Affordable Housing in Vienna: Initiatives and Programs

With the Housing Construction Offensive 2024+, the city of Vienna is massively advancing social housing. About 16,100 subsidized apartments are already under construction or planning, around 6,100 are being developed through developer competitions. In total, around 22,200 socially sustainable and city-subsidized apartments will be implemented in the coming years.
(Housing Construction Offensive 2024+, wohnberatung-wien.at)

Increased Implementation of SMART Apartments in Vienna

The SMART housing program, initiated in 2012 by the then Housing City Councilor and current Mayor of Vienna Dr. Michael Ludwig, aims to create particularly affordable housing for the population in Vienna. A central element in new construction is the increased implementation of SMART apartments. These are compact, functional living spaces. The advantages are low equity (max. 60 €/m²), well-thought-out layouts, and low construction and user costs. (SMART Housing Program, wohnfonds_wien)

The existing stock is also not neglected: With the program "Gemeindebau(t)", around one billion euros will flow into the renovation of existing municipal buildings by 2025. About 550 million euros of this municipal building billion is intended for renovation projects, the rest for new construction measures and gentle densification. This ensures the quality of living even in older neighborhoods. (Gemeindebau(t), wien.gv.at)

"Temporary Housing – Immediate Program" in Vienna

For people with short-term housing needs, Vienna offers the "Temporary Housing - Immediate Program": modularly constructed lightweight apartments with a maximum usage duration of ten years. About two-thirds of the apartments are allocated through the Vienna Housing Advisory Service, with the remaining third provided as supervised units by the Vienna Social Fund. (Temporary Housing)

Housing‑First Model by neunerhaus

A socially innovative project is neunerhaus, which enables homeless people to receive immediate and unbureaucratic housing allocation with the Housing‑First model—combined with voluntary social support. Since 2012, 585 people have found a new home thanks to neunerhaus, including 253 children. The retention rate is around 93%. (neunerhaus – Housing First in Vienna, neunerhaus.at)

Since May 1, 2025, Vienna has been gradually introducing a new allocation system under the title "New Housing Allocation." It replaces previously rigid requirements with a more flexible model that combines municipal and subsidized housing. (New Housing Allocation, wien.gv.at)

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