Vienna sets bonus-point system for allocating municipal and subsidized housing, taking effect in September 2026

A single ticket for two housing segments

Under the new rules, applicants who meet the general access criteria will receive a 'Wiener Wohn-Ticket' that serves both municipal housing (Gemeindewohnungen) and subsidized housing. As APA reported: "Zukünftig genügt ein einziges 'Wohn-Ticket', um sich für eine dieser Wohnformen vormerken zu lassen." Pre-registration opens on 14 July, and the transition period for existing ticket holders runs until the autumn launch.

The catalogue distinguishes between priority categories worth up to 100 points and a long tail of supporting criteria worth between 20 and 75 points. Domestic violence, chronic mobility restriction in an unsuitable dwelling, and home care of a household member with care level 3 or above all fall into the highest category of up to 100 points each.

The 100-point categories: violence, mobility, home care

Single parents and applicants facing imminent loss of their current housing can receive up to 80 points. Persons in supported or assisted living situations are awarded up to 75 points, and applicants seeking to move into a smaller apartment can receive up to 70 points, according to the published values.

Separation or divorce, social need, the documented housing cost portion of housing assistance or minimum benefit, current overcrowding, and current dwellings without a bathroom or toilet inside the unit are each worth up to 50 points. Young applicants defined as 'Jungwiener' — under 25 years old, without their own main rental contract and with a future household of at most two persons — receive 50 points.

Mid-range criteria: single parents, separation, overcrowding

The 'Wien-Bonus' continues to reward applicants with at least six years of continuous main residence in Vienna, awarding up to 45 points, the same maximum as long waiting time for applicants who have actively searched but not yet reached a first ranking. Pregnant applicants or partners receive 30 points, and tenants aged 65 or older moving out of a municipal apartment receive up to 30 points.

At the lower end, education and training with a corresponding hourly extent adds 20 points. As the official summary stated: "Kernstück sei ein faires und transparentes Bonuspunkte-System, das den Zugang zu Gemeindewohnungen und geförderten Wohnungen neu regelt." The catalogue explicitly allows the bonus points to be combined with each other, so a single applicant can accumulate points across several categories.

Lower-tier points: residence, waiting time, education

Selma Arapović, NEOS Wien Klubobfrau and Wohnbausprecherin, welcomed the new catalogue in a statement. She said: "Das neue Bonuspunktesystem orientiert sich eng an den realen Lebensumständen der Wienerinnen und Wiener bei der Wohnungsvergabe." She added that combining the criteria creates a transparent and flexible model: "Durch die Kombination von Kriterien werde ein transparentes und flexibles Modell geschaffen."

NEOS welcomes the catalogue

Hanel-Torsch framed the reform as part of a longer-term effort to direct affordable housing where it is most needed. APA quoted her as saying: "Das einzigartige Wiener Wohnbaumodell stellt die Weichen in die Zukunft. Die Wohnungsvergabe NEU ist die größte Weiterentwicklung unseres Vergabesystems seit Jahrzehnten." She added that the ÖVP and Grüne had backed the legal basis in the Vienna Landtag: "Es freut mich, dass dieser Weg auch im Wiener Landtag breite Zustimmung gefunden hat – die Unterstützung der ÖVP und der Grünen bestätigt uns in diesem wichtigen Reformschritt."

The transition rules mean that holders of an existing Wiener Wohn-Ticket can continue to search for municipal and subsidized housing in the usual way until autumn. Once the new system is live, all allocations will run exclusively through it, and rankings will be determined by the published point values, according to the announcement.

City officials have signalled that the point catalogue will be the central ranking instrument, replacing the older criteria-based test with a more granular assessment of housing need, life circumstances and length of residence. The published values run from 20 points for ongoing education or training up to 100 points for the most acute categories, including domestic violence, severe mobility restriction, and home-based care from care level 3.

Applicants with separation or divorce, social need, an apartment without bathroom or WC inside the unit, current overcrowding, housing-assistance or minimum-benefit recipients with a documented housing cost portion, and 'Jungwiener' applicants each receive up to 50 points, the catalogue shows. A further 30 points are awarded for a current pregnancy of the applicant or partner.

How applicants are ranked

The reform's stated aim is to direct subsidized housing to households facing the most acute pressure, while still rewarding long-standing Viennese residency and active search effort. The single 'Wohn-Ticket' is meant to reduce administrative friction between the municipal and subsidized segments, which until now operated as parallel queues.

For applicants, the practical effect will be that an initial Wohn-Ticket confirms access, after which additional bonus points determine the order in which they are ranked for specific apartments. Existing ticket holders keep their position in the queue but, from 22 September 2026, will be assessed under the new combined point catalogue.

The announcement does not change income limits or general access criteria for municipal or subsidized housing. It sets out only the additional ranking mechanism that will sort applicants once they are eligible, and applies uniformly across both Gemeindebau and subsidized dwellings.

Hanel-Torsch's office told APA the published values are intended as a transparent reference for applicants, advisers and the public, so that the reasons for any individual ranking can be reconstructed from the documented criteria. NEOS and the SPÖ both publicly endorsed the catalogue, with ÖVP and Grüne voting for the legal basis in the Landtag.

Vienna has positioned the reform as a generational update, replacing a system that had grown increasingly rigid with one that can absorb new categories by adjusting point values. Officials did not announce a separate review schedule for the catalogue in this announcement, beyond the September 2026 launch and the 14 July pre-registration opening.