Housing in Vienna
Amsterdam Conference on Social Housing Strategies
in Cities; June 2017
Eva Bauer/Österreichischer Verband
gemeinnütziger Bauvereinigungen (Austrian
Federation of Limited Profit Housing Associations)
A first glimps
on housing in
Vienna …
A historical view on population increase and new construction
30.000
25.000
20.000
15.000
Population Increase
Household increase
New Construction
Population (right axis)
2.500
Long periods of moderate
population increase + housing
boom
2.000
1.500
10.000
5.000
Boom periods of population
increase + housing boom
1.000
1.000 inhabitants
Persons/Households/Dwelings Averages for periods
35.000
Vienna: Population and New Construction 1869 - 2018
Reason: very bad housing
conditions and need for
improvement
0
-5.000
500
-10.000
-15.000
0
2017: 1,854 Mio inhabitants, 970.000 dwellings, 902.000 households
Housing in Vienna: Actors – Institutions - Instruments
Rent Regulation
(from 1920)
(Limited Profit)
Coops and
Companies, from
1900
Housing Promotion
and Limited Profit
regulation (from
1910)
Municipality
(Public) Housing
from 1920
Owner Occupation
in Condominiums
(from 1948)
Private Landlords –
New Type (Letting
of dwellings
Housing Promotion
– Intensified from
1950
Private Landlords
(tenements)
Since ever
Viennese housing stock and different actors/institutions (970.000
dwellings)
Housing Stock Vienna 2015 by construction
periode and provider/tenure
275.000
250.000
Owner Occupation
225.000
Private Rent
200.000
Limited Profit Rent
175.000
90
80
70
60
Rent limitations
since 1917/1920,
stepwise adapted
Municipality housing
150.000
100
Vienna: average floor space and basic amenities
1917ff
50
40
30
20
10
0
125.000
1917
1951
1961
m2/dwelling
100.000
75.000
50.000
25.000
0
v 1919
1919-1944
1945-1960
Limited Profit Hous. Ass.:
Cost / regulated rent
1961 - 70
1971 -80
1981 - 90
1991 -00
2001-2011
2011-15
1971
% with inside tiolet
1981
1991
2001
2011
% with central heating
37% privat rent (25% regulated)
25% municipality
17% limited profit rent
21% owner occpuation (part.
with subsidies/provided by
Limited prof. provider
Key features of subsidisation and functional
interrelation in Austria/Vienna
High output of
housing with
high quality
Large target
group, no or
high income
ceilings
Social mix in
housing
estates
No income
ceilings
until 1968
Bias on object related
subsidies with
auxiliary role of
indiviual allowances
Moderate
rents
Income ceilings Vienna 2017
Monthly income net
(after social insurance and taxes)
1 Person
2 Personen
3 Personen
4 Personen
€ 3.190,-€ 4.760,-€ 5.380,-€ 6.000,--
Apply only at start of a lease
Appr. 80% of households below ceilings
Middle
intensity of
subsidisation
13
Vienna - Rent levels 2015 in different segments
(rents + charges/utilities)
12
11
10
Average rent
2015: 502 €
+ 16%
9
+ 10%
8
Rented dwellings in Vienna 2015
lim prof hous
ass / 72m2 €
550 - 575;
11.000; 18%
7
6
5
muncipality
rent / 11.000
59 m2 / €
450; 11.000;
18%
4
3
2
Total Stock 2010
Total Stock 2015
Rent contract before 1994; 2015
TOTAL
Muicipality
Lim Prof
Private, after 1945
Private, before 1945 regulated
TOTAL
Muicipality
Lim Prof
Private, after 1945
Private, before 1945 regulated
TOTAL
Muicipality
Lim Prof
Private
TOTAL
Muicipality
0
Lim Prof
1
Private
rent in Euro/m2
+ down payment € 2.000 – 40.000 =
rent prepayment, depriciated by 1%
by year, high payment => right to buy
New rent contract 2015
private rent /
60m2 / € 670;
40.000; 64%
Only lim. prof. hous ass.
provide affordable larger
dwellings
Example of inner city brownfield development Wien Nordbahnhof
10.000 dwellings until 2025; mix of providers, tenure, financing
Housing in Vienna: Challenges and solutions
1. Huge immigration and population increase: demand for affordable
housing
2. General Building boom, but little increase in subsidised housing –
mis match (new housing construction: dwellings per 1.000 inhabitants
2011 – 2016 4,8; expected 2016 – 2018 7,0)
3. Instead: diversification of promotion schemes
models with less subsidies for higher incomes
models with more subsidisation for urgent need
4. Bottle neck in the supply of land: old instruments do not work any longer
– new instruments needed
5. High quality – high costs of construction => reducing quality?
Housing in Vienna: Big Housing Issues 1
1. Increase housing production despite non-increasing subsidies:
+ production of non-subsidised housing for higher income groups
+ lobby for additional financing (EIB; new investors ….)
2. Finding land and instruments for the allocation of land for
affordable housing
• Reactions to increasing migration and growing population:
+ Increasing housing production
+ Discussing optimal models of refugy-housing; e.g. model of non-permanent
buildings has been refused by housing associations
• Affordability: at present housing policies rather rely on the price lowering
effects of an increasing housing offer than on increasing the offer of
subsidised housing
Housing in Vienna: Big Housing Issues 2
Inclusion
Is a big challenge: since there is as margin in the rents within the social sector
(municipality housing – limited profit housing) low income groups concentrate in
municipality housing - and also in older stock of housing associations; in the last
years segeration increased according to recent studies
•
•
Required changes in the city: Land policies and instruments
•
Well working instruments:
Limited Profit Housing associations in combination with housing promotion
system providing housing for (nearly) all
Mix of different associations (34 co-operatives; 23 companies; different
background and shareholders; average size 4.350 dwellings)