Important aspects of flatsharing

Starting your own flatshare and living with friends can be a great idea and a lot of fun. But it can also result in friendships breaking up, so it’s not something to be gone into lightly! You need to make sure that you know a bit about the finances involved, tenancy law, that sort of thing.

We don’t want to bore you with legalese, so we’ve created a short, concise FAQ about setting up and living in a flatshare. This will hopefully save you from the tedious business of poring over legal texts.

Everything about commission and deposit

The commission is the amount you pay the estate agent for letting the flat to you. The commission is usually as much as two months’ gross rent. Sounds pretty unnecessary, and it is. Unfortunately, estate agents are pretty much unavoidable. This is because flats that are not let by estate agents are few and far between. If you’re not in any hurry when looking for a flat, it’s definitely worth looking for a commission-free flat.

The deposit is an amount that you pay as a kind of security. The deposit is usually three months’ gross rent and is paid into a savings account with the landlord. Landlords can retain the deposit if, for example, the rent hasn’t been paid or if you’re responsible for any damage to the flat. After you’ve moved out and the flat has been handed over to the landlord, he will check it for damage.

If everything‘s OK, you’ll get the full deposit back. Tenancy law regulates what damage you as tenant are liable for and what damage the landlord is liable for. If there’s a landlord’s inventory (e.g. washing machine or dishwasher), liability is negotiable.

The tenancy agreement

So you finally have the go-ahead for the flat of your dreams? Congratulations! But before you pop the Prosecco, you have to sign the tenancy agreement. Usually landlords send a draft of the tenancy agreement in advance for you to look at. Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully. If you’re still not sure, you can go to a free tenancy advice meeting and read through the agreement together. Annoying, but worth taking the time to do.

Please note: If you want to set up a flatshare, then it’s probably not possible for everyone to become the main tenant. It’s best to choose one or two people who will take responsibility for the rent. They are then also responsible for making sure the rent is paid on time. If you set up a flatshare account, the finances will be clearer and more transparent.

Internet, gas, electricity and insurance are in most cases not included in the tenancy agreement and are paid separately. The tenancy agreement only includes the actual room rental and running costs.

Subletting: Everything you need to know

If a flat is rented, the following applies: Parts of the flat may be sublet, but not the whole flat! And subletting should NOT mean any major increase in the rent. Basically, when living together, in the case of subleasing or subletting, it’s always important to sign a tenancy agreement.

That way, the main tenant has something to fall back on if a subtenant does not pay the rent or wants to move out all of a sudden. Even if you’re friends and trust each other, it’s advisable to sign a sublease agreement. That way you’re sharing the responsibility, which is the fairest way thing to do.

Billing FAQ

What a lot of people don’t know is that there’s also a charge for the tenancy agreement itself! The so-called tenancy agreement fee must be paid to the tax office so that the tenancy agreement is legally binding. For open-ended tenancy agreements or tenancy agreements with a term of at least three years, the fee is 1% of the total of three gross annual rents.

Did you switch off at the mention of percent? Simply multiply the gross rent by 36 and divide the total by 100. The result is the fee that you have to pay! If you can’t do the maths and aren’t sure about the amount of the fee, just call your trusted tax office and ask for help.

Coliving vienna offers you high-quality furnished apartments for rent in Vienna and Graz at affordable prices and flexible durations. Become part of the whole and enjoy your dream apartment as well as the many advantages of our large international CoLivi community. Get your CoLivi now and share this unique experience with other like-minded people. In addition to furnished apartments, we also offer the option of flatshare or short term rentals vienna.

We hope that we’ve shed some light on the jungle surrounding starting a flatshare vienna and wish you lots of fun living together!