Vienna to Raise Fees for Water, Waste and Parking from 2025

Vienna to Raise Fees for Water, Waste and Parking from 2025

APA/THEMENBILD/GEORG HOCHMUTH

 

From next year, Vienna residents will see higher costs for water supply, wastewater, waste disposal and parking tickets, according to a city official.

A single-person household with 40 square metres of living space will face an additional monthly cost of €1.35, while a multi-person household (90 square metres or more) will see an increase of €3.11, said Finance Councillor Peter Hanke of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).

The price of a one-hour parking ticket will also rise from €2.50 to €2.60.

Hanke explained that the latest increase is unavoidable and is being implemented in line with the current valorisation law, which mandates a mid-year review to determine whether the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by 3% or more since the last adjustment, which took place in 2023.

The June CPI for 2024 showed a rate of change of 5.9%, well above the threshold.

“The financial situation is challenging for Vienna, as it is for all other municipalities and federal states,” said Hanke. “Inflation and rising personnel costs are issues we cannot escape, and as Finance Councillor, it is my responsibility to manage a €20 billion budget sensibly and carefully, within the proven framework we have established.”

Hanke also emphasised that waste disposal fees remain relatively affordable compared to those in other Austrian cities and international capitals.

The proposed increases have sparked sharp criticism from the opposition parties, the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Greens, both of which are in opposition to the governing SPÖ-NEOS coalition in Vienna.

“Today marks the realisation of what the Vienna People’s Party has been warning about for months: as of early 2025, the people of Vienna will be hit by a massive wave of fees,” high-ranking ÖVP officials Markus Wölbitsch and Manfred Juraczka said in a joint statement.

They called for an immediate halt to the new charges, citing the federal government’s decision in 2023 to reduce certain fees as an example of what should be done.

Martin Margulies, the Greens’ budget spokesman, was equally critical, saying: “A near six per cent increase in water, wastewater, and waste charges is a slap in the face for those who have to count every penny.”

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