Limited-profit housing in Vienna as a role model for the Czech Republic

On 4 March 2025, a nine-member delegation from the Czech Ministry of Regional Development visited Vienna to discuss the city's model of limited-profit and sustainable housing with local experts.

The delegation visited two of Vienna's flagship projects, the urban development areas Nordbahnviertel and Sonnwendviertel.

The Czech Ministry of Regional Development is currently finalising a draft for the establishment of statutory regulations for limited-profit housing associations (LPHAs), based on the Austrian model. The experts from the Czech Ministry visited the city to gain both expertise and an overview of Vienna's flagship projects of limited-profit and sustainable housing. Their aim was to learn as much as possible about the Vienna's approach, as well as problems, challenges and procedures for the preparation of new construction projects.

Limited-profit housing associations in Vienna

The meeting between the Czech officials and experts from the City of Vienna's Municipal Department for Housing Promotion (MA 50) focused on legislation and regulations and their impact on limited-profit housing associations in practise. The LPHA specifics in Vienna compared to other Austrian federal provinces and the economic model of social housing in Vienna were then discussed.

Other topics included the public founding tools used by LPHA in Vienna and the involvement of banks and private investors in their development. Spatial planning instruments of the City of Vienna were also presented.

Nordbahnviertel and Sonnwendviertel as Vienna's best practice urban development areas

After the expert exchange, the Czech delegation received an overview of the limited-profit housing in Vienna on site. They first visited the Nordbahnviertel in Vienna's second district and afterwards the Sonnwendviertel in the tenth district. These two modern and sustainably planned urban development areas offer the people of Vienna a liveable urban environment with a good mix of housing, green areas and infrastructure. The employees of the Czech Ministry of Regional Development were impressed by the information and the two urban development areas.