In Austria, the rental market is highly competitive, with apartments often staying on rental platforms for short periods due to high demand and limited supply. This, coupled with brief apartment visits (sometimes with other prospective tenants) and the pressure to secure a place, can lead to hasty contract signings. 

Understanding your withdrawal rights is essential in such a market.

READ ALSO: Renting in Austria – The key things foreign residents need to know

If you signed a rental contract and then realised you don’t want the place, you might feel stuck in your contract. Austria does have really strict rules on contracts, so that “anyone who signs a rental offer makes a binding declaration that they wish to rent the apartment at a certain rate”, Austria’s Tenants Association says.

The real estate agent will also remind you that you cannot leave your contract, as you signed a contractual agreement (“verbindliches Angebot“, which means a binding offer). But what exactly are your rights then?

It’s all about timing

Basically it’s very tricky and almost impossible to back out after signing a rental contact in Austria.

According to Austria’s Chamber of Labour (AK), Austrian law is on your side – but only in a particular case. 

Under a consumer law that applies to all types of contracts, including rental agreements, you are protected against potential pressure from real estate agents and property owners. If you view an apartment and sign an agreement on the same day, you have the right to withdraw from the contract within the week. Furthermore, if the estate agent fails to inform you of your right to cancel, you can withdraw from the contract within one month.

READ ALSO: Shopping in Austria – What are your consumer rights when purchasing goods?

The Tenants Association is more critical and explains that withdrawal is only possible within the “narrow” limits of the Consumer Protection Act. “If you as a consumer submit your contractual declaration on the same day that you viewed the apartment for the first time, you can withdraw from your contractual declaration in writing within one week.”

If the offer was not signed on the day of the very first viewing, though, there is no right of withdrawal in Austria.

READ ALSO: Tenant or landlord – Who pays which costs in Austria?

If you have the right to do so, the most effective way to withdraw from a rental contract is to do it in writing, preferably by a registered letter, as explained by the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). This not only provides a clear record of your intent but also empowers you to navigate the legal aspects of the process with confidence. 

If you signed the offer after the viewing, you don’t have the right to withdraw from the contract you signed. In that case, you could ask for a mutual agreement termination, seeking an amicable termination option with the landlord. Otherwise, you’d be bound by the contract, which in Austria usually means you’d have to stay for one year in the apartment and give three months’ notice before leaving.