To anybody out there renting their flat from a professional landlord, ie. a company, it will be good news to hear that the OGH (uppermost court of Austria) has ruled to your advantage in case of a few crucial points:

- repairwork to retain the quality of the flat has to be paid for by the landlord (ie. locks in the front doors, the warm water heater (Therme), etc.)
- work in the public parts of the building cannot be counted into the “Betriebskosten” (that part of the rent that goes to heating, water, trash, etc.)
- unless you ran down the flat by a severe degree, it is not necessary anymore to paint the flat before leaving
- if gas or electricy is cut off for a while, you can lower the rent you have to pay
- you don’t have to let the landlord enter your flat unless there is a crucial reason

All of these have been part of renting-contracts. You can even sue your landlord for money back as far as 30 years. But get some advice by official places before (e.g. the Arbeiterkammer, the lawyer of your trust or one of your friends, who has studied law for a year but then decided to become a full time DJ. Maybe better focus on the first two.)

Some people say, that now the landlords will raise the rent to accomodate for the increase of costs they might have.