30,000 euros per month for empty asylum quarters
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The Ministry of the Interior has now broken its silence on the issue of refugee accommodation in Kobenzl. Although the rental agreement is not disclosed, the Ministry of the Interior admits that there was time pressure when signing the contract during the 2015 refugee crisis. A total of 810,000 euros will be paid to the owners by 2024.
There is no interview from Vienna, but at least a written statement why the federal government has been paying rent for the accommodation for years, even though the house is apparently uninhabitable.
The signing of the contract in 2015 may not have gone well for the federal government. According to the Ministry of the Interior, a waiver of termination until 2026 was agreed at the time – a, as it is said, non-negotiable condition for the use of the hotel as refugee accommodation.
The federal government pays 30,000 euros per month for an empty house
Since then, the federal government has been paying rent – currently that’s 30,000 euros a month, even though no refugees live in Kobenzl. The house is uninhabitable. It would cost millions to restore it to usable condition, according to the Home Office. It would be cheaper to continue paying rent and simply let the contract expire. Everything else is not economical, according to a written statement.
The Federal Agency for Care and Support Services (BBU) confirmed on Thursday to ORF Salzburg on the phone that the former Hotel am Gaisberg was impossible to live in in its current state. All refugee quarters that are somehow habitable have been renovated, set up immediately and reactivated.
30,000 euros per month for empty asylum quarters
Ministry refers to comparison with the landlord
However, the Kobenzl is so desolate that it is also a health hazard to accommodate someone there. Of course, many may wonder why the landlord does not have to take care of the maintenance.
“The contractual regulations were complex with regard to maintenance obligations and it is disputed whether they are subject to the Tenancy Act,” says the Ministry of the Interior. This has agreed on a settlement with the landlord, after which the contract now “only” runs until 2024 and the rent has been reduced.