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Tenants and communists tackle the Austrian housing crisis
Against the backdrop of soaring inflation, the Communist Party of Austria has launched a campaign to freeze rents until 2029, reports PEOPLE’S DISPATCH
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IN the wake of an unabated housing crisis and soaring rents, working-class sections in Austria have intensified their campaign, demanding a long-term rent freeze and reforms in the country’s rental laws.
In its petition, the Communist Party of Austria (KPO) demanded the federal government, led by the Austrian People’s Party and the Greens, freeze rents at the current levels until 2029.
The Communist Youth of Austria endorsed the demand, and groups including the Austrian Tenants Association and the Austrian Trade Union Confederation also called for a freeze on rents.
According to reports, persistently high inflation and a rising consumer price index (CPI) led to a continuous increase in rental prices across the country.
As of now, the average inflation in Austria this year stands at 9.63 per cent. Rents in the private sector increased six times over the last two years due to rising CPI, equivalent to about €1,400 per year.
Rents in the co-operative sector also spiked as rental costs are linked partly to inflation and partly to the financing costs incurred by loans.
With a 5.5 per cent increase in benchmark rents marked from August’s first week, at least 135,000 households in Austria, including tenants in old buildings, have been affected.
The KPO’s federal spokesperson Tobias Schweiger told People’s Dispatch that “rent is exploding in Austria, especially during the last decade, when average rents doubled. Over the last three years, the rents rose even faster due to inflation. Therefore, the communist party demands a nationwide rent freeze.”
“The ruling class politicians decide to support the landlords. We require a shift in perspective.
“Half of the population are renters and eight out of 10 landlords in the country belong to the wealthiest 10 per cent. The question of rent freeze is a question of wealth distribution between classes.
“Besides the rent freeze, we demand a rent cap for all flats in Austria. The rents are too high already, therefore they have to go down.”
The KPO had earlier made several recommendations to tackle the rent crisis in Austria, including the expansion of the existing municipal housing and co-operative housing facilities and an end to their privatisation; 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; abolition of fixed-term leases and capping of value retention clauses; and expropriation and remunicipalisation of large real estate companies.
The cost-of-living crisis triggered by the ongoing 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 Britain, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, among others, have been organising various campaigns demanding concrete actions from governments in this regard.
This article appeared on Peoplesdispatch.org.
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