National report on housing inequalities – Austria

Extract from Deliverable 2.1 “Contextualized analysis of the housing situation – Papers on (sub) national trends”

Austria is amongst European countries with the lowest homeownership rates, with about 49% renting their dwelling. In Vienna, only 18% of residents own the dwelling in which they reside. Social housing plays a considerable role, with about 21% of households living in a public or non-profit unit. Since 2000, rents have increased by 80% and house prices more than doubled, outpacing wage development. On average, households spend 19% of their disposable income on housing, with about 10% perceiving housing costs as a heavy burden. In 2020, the share of housing costs in disposable income for homeowners was about 13%, but for tenants, it amounted to about 26%. Single-parent and one-person households spend 25-30% of their disposable income on housing, while other household types typically pay no more than 15%. Non-Austrian-born households bear 8% higher housing costs than Austrian-born households. Territorial inequalities exist, with households in densely populated areas paying on average 9% more for housing than those in thinly populated areas.