Questionnaire Text

Questionnaire form view entire document:  text  image

8. Tenure status for the use of the housing unit:
[] Building proprietor's own use
[] Apartment proprietor's own use (owner-occupied apartment)
[] Rent (Hauptmiete)

[] Subject to the Rent Act (Mietrechtsgesetz) (or by agreement)
[] Subject to the Act for Non-Profit Building Associations -- also housing rented from co-operative
[] Official dwelling or dwelling as income in kind

[] Other tenure status (Sub-tenancy, use without payment by relatives of the owner of the house)

Questionnaire instructions view entire document:  text  image

8, Tenancy status for the use of the housing unit:
House proprietor's own use includes:
a) dwellings in single family homes and two family homes as well as farm houses used by the owner themselves or his household members;


[p. 85]

b) dwellings used by the house owner and situated in a residential building, even if they have tenancy status for bookkeeping purposes.


Apartment owner's own use (owner-occupied apartment) should be marked if a person holds a joint title to the property and has the exclusive right to use a dwelling. There must be a contract (e.g. with the building association or the cooperative) based on the Act for Owner-Occupied Housing - regardless of whether there is an entry in the real estate register or not; if such an apartment ownership contract is pending the box should also be marked.

According to the Rent Act, main rent means that rent based on certain apartment category, an adequate rent or a rent based on the regulations of the Housing Promotion acts is present. Community residences, for example, are considered to be rented. Also included here are tenancies with freely agreed rents that are nevertheless subject to the Rent Act (e.g. rental dwellings in single family or two family homes).
Main rent subject to the Act for Non-Profit Building Associations is present if a dwelling is leased from a non-profit building association (cooperative) based on a rental or license contract.

Official residence or residence as an income in kind: an official residence is a supplementary benefit not included in the salary, while the use of a residence as an income in kind is part of the salary (e.g. in farming).

Other legal relationship: counted there are for example, dwellings rented for a limited period of time (up to 6 months), secondary dwellings rented for recreational purposes and dwellings for retired farmers.

Enumerator guideline:
A main rental dwelling should always be entered as a "main rent according to the Rent Act" in cases of doubt. Also main tenants whose rent is freely agreed upon, mostly pay an adequate rent according to the Rent Act.
Only the cases explicitly named to be handled differently in the housing unit questionnaire or in the instructions (see above) should be entered differently. e.g. rent according to the Non-Profit Building Association Act, subleasers, etc.

Housing units in possession of an employer are only an "official residence" for the employee if their lease represents a supplementary benefit not included in the salary. The use is free or the fee paid lies considerably below a comparable "rent."

Purpose of the question:
This question serves the basic assessment of the living situation of the population, concrete for many housing and social policy decisions, like ownership assistance measures or for the support of certain population groups.

Austria has a high rate of home and housing unit ownership. In all states - excluding Vienna -the portion of house and housing unit ownership at the main residence housing unit was over 50% in 1981. (This is connected with the low residence mobility in Austria.)