of 1.5 percent.
The stated goals of the package are to increase the ownership rate in Austria and to support the currently weak construction industry. This is intended to secure 40,000 jobs in the industry, according to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.
At a press conference called at short notice on the outskirts of Vienna in the shell of a non-profit housing building, Nehammer and Kogler emphasized that the social partners were also involved in the plans. And Nehammer praised the good cooperation in the government: “Dear Werner, I would like to say thank you.”
Kogler noted that the government’s package is not only intended for home builders, but also contains a balanced support component for tenants. And Nehammer also spoke of a “very broad package”, details tomorrow after the Council of Ministers. There is no provision for social grading of funding.
When it came to counter-financing, Kogler referred to the economic effect of a housing construction offensive, and there was also a need for more living space. “We can afford this from the budget,” said the Vice Chancellor. He doesn’t see any danger that this could result in further soil sealing, because the focus would be on increasing housing density.
An industry study by the Chamber of Commerce from mid-February shows that the recession in the construction industry that has been ongoing since 2021 is getting worse this year. The construction industry is developing significantly worse this year and next year than expected for the economy as a whole. Over 40,000 companies with 310,000 employees generated an annual turnover of 63 billion euros and would therefore contribute almost 23 billion euros to Austria’s added value.
The SPÖ today criticized the housing package. “Too discouraged and too late. The government is repeating the mistakes in combating inflation and is spending a lot of tax money with the package, but at the same time is not reducing a single price,” said SPÖ club chairman Philip Kucher. There is neither a real freeze on rents nor a targeted intervention – for example through an interest price cap – to reduce the price of residential property.
There is also little praise from the FPÖ. “In the evening the lazy person seems to get busy. Overall, however, the black-green government’s housing package is far from sufficient,” said FPÖ building spokesman Philipp Schrangl. The saying “Election day is payday” is now “a richer facet.”
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace was also less euphoric today, saying the package was “mixed”. With the planned high subsidies for the new building, there is a risk that enormous areas of ground will continue to be sealed. Greenpeace sees the fact that the vacancy tax should be simplified as positive.
The trade union-affiliated Momentum Institute emphasized that the package placed the right focus on non-profit housing. The fact that the package will break the billion mark in the next two years should also be emphasized positively. The KPÖ was satisfied with the plans to levy vacancies. This fulfills a long-standing demand of the KPÖ.
The ÖGB said: “The federal government has now presented something very late – and it is clear: there is good impetus in detailed areas, but that will not be nearly enough.” The union sees the banks as having a duty: “It would be necessary “To oblige them to convert variable loans into a fixed-interest loan that is favorable for the borrowers.”
The environmental umbrella organization again welcomed the focus on affordable housing, the investment of 220 million euros in the renovation of buildings and the vacancy levy.
NEOS housing spokesman Johannes Margreiter spoke today of “empty headlines”. “Talking alone is not enough. We don’t need another expensive PR sham that comes to nothing, we need to actually and sustainably relieve the burden on people and the economy,” said Margreiter.
According to Vienna’s Housing Councilor Kathrin Gaal (SPÖ), many details have been left open for the time being. “The announcement of additional housing subsidies by the federal government to the federal states must lead to an expansion of social housing,” she said in a statement sent to the APA. According to Gaal, the only way to permanently create affordable living space in a “vibrant urban center” like Vienna is through subsidized rent.
When it comes to vacancy tax, the federal government has “ducked away” in recent years, she criticized. Now he has apparently recognized his responsibility and wants to pass this competence on to the states. Gaal was convinced that the constitutional foundations would first have to be created.