The difference in one sentence
Subsidised means the city financed the building with cheap loans or grants, and in return the rent and the allocation are regulated. Privately financed means the developer built without the housing subsidy, and the flat is let or sold at market price. Subsidised flats are mostly built by non-profit housing associations, sometimes by commercial developers too.
- Subsidised flat: income limit, duty to make it your main residence, capped rent, often a financing contribution you mostly get back, mostly open-ended.
- Privately financed flat: no income limit and no Wohn-Ticket; in private new builds the rent can be agreed freely and fixed terms are common.
Who can move into a subsidised flat?
According to the City of Vienna, these conditions apply to subsidised rental flats:
- You can register from 17 and move in from 18.
- The net annual income of everyone moving in is, until 31 December 2026, at most €61,280 for one person, €91,320 for two, €103,330 for three and €115,360 for four, plus €6,730 for each additional person.
- There is an urgent need for housing.
- After moving in you register your main residence there. The old address may not stay as a secondary residence either, and within six months you have to show the developer that you have given up the old flat.
- For flats allocated by Wohnberatung Wien you also need a Wiener Wohn-Ticket, with two years' continuous main residence in Vienna and a qualifying residence status.
Two ways in: Wohnberatung or the developer
In every subsidised new build the city may allocate part of the flats, about a third to a half according to Wohnberatung Wien. Wohnberatung allocates them through the Wohn-Ticket by bonus points, as with a council flat. The developer allocates the rest itself, often by date of registration, and still checks income and main residence.
So register in parallel: with a Wohn-Ticket at Wohnberatung and directly with several housing associations building in your preferred district. Projects in planning and under construction are listed in Wohnberatung Wien's flat search, with developer, move-in date, own funds and rent per m².
Own funds, the financing contribution and the city's loan
In many subsidised flats you pay a financing contribution when you move in (Finanzierungsbeitrag, also called Eigenmittel), a share of the building and land costs. You get it back within eight weeks of moving out, minus 1 % for every year since the building was completed. For SMART flats it is capped at €60 per m², and according to Wohnservice Wien their rents are comparable to council flats. About half of the SMART flats are allocated by Wohnberatung Wien.
If you don't have the money, the city can advance part of the building and land contributions with an Eigenmittelersatzdarlehen. For one person the income limit for it is, until the end of 2026, between €28,450 and €47,510 net a year depending on the subsidy level. You repay it every six months over 10 to 25 years, and if you move out earlier the rest is due. You have to apply within three months of signing the contract.
What do they cost by comparison?
An example from Liesing: for Mona's Liesing (In der Wiesen 26–32, expected completion 2029) the non-profit developers expect about €10 and €12 per m² gross for SMART and other subsidised flats (the developer's figure, as of October 2026), with a financing contribution of about €60 or €100 per m².
On the private market the median gross rent is currently €22.1 per m² for all of Vienna, €25.4/m² in Donaustadt and €19.0/m² in Liesing (FlatDrop data from listings from the last 30 days, as of 30 October 2026). These figures include privately financed new builds as well as old-building flats. All districts are under rent by district.
Privately financed: what applies to you
If a private developer builds without a subsidy, the rented flat usually only falls under the partial scope of the MRG: the rent can be agreed freely, but a fixed term must still run at least three years, and since 2026 five if a company lets the flat. The deposit is usually three months' rent, and since July 2023 the commission is usually paid by whoever hired the agent.
Non-profit housing associations sometimes build without a subsidy too. If you rent directly from them, the Arbeiterkammer says the Non-Profit Housing Act (WGG) still applies with a cost-based rent; only the subsidy's conditions such as the income limit fall away. Privately financed cooperative flats often ask a higher financing contribution in return.
New builds in Donaustadt and Liesing
Donaustadt and Liesing have large new residential areas going up right now, often with subsidised and privately financed flats in the same quarter. In Donaustadt, Seestadt Aspern and the new quarter at Oberes Hausfeld are going up along the U2. In Liesing, the In der Wiesen area around the U6 station Erlaaer Straße is growing by about 1,600 new flats, according to WBV-GPA. Not far away stands Wohnpark Alterlaa, a large non-profit estate from the 1970s and 1980s.
Privately financed new flats from these areas end up on the big portals, among the flats online now. Subsidised flats rarely appear there, at most re-lets or flats available now from the housing associations. FlatDrop flags listings that require a Wohn-Ticket or ask a very high financing contribution.
How to tell from the listing
- "Gefördert", "Wohnbauförderung", "SMART" or "Superförderung" in the text plus an income limit: a subsidised flat.
- "Finanzierungsbeitrag", "Eigenmittel" or "Genossenschaftsanteil" point to a non-profit housing association, subsidised or not.
- "Freifinanziert", "Erstbezug" (first occupancy) and a deposit instead of own funds: usually a private new build.
- If the ad says nothing, ask. Whether a flat is subsidised decides which rules apply to the rent and the contract.