Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz is “stunned and absolutely furious” at the way the City of Vienna is treating a pensioner from Simmering. Mrs R. has approached the Austrian Ombudsman Board because the City of Vienna is now refusing to provide her with the funding it had promised for modifications to make the bathroom disability-friendly. The case was also featured on the television programme Bürgeranwalt ("Advocate for the People") in spring 2025, when it was observed that her son had a brain tumour accompanied by symptoms of paralysis. The mother decided to convert the bathroom to make it accessible for people with disabilities, so that he could lead a largely independent daily life during the final months of his life. The City of Vienna subsidises accessible modifications by up to 70 per cent. During a site visit, a member of staff from MA50 assured her that the modifications would definitely be subsidised and that work could begin even before the application had been finalised. So Mrs R. began the bathroom modifications, costing 14,000 euros, using her savings. At the beginning of August, Mrs R. submitted her application for funding along with the final invoice. Unfortunately, her son passed away in January 2026. A further visit by the City Council to inspect the completed building works had been scheduled for April, but this did not take place. This was because the family received a letter rejecting the grant under the Renovation and Decarbonisation Ordinance. The reason given was that the work had already been carried out before the application was submitted, and the application had not been made within one month of the work being commissioned. Consequently, the conditions for a grant were not met.
Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz is demanding compensation: “I am absolutely appalled by the way the City of Vienna treats people. The fact is that a member of the municipal authority of Vienna promised Ms R. the grant and advised her to start the building work even before submitting the application. Even according to the information sent to her regarding ‘funding for accessible measures’, the grant application can be submitted either before or after the modifications. There is no mention whatsoever of the ‘Renovation and Decarbonisation Regulation’. This Regulation was never even discussed. Ms R. did everything correctly. However, a number of things went wrong at the City Council. The information she received was incorrect, incomplete and contradictory. How is one supposed to have any trust in the authority when it takes these courses of action? Therefore: compensation, no ifs, ands or buts! This is no longer about reaching an amicable, accommodating agreement regarding the grant. Instead, I am demanding compensation for the breach of trust. Citizens must be able to rely on what they are told by the City Council."
"I am appalled by the way the City of Vienna treats people," Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz