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TRANSCRIPT
In a desirable Viennese neighbourhood, Maximilian Schranz and his partner Lisa live in a public housing flat, known as Gemeindebau.
It's owned by the City of Vienna and the pair live here thanks to the city's affordable housing scheme.
Reporter: "So how much rent do you pay for this apartment?"
Max: "So we pay about 640 euros per month for this apartment. It's about a quarter of our income together."
The cost for rent for city-owned public housing is set by government legislation, with the current rate being 6.67 Euros or about 11 Australian dollars, per square metre. These apartments are dotted all over the city.
Private rentals are between 19 - 35 dollars per square metre, however this price is dependent on factors like location.
By comparison, analysis shows rent in Australia has risen 2.5 times faster than wages over the past five years.
And an Australian earning 70,000 dollars per year would need to spend 52 per cent of their income to meet the national median on an apartment.
"Gives you freedom of mind of course. Most importantly to not have to worry where to come up with the money for rent or being evicted. But next to that of course it leaves more money to spend on the things that are important. For me personally, it's travelling, it's meeting people."
Applicants for both government owned and subsidised social housing must be 18 years old, possess Austrian citizenship or have equivalent status, and must have lived in Vienna for two years.
Reporter: "And how long can you stay here for?"
Max: "However long I wanted to theoretically. So the apartment, the leases are without any term limits and then there's even ways to give the lease to your immediate family if they wanted to and they're eligible."
This housing system dates back to the Red Vienna period after World War One, when the city was governed by the Social Democratic Worker's Party.
As the city experienced a population boom - the government pledged 65,000 new apartments to cope with overcrowding - and since then, this stock of social housing has only grown.
But there are challenges, and for those who are ineligible such as refugees and asylum seekers - advocates say, some still fall through the cracks.
This is Shirin Behrends Basha, the head of residential care at Austrian not-for-profit Ute Bock Haus.
"For me, it's so weak because for someone to be entitled to a council apartment, they have to be entitled to asylum. Which means they have to be someone who has received asylum. They are dependent on the private market, and they suffer greatly."
You can find out more about this story in Dateline on SBS TV, broadcast on Tuesday 17th March at 9.30pm, and also available on SBS On Demand
