Rien ne va plus!
Austrian Real Estate and Construction Law On 30 June 2018 an amendment to the Vienna Building Code entered into force rendering it more difficult to demolish historic buildings in the Austrian capital. Is this the beginning of a new and hostile approach to owners of historic buildings? No! The Austrian Constitutional Court had already …
DORDA advises on the acquisition of Austrian office properties Denk Drei
Stefan Artner, Partner and Head of the Real Estate Practice Group, and real estate attorney Klaus Pfeiffer of DORDA advised Austrian Real Estate Development GmbH (ARE, a subsidiary of Bundesimmobilien-Gesellschaft, the Austrian privatization agency) on the acquisition of the Denk Drei office properties from IC Development. The successful closing of the forward purchase transaction took …
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Austrian “White List”
Exceptions from the OBLIGATION TO CARRY OUT A data protection impact assessment Immediately on 25 May, the GDPR-day, the Austrian Data Protection Authority published its White List brining some clarity concerning the obligation to carry out a data protection impact assessment. As expected, especially standardized data processing activities and already registered processing operations that have …
Stop! Wait! Move! – No longer Stamp Duty for Residential Homes
On 12 October 2017, right in a last minute attempt to win undecided voters for one of the political parties, the leaving members of parliament enacted a new tax law. While fundamental changes to the Austrian Tenancy Law had been vividly discussed between the socialist and the conservative parties in recent years, the new law …
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Constitutional Court’s Recent Judgments on Rent in Austria
The Constitutional Court has recently provided two judgments on 28 June 2017 on the rent control legislation in Austria ruling that the current system for flats complies with Austrian Constitutional Law and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Constitutional Court visibly failed to take the opportunity to initiate a change to the current legislation. …
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The role of the supervisory board in investor relations
1.Abstract Contrary to common law jurisdictions such as the US or UK, the laws of civil law jurisdictions Germany and Austria provide for a two-tier structure for stock companies (Aktiengesellschaft), thereby strictly distinguishing the tasks, duties and responsibilities of the Management Board (Vorstand) from those of the Supervisory Board (Aufsichtsrat). Under the Austrian Stock Companies …
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Buy-to-Let Schemes in Austria
Buy-to-let schemes reached the Austrian market several years ago and have gained increased popularity in the scenic alpine regions of Tyrol, Vorarlberg or Salzburg. Investors acquire condominium ownership in newly constructed hotel facilities and rent out the properties to hotel operators at – ideally – attractive rates. While buy-to-let-schemes can be very lucrative investments, they …
Liability for “LSD”
On 1 January 2017 the Austrian Wage and Social Dumping Prevention Act (Lohn- und Sozialdumping-Bekämpfungsgesetz – abbreviated to "LSD-BG") came into effect. An enhanced liability regime for the principal shall reduce and ultimately eliminate the undercutting of wages, in particular in the construction sector. The last six months have shown increased awareness of potential liabilities …
New Austrian Data Protection Act Implementing Gdpr Passed The Austrian Parliament
After some last-minute amendments, the new Austrian Data Protection Act, implementing and supplementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation, was finally adopted by the Austrian Parliament on 30 June 2017. The new provisions provide for some local specialties that must be considered by all companies active in Austria. All changes become applicable from May 2018 …
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Increased Liability for Real Estate Agents in Austria
Pursuant to the Austrian Broker Act (Maklergesetz), a broker has to fairly and diligently protect their principal's interest. Until a very recent judgment of the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof), courts have taken a very lenient stance on the liability of real estate agents. The judgment of the Supreme Court of 24 Jan 2017, however, …
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