Termination by the landlord - what you should know I MYHOME BLOG

Tenants in Austria are well protected by tenancy law. This is because it only provides for termination by the landlord in a few cases. Lukas Gottardis from “pgf Rechtsanwälte” in Innsbruck knows what these are and what else there is to consider.

Can tenants be terminated by the landlord?

Termination by the landlord can only be enforced under special conditions. If the tenancy falls within the full or partial scope of application of the Tenancy Act, the landlord can only terminate the tenant if there is a reason for termination that is recognized as important by law. Incidentally, this also applies to apartments let for a fixed term.

What grounds for termination are specified in the law?

Statutory grounds for termination include:

Non-use of the apartment, i.e. if the living space is not used to satisfy urgent living needs.
The complete transfer of the rented property (e.g. subletting).
Subletting for a disproportionately high fee (subletting rent). This is the case if the subletting fee is more than 50 percent higher than the rent of the tenant subletting the apartment or individual rooms.
The death of the tenant and the absence of authorized persons.
Non-payment of rent: The tenant must be at least eight days in arrears despite a reminder. However, if the rent is paid by the end of the court hearing in the first instance, the termination must be dismissed unless the tenant is grossly at fault for the late payment. However, the tenant must bear the costs such as court costs or reminder fees.
Significantly detrimental use of the rented property: In addition to severe neglect of the apartment, this also includes grossly improper behavior towards the other tenants as well as gross criminal acts against residents or the landlord.
Landlord’s personal use: “This is very difficult to enforce in practice,” says Gottardis. In this case, the court weighs up the tenant’s interests. “The landlord’s interests must outweigh those of the tenant,” says Gottardis. Furthermore, personal use can only be claimed ten years (blocking period) after the purchase of the apartment.
Demolition of the house: If the building authorities have granted permission to demolish the house, the tenant can be given notice. In return, however, the tenant must be provided with an equivalent replacement apartment.
Preventing the improvement of a substandard apartment

Is it possible to agree your own grounds for termination in the rental agreement?

In principle, yes. However, these must be just as important (“important and significant”) as those listed in the Tenancy Act. It is therefore essential to obtain legal expertise.

Termination landlord, apartment, law — Throwing a tenant out the door? That’s not so easy in Austria.

What about termination by the landlord if the apartment is not subject to the MRG?

There are no grounds for termination in the ABGB. There are grounds for termination according to § 1118 ABGB. This provides for three reasons, namely significantly detrimental use, arrears of rent or demolition of the building. In these cases, the landlord can terminate the tenancy agreement subject to a period of notice, which is usually one month.

How must notice be given?

Within the scope of application of the ABGB, the landlord must terminate the tenancy agreement in writing or in court. Within the scope of application of the MRG, however, the landlord can only give notice of termination in court. But beware: All grounds for termination must be asserted in the court notice of termination; this is not possible retrospectively. This means that you should consider carefully in advance whether the grounds for termination asserted are sufficient.

What is a judicial termination?

In this case, the landlord files an application for termination of the tenancy with the competent district court, which is then served on the tenant. If the tenant raises objections within the deadline, the court proceedings begin. If the tenant allows the objection period to elapse, the termination becomes legally binding without any proceedings taking place.

Is it possible to agree with the tenant to terminate the rental agreement?

This is possible. In the case of open-ended tenancy agreements, it is helpful to provide the tenant with an equivalent apartment or to agree a transfer of tenancy rights.

What can the landlord do if the tenant does not move out despite a legally binding notice of termination?

In this case, the landlord must apply for an eviction execution, with a bailiff, locksmith and eviction company. If the tenant is not found, the apartment can be opened and evicted with the help of witnesses. However, the former tenant’s furniture and belongings may not be disposed of. Instead, the bailiff will draw up an inventory in the course of the eviction execution and, if necessary, declare individual items to be worthless, which can then be disposed of. The other items must be temporarily stored at the tenant’s expense.

What can the landlord do if there is a risk that a tenant in a fixed-term tenancy will not want to move out at the end of the fixed term?

Regardless of whether the rental property falls within the scope of the MRG or not, landlords can submit a so-called transfer order (in accordance with Section 567 ZPO) to the court in the last six months before the expiry of the time limit. If the decision on the transfer order becomes legally binding (the tenant has the opportunity to submit objections to the court within four weeks), you would immediately have an eviction order and would not have to conduct additional eviction proceedings. If this risk exists, Gottardis recommends filing a transfer order.