Housing in Innsbruck: alarming numbers and urgent need for action!

Housing in Innsbruck: alarming numbers and urgent need for action!

Innsbruck, Österreich - In Tyrol, homelessness is an increasing problem that not only affects individual fates, but also has challenges in society as a whole. Current figures show that a total of 1,537 people were homeless or homeless in Tyrol in Tyrol in 2022, whereby Innsbruck in particular is the hotspot of this topic. This reports Orf tirol . The situation has now brought so far that over 100 women and 90 children in the region are already registered as homeless and the emergency sleeping points are often overloaded, so that many people have to be rejected.

like the Alternative list also determined, rents in Innsbruck have increased by almost 60 % in the past 20 years, which increasingly makes homelessness a problem of the middle class. The price increase affects the entire population and ensures that low earners in particular are heavily burdened. On average, they spend up to 38 % of their income for living, while high earners only pay between 7 and 12 %.

an economic challenge

The effects of homelessness go beyond the individual level. The statistics Austria emphasize that this problem causes significant economic costs. The integration into the labor market and the physical and mental health of those affected suffer considerably. A worrying fact is the shortened life expectancy of homeless people, which is an average of around 20 years lower than that of the general population.

The city of Innsbruck decided in 2022, but politics is still responsible for implementing effective measures to create funded living space. Despite the announcements, many of the planned initiatives to combat homelessness and speculation with living space are available. There is a significant vacancy in Innsbruck - over 8 % of the apartments are empty, especially for newly built objects.

political measures and future prospects

The social challenges cannot be ignored. With the investment of 75,000 euros, Tyrol has taken a first step for emergency apartments for women. But many social associations demand more affordable living space. Initiatives to prevent delogings and the introduction of rent aid were progress, but not enough to advance the urgently needed reform of tenancy law.

In particular, the political framework favor speculative construction projects, which further promotes price increases on the housing market. The mobilization of vacancies and the review of existing buildings offers a way to relax the situation. Ideas such as the introduction of a vacancy tax and the socialization of real estate could, for example, provide solutions.