Can foreigners buy in Vienna?

EU/EEA citizens buy freely; non-EU buyers require approval from the Vienna Grundverkehrsbehörde unless holding specific residence qualifications.

What is the MRG Richtwert?

The statutory benchmark rent per square metre for Altbau properties, capping base rent and heavily limiting location surcharges.

Austria · EUR

Viennareal estate

Vienna is Austria’s federal capital and Europe’s benchmark for tenancy regulation — Innere Stadt, Döbling and Leopoldstadt do not share a cap rate, and pre-war Altbau falls under strict MRG rent ceilings.

Registry path

Title checked

3D map

3.5%Grunderwerbsteuer, national

1.1%registration on top

3 yrstandard lease term

Reasonfixed-terms need statutory cause

What a purchase really costs

€ 500.000 home in Vienna

Grunderwerbsteuer (3.5%) + registry (3.5%): € 17.500
Notary & Grundbuch (≈0.3%): € 1.500
Cash needed at closing: € 519.000

≈ +3.8% over the price. Austria charges 3.5% Grunderwerbsteuer plus 1.1% registration — uniform nationally (the old family-exemption loopholes were cut). New builds from VAT developers carry 20% VAT on the build share instead. Foreigners (EEA) buy freely; Vienna’s cooperative/gemeindebauten stock is rental-only heritage, which shrinks the sale stock.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

Deposits run one to three months.
Leases commonly run 3 years (fixed-term needs a reason since 2021 reforms).
Richter’s clause: indexation must be in the contract — verbal indexation is void.

Vienna prices off the world’s most livable ranking; Innsbruck off Alpine scarcity; Salzburg off festival tourism.

Neighborhoods

Areas in Vienna

Premium districts with price anchors, walk and transit scores.

Austrian property conveyancing operates via notarial or attorney escrow (Treuhand) with title registered in the Grundbuch. Buyers pay 3.5% Grunderwerbsteuer plus a 1.1% land registry fee.

The Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG) strictly regulates pre-war Altbau apartments under the Richtwert system, setting legally enforceable rent ceilings per square metre. Cash flow models must underwrite statutory limits rather than free-market speculation.

Buy in Vienna Rent in Vienna

FAQ

Can foreigners buy in Vienna?: EU/EEA citizens buy freely; non-EU buyers require approval from the Vienna Grundverkehrsbehörde unless holding specific residence qualifications.
What is the MRG Richtwert?: The statutory benchmark rent per square metre for Altbau properties, capping base rent and heavily limiting location surcharges.

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