New renovation obligation for non-residential buildings in Vienna

The Vienna EU Buildings Directive Implementation Act 2026 came into force on 15 July 2026. One innovation of particular relevance to property transactions is found in § 118d of the Vienna Building Code: for certain existing non-residential buildings, a sale, a letting, a gift or a change of use can now trigger an obligation to renovate.

For buyers and sellers of office, retail and other non-residential buildings this adds a further point that should be examined before a transaction is concluded.

Which buildings are affected?

The rule does not apply across the board to every older commercial property.

The first requirement is that the building is a non-residential building which does not meet the relevant requirements for overall energy performance. In this respect § 118d of the Vienna Building Code ties in with the thresholds for particularly energy-inefficient non-residential buildings provided for by the European buildings directive.

Whether a particular building falls within it can therefore not be assessed from the year of construction alone. What matters are, in particular, the energy figures of the building and the thresholds that apply to it.

The European buildings directive provides that from 2030 at least the worst-performing 16 % and from 2033 the worst-performing 26 % of the non-residential building stock may no longer exceed the respective maximum thresholds.

Which events can trigger the renovation obligation?

§ 118d para 3 of the Vienna Building Code names four triggers: sale, letting, gift or change of use.

It is decisive, however, that the event concerns the entire non-residential building. The sale of a single commercial unit or of a single condominium unit is therefore not without more to be equated with the sale of an entire non-residential building.

The provision is also of particular significance for so-called share deals. A transaction subject to real property transfer tax by which shares in a legal entity are transferred, in whose direct or indirect ownership the non-residential building stands, expressly counts as a sale as well.

The new rule can therefore also become relevant in transactions structured under company law.

Five years for the renovation

If the renovation obligation is triggered, the Act provides in principle for a period of five years. The authority has to be notified of the obligation without delay.

Which measures are actually required depends on the building in question. The Act does not call for a full refurbishment in every case.

If a cost-benefit analysis shows that an overall renovation required to reach the threshold would be unfavourable, at least those individual measures for which the cost-benefit analysis is favourable have in principle to be carried out.

Obstacles of a structural nature or under building law can also lead to a reduction of the requirements. In certain cases the Act provides for exceptions beyond that, in particular where the renovation would not be technically, functionally or economically viable at all, or where the character or the external appearance of the building would be altered unreasonably.

These conditions do have to be established by appropriate expert evidence, however.

High administrative fines

The new rule should not be understood merely as a statement of energy policy objectives.

Anyone who fails to comply with a renovation obligation under § 118d para 3 of the Vienna Building Code risks a fine of up to EUR 100,000. The renovation obligation itself remains in place alongside it.

What it means for property transactions

For transaction practice the question therefore arises, already before a contract is concluded, whether the building concerned falls under § 118d of the Vienna Building Code.

Legal and technical due diligence should therefore look in particular at the energy condition of the building, at any energy performance certificates and at the possible cost of a renovation that may be required.

If a need for renovation emerges, this can have considerable effects on the economic valuation of the property and on how the contract is drafted. It should be settled in particular who bears the risk and the cost of a renovation obligation that has already been triggered or that is triggered by the transaction.

In transactions involving older non-residential buildings in Vienna, § 118d of the Vienna Building Code therefore has to be borne in mind before the purchase contract or any other contract is signed.

Legal basis: § 118d and § 135 of the Vienna Building Code, Vienna EU Buildings Directive Implementation Act 2026, LGBl Wien No 25/2026, Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2024/1275.