There are a number of problems in the housing market. Excessive rents, landlords who do not comply with the law, discrimination when looking for accommodation. The problems in the housing market are complex and the amounts of mistreatment are significant.
It is precisely these mistreatments that we want to draw attention to in our campaign for affordable housing. A particular focus is on campaigning for easier access to subsidized housing, especially for students who are new to Vienna.
The ÖH Uni Wien is therefore calling on the City of Vienna to simplify access to the Vienna Housing Ticket and to make housing subsidies available to students. We are also calling for the reintroduction of state subsidies for student housing.
Here you can find our upcoming events:
How do we create affordable housing? What could a future look like in which everyone has access to inexpensive and high-quality housing? Who gets a say, and why do we need more democratization in the housing sector? These questions will be addressed in the lecture by Andrej Holm. Andrej Holm is a social scientist specializing in urban renewal, gentrification, and housing policy. He currently teaches, among other places, at Humboldt University of Berlin and TU Vienna.
When: March 16, 6:30 p.m.
Where: SR 7, Kolingasse 14–16
Language: German
Housing is becoming increasingly scarce—especially for people without high incomes. Students are also strongly affected: anyone moving to Vienna to start their studies often faces the major challenge of finding affordable and suitable housing. Rising housing costs as part of the cost-of-living crisis are further exacerbating the situation. Students therefore have to ask themselves many questions before they can even begin their studies:
How do I find suitable housing?
What options do I have as a student in Vienna?
And what do I need to know legally?
These and other questions will be answered by Walter Rosifka.
Walter Rosifka is head of the Housing Team at the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK Wien) as well as an expert in housing policy and tenancy law. In a one-hour input, he will provide an overview of housing in Vienna for students and explain important fundamentals of tenancy law. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and join the discussion.
When: March 19, 6:30 p.m.
Where: NIG, Lecture Hall 3, Ground Floor
Language: German
Whether you have questions about apartment hunting or student housing arrangements such as co-tenancy or subletting: come by on March 25 and ask your questions. In the lecture with housing law expert Thomas Kanicki from MieterHilfe Mobil, the focus will be on the most important legal fundamentals of housing: dealing with agents, rental contracts, student housing forms, and how you can recognize whether your rent is too high and may potentially be reduced.
When: March 25, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Where: Lecture Hall 5A Geography, NIG 5th Floor, A0518
Language: German
Vienna is internationally recognized as a model city for affordable housing. Berlin, on the other hand, is synonymous with rising rents, resistance, and radical political demands such as the expropriation of large real estate corporations. But what is the truth? And what can we learn from each other?
On April 13, 2026, the Austrian Students' Union at the University of Vienna (ÖH Uni Wien) invites you to the panel discussion "Housing is Political"—a direct comparison of two cities that approach the issue of affordable housing in different ways.
Our guests are:
• Sofie Waltl (University of Cambridge), economist specializing in the housing market and inequality
• Tobias (Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.), activist from Berlin
Together we will discuss:
Is Vienna truly the "city of affordable housing"?
What went wrong in Berlin—and what has resulted from it?
Which political instruments work (rent caps, rent control, etc.)?
How can we exert pressure to bring about real change?
When? April 13, 2026, from 6:30 p.m.
Where? University of Vienna, NIG Lecture Hall 3, Ground Floor
Come along, bring your questions and join the discussion, because affordable housing affects us all!
The event will be in German.