Tenant's notice ending a residential lease (Austria)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
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.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant (name with any academic degree)
- Tenant's address
- Landlord (name with any academic degree, or the company name)
- Landlord's postal address (street, then postcode and town on the next line)
- City
- Date
- Address of the flat (with staircase and door number)
- Date of the contract
- Who gives notice: the only tenant, or all tenants together (where there are several, all give notice and sign)
- Kind of lease: open-ended under the MRG, fixed-term (notice after the first year, § 29 Abs 2 MRG) or wholly outside the MRG
- Date of termination
- Contact phone
- IBAN
- Correspondence address
- Compensation for improvements (§ 10 MRG): not part of this letter, or claimed now (required within 14 days, with a list and invoices)
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Can a tenant in Austria give notice on a flat by e-mail?
- No. Under § 33 Abs 1 MRG a tenant gives notice in writing or through the court, and in writing means signed by hand (§ 886 ABGB). A plain e-mail is void (Supreme Court, OGH 3 Ob 188/25f of 17 December 2025) and starts no notice period. A qualified electronic signature, for instance with ID Austria, counts as a signature (§ 4 Abs 1 SVG); the signed file itself must then reach the landlord. Where several tenants are named in the lease, all of them sign. Outside the MRG (full exemption) the lease decides; a signed letter is the safe course there too.
- What notice period applies to a flat let under Austria's MRG?
- The period agreed in the lease. If none is agreed and the rent is payable monthly, it is one month to the last day of a month (§ 560 ZPO). A fixed-term lease can be ended by the tenant after the first year of the agreed term on three months' notice to the end of a month; the lease cannot exclude this right (§ 29 Abs 2 MRG). Notice that arrives too late takes effect on the next possible date, which is why the letter gives notice “or else to the next possible date”. Whether a fixed-term lease outside the MRG can be ended early depends on the lease.
- How can a tenant in Austria prove that the notice arrived in time?
- Notice takes effect only when it reaches the landlord, and posting an ordinary letter does not prove that it arrived (OGH 2 Ob 108/07g). Hand the original over in person and have its receipt confirmed on your copy — the letter has a receipt section for this — or send it by registered post, best with the “eigenhändig” option, and keep the slip. Post it early enough to arrive before the notice period begins; days in the post are not added in your favour.
- What should a tenant in Austria know about improvements and the deposit when moving out?
- If you invested in a flat under the full MRG, for instance in a bathroom, heating or kitchen, you must claim compensation under § 10 MRG in writing, with the invoices, within 14 days of the notice reaching the landlord, or the claim is lost. The letter can do this at the same time; enclose a list with the amounts and the invoices. The deposit must be repaid with its interest without delay after the tenancy ends, less any justified claims of the landlord (§ 16b MRG).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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