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1961
Raab-Olah Agreement between the two sides of industry: more liberal rules for the employment of foreign workers based on annually agreed quotas; employment permits only issued to employers who provided foreign workers with accommodation to the local standard. In the 1960s, two thirds of “guest workers” lived in accommodation provided by their employers and one third in private accommodation: mainly crammed into wooden building workers’ shacks and dilapidated substandard flats and houses that were rarely in compliance with health and fire safety and construction regulations, and often paying extortionate rent.
1975
Aliens Employment Act: employers applying for employment permits required to submit a “legally binding declaration made by the accommodation provider” to the effect that the foreign workers were being provided with “accommodation to the local standard for an Austrian national”. The declaration also had to include such details as size, equipment, number of residents and the amount of the rent.
1985
Minimum requirements for housing for “guest workers”: one washing facility for every 5 residents, one toilet for every 15 residents, and for each person a bed, a place to sit and eat, and adequate cupboard space; also for each person (including children) at least 10 cu.m. of airspace and 4 sq.m. of floorspace.
2003
Long-term resident third-country nationals given equal status with EU member country nationals by the European Council; entry into force of the directive in Austria in 2006, granting third-country nationals legal access to communal housing for the first time.