Leases, notice, deposits and handover records in Austria
Which rules apply to a flat in Austria depends on whether the Tenancy Act (MRG) applies in full, in part or not at all (§ 1 MRG). That decides the rent ceiling, the minimum fixed term, protection against notice, the deposit and subletting, so every lease asks it first. A fixed term must be agreed in writing and, since 1 January 2026, last at least five years where the landlord lets as a business and three otherwise (§ 29(1)(3) MRG); if anything is missing, the fixed-term lease counts as open-ended. After the first year the tenant may leave on three months' notice to the end of a month (§ 29(2) MRG). The open-ended lease sets out the rent as § 15 MRG divides it: main rent, service charges and VAT.
The documents are written in German, under Austrian law, and each one's page describes it in English. Under the MRG the tenant gives notice in writing (§ 33(1) MRG), signed by hand or with a qualified electronic signature; a plain e-mail is void (Supreme Court, 3 Ob 188/25f). Without an agreed period it is one month to the end of a month (§ 560 ZPO). The tenant's notice can also claim compensation for improvements under § 10 MRG, which is lost unless claimed in writing with the invoices within 14 days of the notice arriving. A landlord ends an MRG lease only through the district court on a ground in § 30 MRG, and without one only where the Act does not apply (landlord's notice).
The move-in record lists known defects with the right to reduce the rent reserved, and the move-out record the state of the flat on its return; the landlord's claims for damage lapse unless taken to court or set off against the deposit within a year (§ 1111 ABGB). Under the MRG the deposit comes back without delay with its interest (§ 16b MRG; deposit demand). While a defect lasts the rent is reduced by law (§ 1096 ABGB; notice of defect). Disputes over rent, deposit or service charges go to the municipal conciliation board where there is one, otherwise to the district court (application). None of it is legal advice.
The documents
16 forms available to fill out or download.
Request to inspect receipts, and objections to a service-charge statement (Austria)
The letter to an Austrian landlord or property manager when the annual statement of Betriebskosten (service charges) raises questions: it asks to inspect the invoices, contracts and the split between flats, lists the items you dispute now, asks for a corrected statement and pays any disputed balance only under reservation. Where the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) applies in full, the statement is due by 30 June and the receipts must be open to inspection (§ 21 Abs 3 MRG). In German.
Tenant's application to the conciliation board or district court under § 37 MRG (Austria)
The tenant's application in Austria's non-contentious tenancy procedure: to have the main rent checked, the deposit repaid, the service-charge statement reviewed or repairs carried out (§ 37 Abs 1 of the Austrian Tenancy Act, MRG) — with the parties, the flat, the request, the grounds and the enclosures. Where the municipality has a conciliation board (Schlichtungsstelle), it is approached first (§ 39 MRG); elsewhere the district court for the flat. Vienna prescribes no form; if your municipality offers its own, you may use it free of charge instead. Signed by all tenants. In German.
Claim for compensation for a tenant's improvements under § 10 MRG (Austria)
The letter a tenant in Austria sends on leaving a rented flat to claim compensation for improvements — a new bathroom, heating, electricity, gas or water pipes — that remain effective and useful beyond the tenancy (§ 10 of the Austrian Tenancy Act, MRG). The claim must be made in writing with the invoices, within 14 days of the tenant's own notice reaching the landlord, or it is lost. The letter lists the work, the costs and the amount claimed after depreciation. In German; print, sign and send by registered post.
Landlord's demand for an index-linked rent increase (Austria)
The landlord's written demand for a higher rent under the index clause of a lease in Austria: the clause, the index and its values, the percentage, the old and new main rent (Hauptmietzins) and the rent date from which it applies. Since 2026, rents under the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG), in full or in part, may be adjusted only once a year on 1 April, within the limits of the Rent Indexation Act (MieWeG); under the full MRG the demand must reach the tenant at least 14 days before the rent date and never applies retroactively (§ 16 Abs 9 MRG). Also for leases outside the MRG. In German.
Landlord's notice ending a lease wholly exempt from the MRG (Austria)
The landlord's notice ending the lease of a flat where Austria's Tenancy Act (MRG) does not apply at all (full exemption, § 1 Abs 2 MRG), for instance in a house with no more than two separate flats: out of court and without reasons, on the agreed or else the statutory period (§ 560 ZPO), or else to the next possible date, with a receipt section. Important: where the MRG applies in full or in part, a landlord can give notice only through the court, on the form “Gerichtliche Aufkündigung” (ZPForm 102), which the Austrian justice system provides free on justizonline.gv.at — this letter is not for that case. In German.
Tenant's claim to recover increases under an invalid index clause (Austria)
The tenant's letter in Austria reclaiming rent increases charged under an invalid index clause in the lease: the clause, the grounds, the period, the amount, a deadline and the account; further increases are paid only under reservation. Note: the case law is still moving — the Supreme Court (OGH) held clauses invalid in 2023, took a different view in 2025 (10 Ob 15/25s) and ruled again in 2026 (6 Ob 34/26g); for leases signed before 2026 the rent indexation act (MieWeG) limits refunds to five years. Have the clause checked before sending, for instance by the tenants' association or the Chamber of Labour; the letter only asserts the claim. In German.
Handover record for a flat on moving out (Austria)
The record of handing a rented flat in Austria back at the end of the tenancy, filled in and signed together: the date of return, meter readings for the final bills, keys returned, the condition of each room, the damage the landlord points out beside the tenant's view of it, any agreements, the deposit and the account for its return. The date starts the clocks under the Austrian Civil Code: one year for the landlord's damage claims (§ 1111 ABGB), six months for the tenant's outlays (§ 1097 ABGB). In German.
Subletting a flat: request for the landlord's consent, or notice to the landlord (Austria)
The letter to the landlord when you sublet part of a rented flat in Austria: a request for consent where the lease requires it, or a notice where the lease does not forbid subletting. It names the rooms, the period, the subtenant, the sublet rent and the number of occupants, and relies on § 11 of the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) — where a ban binds only for an important reason — or on § 1098 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB). It does not cover short lets to changing guests through platforms. In German.
Landlord's reminder of rent arrears (Austria)
The landlord's formal reminder to a tenant in Austria who is behind with the rent: the amounts owed for each month, the total, a deadline and the account. Under the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) a court notice to quit for arrears (§ 30 Abs 2 Z 1 MRG), like ending the lease under § 1118 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB), requires a reminder after the rent fell due that states the arrears specifically. You choose which step follows if the tenant does not pay. The court notice itself is not a letter but is filed at the district court — this is the reminder that must come first. In German.
Sublease of a room in a shared flat (Austria)
The agreement by which the main tenant of a flat in Austria sublets a room in the shared flat: the room and shared use of kitchen and bathroom, rent with a flat-rate charge for costs, the deposit under § 16b of the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG), house rules and notice. It asks how far the MRG applies, because the subtenant's protection turns on it: under full or partial application the main tenant too can end the sublease only through the court, with the ground of § 30 Abs 2 Z 12 MRG, and under full application the sublet rent is capped (§ 26 MRG). Open-ended or with an end date. In German, to print and sign.
Letter demanding the return of a tenancy deposit (Austria)
The letter a tenant in Austria sends after moving out to get the deposit back. It states the end of the tenancy, the return of the flat and the deposit, sets a deadline to repay it with interest — or to hand back the savings book or bank guarantee — asks for a clear account of anything kept back, and names the next step. Where the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) applies, § 16b MRG requires repayment without delay, enforceable through the Schlichtungsstelle or the district court. In German, for every Land.
Notice of a defect in a rented flat, with rent reduction and a demand for repair (Austria)
The letter a tenant in Austria uses to report a defect in the flat — mould, a broken boiler, water damage, leaking windows — and to demand repair by a date. It states that the rent is reduced by law for as long and as far as use is impaired (§ 1096 of the Austrian Civil Code, ABGB) and lets you choose: keep paying in full under an express reservation to reclaim, the safer course, or pay the reduced rent. You enter the percentage yourself. In German, for every Land; print, sign and send by registered post.
Open-ended lease of a flat (Austria)
An open-ended main lease of a flat under Austrian law, as it stands in 2026. It asks first whether the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) applies in full, in part or not at all (§ 1 MRG) and sets notice accordingly: the tenant gives one month's notice to the end of a month, in writing and signed; under full or partial application the landlord can end the lease only through the court and for a serious ground (§§ 30, 33 MRG), and without a reason only where the Act does not apply. With the main rent, operating costs and VAT, indexation under the Austrian rent indexation act (MieWeG) and the deposit under § 16b MRG. In German, to print and sign.
Fixed-term lease of a flat (Austria)
A fixed-term main lease of a flat under Austrian law, as it stands in 2026. It asks first how far the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) applies — in full, in part or not at all — and whether the landlord lets as a business: since 1 January 2026 a business landlord must agree at least five years, any other landlord three (§ 29 MRG), and a shorter term makes the lease open-ended. With the main rent, operating costs and VAT, indexation under the Austrian rent indexation act (MieWeG), the deposit under § 16b MRG and the tenant's right to leave after the first year. In German, to print and sign by both parties.
Tenant's notice ending a residential lease (Austria)
The written notice by which a tenant in Austria ends the lease of a flat under § 33 Abs 1 of the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG): an open-ended lease on the agreed or else the statutory period (§ 560 ZPO), a fixed-term lease after its first year on three months to the end of a month (§ 29 Abs 2 MRG), or a lease outside the MRG altogether. It gives notice to the chosen date or else the next possible one, asks for a handover date and the deposit, can claim compensation for improvements (§ 10 MRG) and carries a receipt section. Signed by hand by every tenant, or with a qualified electronic signature — a plain e-mail is void. In German.
Handover record for a flat on moving in, with inventory and key list (Austria)
The record a landlord and tenant in Austria fill in and sign together when the tenant moves in: meter readings, keys handed over, the condition of each room, the equipment (bath, WC, heating, boiler) that sets the category and the reference rent under the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG), known defects noted with rent reduction reserved under the Austrian Civil Code (§ 1096 ABGB), the inventory, the energy certificate and the deposit. It reminds both sides to register within three days. In German, for every Land.
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