Get your money: Court ruling cancels rent increases
The Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) in Austria issued a ruling to annul many automatic rent increases, a ruling published on Friday, which is expected to have wide-ranging implications affecting hundreds of thousands of rental contracts in the country. This decision relates to what is known as "Wertsicherungsklauseln" (value adjustment clauses) in rental agreements.
According to Elke Hanel-Torch, the president of the Tenants' Association in Vienna and a member of parliament for the SPÖ party, this ruling affects a very large number of contracts. She confirmed that this issue could impact hundreds of thousands of tenants. However, there are specific conditions that must apply for the tenant to benefit from the ruling. First, the landlord must be a company or entity subject to consumer protection laws, such as insurance companies, banks, or even the city of Vienna itself. This ruling does not include private landlords.
Secondly, the contract must have been made using a standardized form or a ready-made contract without the tenant having the actual right to negotiate its terms. Thirdly, the contract must contain a clause for adjusting the value without explicitly stating an exception for the first two months of applying this clause. If these conditions are met collectively, the value adjustment clause in the contract is considered completely void.
Ilke Hanel-Torsch advises anyone who believes they may be affected by this ruling to immediately consult one of the advisory bodies to thoroughly examine the lease contract. They can seek assistance from the Tenants' Association, the Chamber of Labor, the Tenant Assistance Office of the City of Vienna, or other relevant bodies to ensure they benefit from the ruling.
After confirming this, Hanel-Torsch recommends contacting the landlord and pointing out the illegal clause in the contract and trying to reach a fair agreement, so that part of the previously paid money is refunded and moderate increases are agreed upon in the future if any.
According to what Hanel-Torsch stated, tenants can claim the refund of all increases paid over the past thirty years and return to the originally agreed rent. It is also possible that the landlord may not be allowed to raise the rent again. Many experts believe that the rights to refund do not expire until thirty years have passed, although this matter has not yet been resolved judicially.