Most cities in the world have very expensive housing. Some of their residents have to pay almost half of their income to rent an apartment. But there is a city where the authorities help a huge number of people rent and buy apartments at prices much lower than market prices. And not only for the poor, but also for representatives of the middle class. This city is the capital of Austria, Vienna.
The Vienna authorities subsidize both the rental and purchase of apartments. In the first case we are talking about the so-called Gemeindewohnung – “public” or “city” apartments. They can be rented by people who have lived in the city for several years and have an income below a certain level. You can buy an apartment in Genossennschaftswohnung – “cooperative housing”. This system is a little more complicated: you need an entry fee, for which, however, you can take out a soft loan from a bank. Then you need to live in this apartment for several years, paying a reduced rent, after which the housing can be purchased.
“Twice cheaper than on the free market”: buying social housing
Diana from Belarus has been living in Austria for more than 10 years and bought an apartment in a cooperative residential complex.
“Only those people whose income does not exceed the level when you are considered a rich person in Austria who can afford to buy an apartment on your own are entitled to such apartments,” she says. “This is for the middle class. What is the middle class in Vienna ? If we go down to the garage, we can look at the cars that are there. We have Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs, of various classes. There are Fords, and everything you need. under the same program, there is a preferential loan for the first payment. The rent in the contract is indicated on the basis of legislation that determines the cost per square meter in such an apartment.”
Developers of such cooperative houses compete with each other, but at the same time they are either fully or half owned by the city and do not strive for maximum profit. Essentially, they sell these apartments at a price that is only slightly higher than cost.
“When I was looking for an apartment, it was difficult for me to buy housing of this size on the free market,” says Diana. “A cooperative apartment was much more profitable for me. At that moment it cost half as much as an apartment on the free market. The developer was by law for me could not sell the home at the market price, he simply did not have the right to do so.
I have friends who bought an apartment privately. Some of them even have a rooftop pool in their house, but the cost is 3-4 times more than my price per square meter. And that’s already 10 or 12 thousand per square meter.” However, the neighboring house, built under the same affordable housing program, also has a swimming pool, adds Diana.
“We view housing as a social good”: how social apartments are financed
Christian Schantl is responsible for international relations at Wiener Wohnen, the organization that manages all city housing in Vienna. He explains how the social housing system is financed: “Every Austrian with his employer pays one percent of his income towards the construction and renovation of affordable housing. Between 75 and 80% of people have access to this housing space and can also benefit from this tax. And so There is no discussion on this topic in our country. We all pay, but we all get something in return. In general, we have been viewing housing as a social good, and not as a commodity that can be left solely to market regulation. This means. “that the city is actively involved in the housing issue, just as it is in virtually all matters of public welfare – be it health care, water supply, waste management, public transport or education.”
Vienna owns several hundred thousand apartments, and the city does not sell them, but rents them out at preferential prices, and also buys land for the construction of new affordable housing. In this city of two million, more than 60% of residents live in subsidized apartments. The right to rent or buy social housing in Vienna is available to people with an income below 57 thousand euros per year after taxes – that is, even those who earn more than 4 thousand euros per month “net” per person. The advantages of social housing are obvious: monthly rent is one and a half to two times lower than if you rent an apartment at a market price. The cost of renting a square meter in a municipal apartment is less than 10 euros, on the free market – from 16 euros and more, depending on the area. The owner of the apartment, the city of Vienna, does not raise the rent whenever it pleases, and does not suddenly demand that the premises be vacated after two months. That is, tenants in such apartments feel almost as confident as owners of their own homes.
“You can even leave this apartment to your children as an inheritance”: how social rent works
Shoira Yusupova from Tajikistan has been living in Vienna for several years. For the first two years I rented housing on my own, but as soon as I received the right to do so, I applied and moved to a social apartment – which is both larger and cheaper.
“I rented an apartment privately, 35 square meters,” says Shoira. “And it cost 800 euros, much more than the current one. Do you know what I like? If you have the right to something in Austria, you will get it. I was sure that I would get social housing. I prepared all the documents, passed the interview, and then all I had to do was wait. I clicked on one of them and they responded to me literally the next day.”
“Social housing gives you confidence,” notes Shoira Yusupova. “You understand that you will not be evicted anywhere. You are already staying in this apartment on a long-term basis and you can even inherit it to your children. Many of my neighbors received an apartment by inheritance. Then they were born in this apartment, grew up, lived their entire lives and will leave it to their children. And the most interesting thing is that they have been receiving these apartments for a long time. And, for example, if I pay 600 euros for my apartment, they pay much less for an even larger apartment. “300 or 400 euros. Of course, I was very lucky with my neighbors. As soon as we moved, they came to get acquainted with the wine.”
Social housing exists in one form or another in different countries. True, it often doesn’t look like a setting for filming films like “Trainspotting” or “Requiem for a Dream.” Such rather “asocial” houses are located in problem areas, not the most prosperous families live in them, and the crime rate is high. And in Vienna, subsidized apartments are located throughout the city: in houses built in the middle of the last century, and in completely new complexes.
Veronika Iwanowski from Wiener Wohnen explains that this is a feature of the system: “In Vienna, it is impossible to determine a person’s income by address. We have high income limits that ensure that people with low and middle incomes live in the same neighborhood. This means that there is no segregation, there is no stigma, and if someone says: “I live in the first district of Vienna in the city center,” you cannot conclude whether this person lives in a council apartment or in a private market apartment.”
“Many of our buildings are getting old”: problems in Viennese social housing
The main problem of Viennese housing is that a large number of houses here were built in the last century and need renovation. In addition, Vienna’s population is growing rapidly, so applicants for social housing have to stand in line and wait at least several months.
“You have to wait a maximum of one and a half years,” says Veronika Ivanovski. “After you submit your application, you receive a Wohnticket – a ticket for housing – and get on the waiting list. Now we have about 15 thousand people in the queue, half of them are already living in social housing, but they would like to change apartments. People have the opportunity to move to a smaller or larger apartment, depending on their living situation.”
“Of course, many of our buildings are aging,” admits Christian Chantl. “Some of these houses are over 100 years old, and that is why one of our most important goals over the years has been the structural and continuous renovation of these houses and bringing them up to date technical standards. A very important point is the insulation of houses, changes in energy supply, and the like. Of course, the need for investment is great, but the benefits that people receive from this are also great. We must not forget that each renovated house consumes only a third of the energy. which he needed before.”
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2024-04-18 08:13:36