UnitCycle Austria

Why Austria Needs This

Austria's rental market operates under a complex, layered legal framework. A Hausverwaltungi managing 1,000+ units across Vienna and Graz will have properties subject to entirely different legal rules. Getting the regime wrong means charging illegal rents, miscalculating operating costs, or mishandling tenancy terminations — any of which can result in tenant lawsuits and Schlichtungsstelle proceedings. No competing platform systematically tracks legal regime at the unit level.

The Four Regimes

How It Works in UnitCycle

Every property record carries a legal_regime field. Each tenant and unit detail page displays a colour-coded regime badge. The system uses this classification to determine which accounting rules apply (MRG §21 categories vs. free-form), whether Richtwerti caps should be checked, and whether reserve fund tracking is required. When a user views a tenant, they immediately see the legal implications: which rent cap applies, what termination rules exist, and which BKi categories are permitted.

Why Austria Needs This

Operating cost settlement (Betriebskostenabrechnungi) consumes an estimated 30% of staff time at Austrian HVi firms. Every year, by the legal deadline of June 30 (MRG §21 Abs 3 — six months after the calendar year ends), managers must produce a complete breakdown of operating costs for every unit, allocated proportionally by Nutzflächei. The 17 cost categories are defined by law and cannot be altered. Miscategorisation or late delivery gives tenants grounds to challenge the entire BKi statement at the Schlichtungsstelle.

All 17 MRG §21 Categories

How It Works in UnitCycle

The BKi engine allocates every invoice to one of the 17 categories (with AI assistance for auto-classification). Costs are split proportionally by Nutzflächei (usable area in m²) — the legally mandated allocation method. The system calculates per-unit surplus or deficiency against advance payments, generates printable statements, and tracks the June 30 deadline with a countdown visible on the dashboard and every property detail page. Year-over-year comparison highlights anomalies above 20% deviation. AI auto-categorisation has already classified 16 of 24 sample invoices.

Why Austria Needs This

Under MRG §16 Abs 6, most Austrian leases include a Wertsicherungsklauseli (value adjustment clause) tied to the Verbraucherpreisindexi (VPIi / Austrian CPI). Landlords are entitled to adjust rent annually based on CPI changes. However, many Hausverwaltungeni miss indexing windows — especially across large portfolios — leaving significant revenue on the table. With Austria's CPI rising from 100.0 (2021 base) to 124.4 (2026), missed indexing on a €800/month unit means losing over €195/month in legally owed rent.

Austrian CPI Series (2021 = 100)

How It Works in UnitCycle

• Every tenant record tracks VPIi status: last indexing date, original rent at lease start, CPI at lease start
• VPIi Calculator on tenant detail: shows originalRent × (currentCPI / cpiAtLeaseStart), delta in € and %, annualised impact
• "VPIi Due" badge fires automatically when no indexing has occurred in 13+ months
• Portfolio-level VPIi overdue count on the dashboard — so managers never miss an indexing opportunity
• Lease timeline SVG: gradient bar with year ticks, amber ◆ diamonds for VPIi anniversaries, glowing "Today" dot

Why Austria Needs This

The Wohnungseigentumsgesetzi (§31) requires every WEGi property to maintain a Reparaturrücklagei (repair reserve fund). The legal minimum contribution is €1.06/m²/month (2024 rate), increasing to €1.13/m²/month (2026) as adjusted by the Federal Minister. Falling below the minimum exposes the Hausverwaltungi to legal challenges from owners. Yet most firms track reserves in spreadsheets with no compliance monitoring or forward projection.

Compliance Indicators

How It Works in UnitCycle

• Per-property fund balance tracked against legal minimum and target contribution
• CPI-adjusted 5-year projections: shows where the fund will be based on current contributions and planned repairs
• AI warning system flags properties approaching or below the WEGi minimum
• Dashboard widget shows Rücklagei health across the entire portfolio at a glance
• Owner portal includes full Rücklagei transparency — owners see their share contribution and fund balance

Why Austria Needs This

The 2022 WEGi-Novelle modernised owner decision-making by explicitly permitting digital Umlaufbeschlüssei (circular resolutions) under §24. The amendment also introduced the Widerspruchsfiktioni (consent fiction): if an owner does not respond within 2 months, their vote counts as YES. This is a game-changer for Hausverwaltungeni — no more chasing paper signatures. But implementing it requires precise tracking of voting deadlines, Nutzwerti-weighted results, and automated reminders. No competing Austrian platform offers this digitally.

How It Works in UnitCycle

• Create resolutions with Antrag text, voting options, required majority (simple, 2/3, unanimous), and deadline
• Nutzwerti-weighted voting: owners with larger property shares have proportionally more voting weight
• Consent fiction countdown: per-voter timer shows days until automatic YES
• Real-time results display with Anteil-weighted pie chart
• Automated 3-level dunning workflow: reminder at 30 days, 14 days, and 3 days before deadline
• Owner portal integration: owners can vote directly from their portal with OTP authentication

Why Austria Needs This

For MRG Vollanwendungi properties, rent is capped by the Richtwerti (benchmark rent) published annually by the BMJ (Federal Ministry of Justice) for each of Austria's 9 Bundesländer. Charging above the Richtwerti without valid Zuschlägei (quality surcharges for features like balcony, lift, or renovated kitchen) is illegal and can be challenged retroactively at the Schlichtungsstelle. A tenant can reclaim excess rent for up to 3 years. For a Hausverwaltungi managing hundreds of MRG Voll units, manual Richtwerti compliance is error-prone and high-risk.

2024 Richtwerti Rates by Bundesland

How It Works in UnitCycle

For every unit classified as MRG Vollanwendungi, the platform compares the current net rent against the applicable Richtwerti for that property's Bundesland. Units where rent exceeds the cap are flagged with a warning badge. The comparison appears on tenant detail pages, unit detail pages, and in a portfolio-wide compliance report. This gives HVi managers instant visibility into Richtwerti exposure across their entire portfolio.

Why Austria Needs This

Austrian property managers handle complex per-tenant obligations: legal regime determines termination rules, VPIi indexing determines rent adjustments, BKi categories determine cost allocation, and deposit caps are governed by MRG §16b. With 300+ tenants, jumping between spreadsheets, PDFs, and legacy systems wastes hours. A unified tenant profile that brings all Austrian-specific data together in one view is transformative for operational efficiency.

What the Tenant Detail Page Shows

Why Austria Needs This

Managing 1,000+ units across multiple cities means tracking hundreds of compliance deadlines simultaneously. Austrian HVi firms face legal exposure from missed BKi deadlines (June 30), overdue VPIi indexing, underfunded Rücklagei reserves, and expiring leases. A real-time dashboard that surfaces these risks proactively — before they become legal problems — is essential for modern portfolio management.

How It Works in UnitCycle

• KPI cards: Total units, occupancy rate, monthly rent roll, BKi compliance rate, Rücklagei status
• BKi deadline tracker: Per-property countdown to June 30, colour-coded by urgency
• Lease expiry radar: Properties with leases expiring within 90 days
• VPIi overdue count: Total tenants across portfolio where indexing is 13+ months overdue
• Rücklagei health: Konform / Unterschritten indicators per WEGi property
• Cost anomaly alerts: Categories with >20% year-over-year deviation

Why Austria Needs This

A Hausverwaltungi managing 1,000 units processes thousands of invoices annually. Every invoice must be assigned to one of the 17 MRG §21 BKi categories before it can flow into the BKi settlement engine. Manual classification is tedious, inconsistent, and a major bottleneck in the June 30 deadline race. Miscategorisation can be challenged by tenants at the Schlichtungsstelle.

How It Works in UnitCycle

• AI analyses invoice text, vendor, and amount to assign the most likely MRG §21 category
• Confidence score per categorisation — low-confidence items flagged for human review
• 16 of 24 sample invoices already AI-categorised in the demo dataset
• Categorised invoices feed directly into the BKi calculation engine
• Smart duplicate detection prevents double-counting of the same invoice
• Learns from corrections: manager overrides improve future accuracy

Why This Matters

A demo shown to the CEO of a 1,000-unit Austrian firm must feel real. Generic placeholder data ("Property 1", "John Smith") immediately signals a prototype. UnitCycle's seed data uses authentic Austrian property addresses, real Postleitzahlen, proper academic titles (Mag., Dr., DI, Ing.), and a realistic mix of building types and legal regimes that mirrors what any Austrian HVi firm would actually manage.

Seed Data Breakdown

• 12 properties across Wien, Graz, Salzburg, Linz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt
• Legal form mix: 6 MRG Vollanwendungi, 1 MRG Teilanwendungi, 5 WEGi
• Building types: Altbau (pre-1945), Neubau, Gemischt
• ~364 units with realistic sizes, rent levels per city and legal regime
• ~300 Austrian tenants with proper academic titles (Mag., Dr., DI, Ing.)
• ~50 owners with Nutzwerti shares for WEGi properties
• ~30 vendors with Austrian Gewerkei specialisations
• BKi data for 2023 and 2024 with all 17 categories populated per property
• Seed command: python manage.py seed_austria

Why Austria Needs This

In Austrian WEGi (condominium) properties, ownership is not a simple fraction — it's determined by the Nutzwerti (use value) of each unit, calculated by a certified Sachverständigeri (court-appointed expert). Nutzwerti considers unit size, floor level, orientation, balcony, and other factors. All cost allocations, voting weights, and reserve fund contributions in WEGi properties must follow Nutzwerti ratios, not simple m² splits. This is a fundamental Austrian legal requirement that most non-Austrian platforms completely ignore.

How It Works in UnitCycle

• Every WEGi unit stores its Nutzwerti as determined by the Nutzwertgutachteni
• Ownership share (Anteil) calculated as unit Nutzwerti / total property Nutzwerti
• All WEGi cost allocations (BKi, Rücklagei, special assessments) use Nutzwerti ratios
• Umlaufbeschlussi voting weight is proportional to Nutzwerti share
• Owner portal displays each owner's Nutzwerti, Anteil percentage, and resulting financial obligations

Why Austria Needs This

Austrian property maintenance follows the Gewerkei system — licensed trade categories that determine which specialists are qualified for which work. A leaking pipe requires a Sanitär specialist, not a general handyman. Hausverwaltungeni maintain vendor relationships across multiple Gewerkei and need to route requests efficiently, especially for emergencies (Rohrbruch, Heizungsausfall) where 24/7 Notdiensti vendors are critical.

Austrian Gewerkei Categories

How It Works in UnitCycle

• Maintenance requests categorised by Gewerk on submission
• AI routing: analyses request text and automatically assigns matching Gewerk + vendor
• Priority levels: Niedrig (low), Mittel (medium), Hoch (high), Notfall (emergency)
• Notdiensti flag on vendors for 24/7 emergency contacts
• Tenant portal allows direct submission with photo upload
• Full lifecycle tracking: submitted → assigned → in progress → completed

Implemented Routes

Technology Stack