UNDERSTAND RENT

Which bills come on top of your rent?

Rent is only part of what a home costs. Building services, heating and electricity might be included or arrive as separate bills. Here's how to keep track.

Rent, building costs and energy

Base rent is what you pay for the home itself. Service charges cover recurring costs around the building. Heating and electricity may be included in your regular payment or billed separately.

Statistics Austria publishes average rent including running costs and counts energy within broader housing costs. That's why we show what each figure covers: an official average and someone's rent payment can sound alike while including different bills.

What you tell us about your rent

When you add your rent, choose base or total rent and tell us whether heating and electricity are included. We use your answers to explain the comparison; we don't guess what's in your payment.

We don't collect rental agreements, addresses or district names you type yourself. To check your own rental agreement, look at its list of charges. This guide helps you compare costs; it doesn't assess the agreement.

Work out your monthly total

For each apartment, note what's in the regular payment and which bills come separately. Then add up the costs you'll actually need to cover.

  • Compare the rent amount on the same basis.
  • Add running costs only when they are not already included.
  • Mark heating and electricity as included or separate.
  • Keep one-off deposits and moving costs out of monthly rent.

Sources and further reading