Oct 8th 2022
Condominium Act 2022
New rights and obligations in Austrian condominium law have been in force since January 2022 as a result of the amendment to the Condominium Act (WEG). Further new regulations have been in place since July 2022, which primarily concern the maintenance reserve, the consent fiction and the management's duty to provide information.
What does the Condominium Act (WEG) regulate in Austria?
The Condominium Act ("WEG") defines the most important provisions and rules for the community of owners of the residential complex, which regulate the coexistence of the parties in apartment buildings. In addition to the legal establishment of residential property and the rights and obligations of the owners, the WEG also includes the property management and all the necessary framework and obligations of an owners' meeting.
Any natural or legal person who owns an apartment in the corresponding real estate - i.e. residential property - is considered a condominium owner. The community of owners is formed by all owners together. The rights and obligations of individual owners and the community of owners are regulated by the Condominium Act. The owner alone decides on the use, design, rental and sale of the condominium object - be it an apartment, a car parking space or a garage.
The new regulations 2022
Already in November 2021, the new regulations for 2022 were adopted, but they are only effective from 01.01.2022 and 01.07.2022.
The amendment includes the following new regulations and changes to the WEG:
Privileged measures
The installation of a device for charging an e-car is a new item that has expanded the privileged measures. These arrangements can be carried out by the condominium owner for his property himself and at his own expense, without requiring the consent of other owners. It should be noted that in doing so, no interests of other owners worthy of protection may be violated and there must be a "customary practice" or a "personally important interest" of the condominium owner.
Fictitious consent and the administrator's duty to provide information
In certain cases, condominium owners are facilitated in making changes to their condominium property by means of a "fictitious consent". In order to be able to implement this fictitious consent, it must be possible to contact all other condominium owners beforehand. This is made possible by obliging the property manager to provide information on the names and delivery addresses of all condominium owners. Upon request, the property manager must provide the contact details of the other owners, which may only be used for the applicable purpose.
Formation of the will of the community of owners
The so-called "formation of the will of the community of owners" is facilitated by adding an option of the "twofold qualified consent requirement" to majority voting. Previously, a majority of 50 percent had to be reached in votes. Now, a resolution of the owners' association can also be passed with two-thirds of the votes cast by at least one-third of the co-ownership shares.
Reserves
From July 2022, a minimum allocation of at least 90 cents per square meter of the condominium property will apply to the reserve. Previously, the maintenance reserve was regulated in such a way that it had to be calculated "appropriately" and "to provide for future expenses". In this context, an amount was jointly determined in relation to anticipated maintenance measures.
General rights and obligations of condominium owners
The following rights and obligations apply to apartment owners in Austria:
Rights
- The right to rent the residential property to other persons at any time.
- The right of use, which allows the owner to use or occupy the residential property himself/herself.
- All rights of disposition that allow the owner to sell or bequeath the residential property even without the consent of other owners.
Duties
- The observance of the house rules defined jointly by the owners.
- The timely compliance with all payment obligations, such as operating costs or energy costs.
- The liability for the tenants in the respective owner's apartment.
- The duty to maintain one's own residential property so that its condition does not harm any other occupant (tenant or owner) of the property.
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