When is key money forbidden?
The Tenancy Act (MRG) voids agreements that make you pay the previous tenant or the landlord just for giving up the flat or handing it to you. Any other payment without an equivalent return is forbidden too. This applies to main leases and sublets alike.
- Money for 'the key', for the previous tenant passing the flat on, or for being picked over other applicants.
- A price for a kitchen or furniture far above what it is worth today.
- A deposit above six gross monthly rents, an excessive commission or fees for drawing up the lease.
What may be charged?
- A fair price for things you really take over, such as a kitchen, a built-in wardrobe or furniture. Their current value counts, not the price new.
- Compensation for improvements the previous tenant would be reimbursed for by law, for example a new heating system or a renovated bathroom.
- The financing contribution of a subsidised or cooperative flat, most of which you get back when you move out.
- A genuine rent prepayment that is set off against later rents.
Where does the ban not apply?
The ban sits in a part of the Tenancy Act that only applies in full, so above all to old buildings and, through the Non-Profit Housing Act, to cooperative flats. It does not cover privately financed new-build flats with a building permit after 1953, rented owner-occupied flats in buildings from after 1945, or houses with at most two flats. There only general civil law is left, so get advice from the Arbeiterkammer or a tenants' organisation before you pay.
How to get forbidden key money back
- Collect evidence: a receipt or bank statement, who received the money, photos of the things you took over and the names of witnesses.
- Ask for the money back in writing, for example with the Arbeiterkammer's template letter.
- If the recipient does not pay, apply to the City of Vienna's Schlichtungsstelle. It is free, and you get the overpaid amount back plus 4 % interest from the day you paid.
- You have to prove that you paid and to whom. The recipient has to prove that what you got was worth as much.
- You have ten years from the payment. Without a lease, the court is responsible instead of the Schlichtungsstelle.
Tips before you pay
- Ask for a list of exactly what you are paying for, and look at the items at the viewing.
- Pay by bank transfer or get a receipt with name, amount and date. Key money without proof is hard to get back.
- Compare the price with used kitchens and furniture on classifieds. A ten-year-old kitchen is rarely worth more than a fraction of its price new.
- A high Ablöse demanded without a receipt is a warning sign for the whole flat.