Dulux Study Tour 2026

Dulux Study Tour - Days 7 and 8

By Ksenia Totoeva

Over the last decade or so, Vienna has been climbing the world liveability rankings, topping the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index in 2018 and holding near the summit ever since. While many factors feed into those rankings, one stands out above the rest: the quality and affordability of housing.

Having spent time in the city about 20 years ago, I was keen to turn my back on the 19th century splendour of the Ringstrasse and explore what actually makes Viennese housing so liveable.

Our first day was spent cycling from the inner city to the outer suburbs with Felicitas Konečny, our architectural guide. By the curious twist of urban regeneration, this meant experiencing the city’s architectural evolution in reverse – newer redevelopment projects near the centre; older, experimental public housing from the socialist Red Vienna period (1918–1934) out toward the periphery. Good design was everywhere: thoughtful ground planes, sensitive massing, functional apartment layouts, integrated landscaping. But, here’s the thing: none of it was design I hadn’t already encountered in Australia. The difference is that this housing is truly affordable, and that’s where the comparison becomes illuminating.

In a city of just over 2 million people, Vienna has one million apartments. Of those, 220,000 are owned and maintained directly by the City of Vienna, and a further 200,000 are subsidised affordable apartments developed and managed by a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit organisations under effective rent controls. Around 5,000 to 6,000 new units are delivered every year.

A reasonable question is: how can this possibly stack up financially for private developers? The Viennese answer is straightforward, if politically bold: the city made the rules and developers adjusted their models accordingly. When land speculation in the late 2010s began threatening affordability, Vienna introduced a zoning rule requiring any new private residential development over 5,000 square metres or 150 units to include two-thirds subsidised affordable housing. It sounds radical. All it took was political will.

What does "affordable" actually mean in Vienna? It’s nothing like the Australian model, where "affordable housing" typically means rent at 75–80 percent of the market rate for tenants with incomes below the median. In Vienna, a single person earning up to around €60,000 net annually – or a family of four earning up to €115,000 – qualifies for a subsidised apartment. Given that Austria’s median full-time net income sits around €37,000, this generous ceiling captures more than 75 percent of Vienna’s population, including many middle-income earners.

Under Vienna’s SMART housing program, eligible residents pay an equity buy-in of between €2,400 and €6,000, then rent for between €300 per month for a 40 square-metre studio, up to €750 per month for a 100 square-metre four-bedroom apartment. For someone on the median income, that studio represents less than 10 percent of annual earnings spent on housing.

Ask yourself: when have you last heard of anyone in Australia spending less than 10 percent of their income on housing? Then ask what you would do differently if you weren’t spending the typical 30–40 percent on a mortgage or rent. Start a business? Volunteer more? Work less and spend more time with your family?

Still wondering about that livability ranking? I’m not.