Tenancy law and right of residence

1. Timely and full payment of the rent
2. Careful treatment of your property
3. The tenants can move out smoothly if points 1 and 2 above do not apply.

• Drafting an orderly rental agreement and checking the correct amount of rent in order to avoid lengthy (arbitration) procedures. Attention: (free) samples from the tobacco shop or the Internet can be very expensive for landlords. Especially if a process is lost because of this free sample.
• Risk assessment of the potential tenant . As a tenant lawyer, over the years you get a good feeling for whether things can be difficult with a potential tenant. We will be happy to provide you with information and advise you on possible creditworthiness information.

• Documentation of the condition of the apartment before the tenant moves in. Here are some practical tips and tricks on how this can best be done so that in retrospect, for example, it is not claimed that your newly renovated property was in a low rent category or was in a completely desolate condition.

The following procedure has proven itself for our law firm:

1. Telephone call / e-mail: If a property management company has not already done this, the defaulting tenant is asked politely but firmly why the rent is not being paid or is being paid slowly. If desired, a payment plan etc. can be agreed.
2. Qualified reminder : The tenant is made clear by registered letter that further non-payment of the rent will not be tolerated and that – if payment is not made within 14 days – a rent and eviction lawsuit will be brought. If you wish, you can of course only threaten to bring a rent claim. The qualified reminder is an absolutely necessary step in the procedure according to § 1118 ABGB.
3. Rent and eviction action: If the qualified reminder has no effect and there is a qualified rent arrears (the rent is still unpaid by the next interest date), a lawsuit will be brought.
4. Process and execution : If the tenant is defeated in the process and does not move out voluntarily, the property will be evacuated in court.

Therefore, expert tip: start early!

Of course, payment stoppages happen again and again.

However, experience has shown that a tenant no longer recovers once 4-5 months’ rents are open.

Result: We would therefore advise you to seek a conversation as soon as possible in the event of payment stoppages and to submit the above-mentioned “qualified reminder” at the latest when the second rental period has passed without payment. If the tenant does not react to this either, a termination would be urgently required. Since this has to be carried out in court and there are a few subtleties to be observed, we are of course happy to provide detailed advice at any time.

If tenants are of the opinion that the rent is set too high, they can initiate a rent review procedure with the arbitration board of the City of Vienna.

An arbitration board procedure can be very unpleasant for less experienced landlords because of the time and effort involved.

As legal advice, the first step would be to check whether the rent was calculated correctly and we will be happy to assist you with the inspection by Municipal Department 25 or in the proceedings before Municipal Department 50 (arbitration board).

Above all, the on-site inspection by Municipal Department 25 is important here, as this is where the course for the entire further procedure is set. With legal representation you can with some experience prepare the essential facts for the expert in a positive way in order to achieve the best possible result.

After a legal analysis of the decision of the MA 50: If we come to the conclusion that you are in the right here, we will also advise you on a so-called deduction application, with which the decision of the arbitration board is checked in court, whereby experience has shown that the courts are much more landlord-friendly than the arbitration board of the City of Vienna (MA 50 ).

If repeated, prolonged use of the rented property in breach of the contract through the behavior of the tenant threatens or has already resulted in significant damage to the substance of the rented property, the reason for termination could have been set.

Examples:

• vermin
• Rubbish and clutter accumulation in the inventory
• Risk of fire due to insufficient maintenance of electrical systems
• Etc.

We will be happy to check for you whether the behavior set by your tenant constitutes a reason for termination.