Leaving your flat early: successor tenants and transfer fees

Last updated: 24 October 2026

You have found a new place, but your lease is still running. How quickly you can leave depends on your contract and on which rules apply to the flat.

Can you simply give notice?

With a fixed-term lease you may give notice after the first year, to the end of any month, with three months' notice. For an open-ended lease the notice period is usually set in the contract. As a tenant you give notice in writing. For flats covered by the Tenancy Act, a landlord can only terminate through the court.

If you need to leave sooner than that, a successor tenant (Nachmieter) can help.

Must the landlord accept a successor?

No. Austrian law gives you no right to leave early by bringing a successor. Many landlords still agree if you find someone who can pay the rent. If your contract has a successor clause, its terms apply.

Put the result in writing: your lease ends by mutual agreement on a fixed date, and the successor signs a new contract with the landlord.

Passing the lease to family

Where the Tenancy Act applies fully, you can transfer your main tenancy to your spouse, children, parents or siblings if they lived with you in the flat. Spouses and direct relatives need two years in the shared household, siblings five. Friends are not included.

Transfer fees (Ablöse)

You may ask a successor to pay for a kitchen, furniture or fittings you leave behind, up to what these things are worth. A payment just for handing over the flat is prohibited where the Tenancy Act applies fully, and the successor can reclaim it with interest for up to ten years. For flats let through an agent, such an agreement is also void under the Brokers Act (Maklergesetz).

A list with each item, its age and its price keeps things fair, and the successor knows what they are paying for.

Finding someone quickly

On wels.immobilien you can list your flat for a successor tenant free of charge. State the rent, operating costs, deposit, earliest move-in date and any transfer fee together with the item list.