Compensation and discrimination were sued. The District Court of Linz has ruled the Turkish citizen who was not granted the housing allowance due to a lack of German language skills. But the Linz Regional Court decided differently. There is no discrimination because the rules of Upper Austrian housing subsidies apply to all third-country nationals (non-EU citizens) and no distinction is made here.
As it has been since its introduction in 2018, the state may continue to require German language skills at A2 level, otherwise there is no housing allowance (further criteria are five years of legal residence and 54 months of employment).
No more legal remedies
The judgment was issued in the last instance, and no further appeals can be lodged.
“Despite many prophecies of political doom, the Linz regional court followed my legal opinion today that one can certainly demand integration services from third-country nationals,” said Deputy Governor and Housing Advisor Manfred Haimbuchner (FP) on Wednesday afternoon: “It was and is a matter of course for me that someone who receives benefits from the state, can also prove elementary knowledge of German “
On request, regional court spokesman Walter Eichinger announced that the judgment had not yet been served on all parties, so no information could be given about the content of the judgment.
