Reclaim your rent increases.
Does your rent climb with the index year after year? The indexation clause behind it is void in many cases. Attorney Dr. Oliver Peschel reviews your rental agreement and reclaims overpaid increases in collective proceedings.
No obligation. Also possible after you have moved out.
- Back to the contract value
- Goal: the original rent, retroactively and going forward
- 30 years back
- Inflation adjustments are recoverable
- Landlord is a company
- Basic requirement for the collective proceedings
- Your case
- Your numbers
- Legal insurance
- Documents
- Your details
Step 1 of 4
When rent increases are void
Not every adjustment was allowed.
OGH 9 Ob 109/25g
Almost every rental agreement with a company as landlord contains an indexation clause: the base rent moves up with inflation at regular intervals. Exactly this clause has driven housing costs in recent years.
Such clauses are subject to strict legal requirements. The Austrian Supreme Court has held several times that indexation clauses can be void; one of them was brought down by the firm itself: in case 9 Ob 109/25g, the court declared the clause used by Niederösterreichische Versicherung AG as landlord void. And a void clause means: every increase based on it lacks a legal basis.
The rent claim therefore aims at both: setting the rent back to the original value under the contract, retroactively and going forward, and recovering the difference from up to 30 years.
Your attorney
Attorney Dr. Oliver Peschel
He wrote his doctorate on European civil procedure law and leads the collective proceedings against void indexation clauses.
Who the collective proceedings are for
The firm can support you if
- Your landlord is a company: a bank, fund, private foundation, insurer, GmbH, AG, OG or KG.
- Your rental agreement contains an indexation clause adjusting the rent for inflation.
- You rent privately as a home, not commercially.
Participation is not possible if
- Your landlord is a private individual.
- Your agreement contains no indexation clause.
- It is a commercial lease.
Indexation and review: the terms behind your rent
- Indexation clause in the rental agreement
- An indexation clause (Wertsicherungsklausel) ties the base rent to an index, usually the consumer price index: when the index rises, the rent rises. This is only permitted if the clause meets strict legal requirements; otherwise it is void and the increases lose their basis.
- Rent review
- In a rent review, the permissible level of your rent is examined legally. The firm reviews indexation clauses only, and this route does not pass through a conciliation board (Schlichtungsstelle): the claim is filed directly with the court. Amounts you overpaid can be reclaimed retroactively.
Three steps to your rent claim
- Step 1
Sign up with your lease
You submit the registration and attach your rental agreement. Everything else follows by email.
- Step 2
Clause review
The firm's team examines your indexation clause individually and decides whether legal action is possible. This review costs nothing.
- Step 3
Proceedings against the landlord
The team at Peschel & Partner Rechtsanwälte files the claim against your landlord and sees the proceedings through for you.
Legal expenses insurance or litigation funding
With tenancy cover, your insurer bears the costs; the firm settles that directly with them. Without cover, a litigation funder finances the proceedings on request and receives a share if you win. If the case is lost, you incur no costs. You can also fund the proceedings yourself: then you keep the full amount if you win, but you bear the cost risk.
What the firm’s clients say
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Roman Rab
Von Anfang bis zum Schluss top betreut. Man muss sich um absolut nichts kümmern und bekommt am Ende seine Glücksspielverluste zurück. Kann Dr. Peschel nur jeden ans Herz legen, der Glücksspielverluste hinnehmen musste.
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Alexander Blunder
Sehr gut strukturierte und hilfsbereite Anwaltskanzlei! War sehr zufrieden mit der Kommunikation und der gesamten Arbeit.
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Leo Albrecht
Kompetenter Rechtsanwalt, hat mir zuviel bezahlte Gebühren zurückgeholt. Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit einem Prozesskostenfinanzierer ohne eigenes finanzielles Risiko. Empfehle allen die davon betroffen sind dies prüfen zu lassen.
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Alexander Zimmermann
Absolut top. Wurde professionell im Zuge einer Sammelklage betreut und beraten. Von Anfang bis Ende hat die Kommunikation ausgezeichnet funktioniert. Ich kann Herrn Peschel nur weiterempfehlen.
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Martin Wieser
professionell, kommunikation top, man wird über jeden wichtigen Schritt informiert, kann Dr. Oliver Peschel jedem bedinungslos weiterepfehlen, und kann mich nur noch einmal verbindlichst bedanken
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Baki Sevinc
Dank Herrn Dr. Oliver Peschel habe ich einen Teil meiner Verluste wieder zurückbekommen. Bin sehr dankbar.
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Jozsef Penjov
Schnell, effektiv, super kommunikation und natürlich erfolgreich gewonnen.
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fabian garstenauer
Top Team, dass sehr kompetent auftritt und immer Rückmeldung, bei Anfragen gibt.
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Gueorgui Tchakarov
Sehr gut!
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Raphael Sabitzer
Einfach nur spitze!!!
Frequently asked questions about the rent claim
Who takes care of my enquiry?
The team at Peschel & Partner Rechtsanwälte reviews your enquiry and clarifies whether you meet the requirements for the collective proceedings. If so, the firm represents you in court proceedings to recover the rent you overpaid.
Does the rental agreement have to be in my name?
Yes, the rental agreement must be in the name of the person giving the instruction.
Does it matter whether the lease is still running or I have already moved out?
No. You can sign up regardless of whether the rental agreement is still in force or not.
What if I have no legal expenses insurance?
Not a problem: the firm works with litigation funders who assume the cost risk in exchange for a share of the recovery.
Which documents do I need?
To begin with, only the details in the form, your rental agreement and, if applicable, the policy number of your legal expenses insurance.
Has the legislator retroactively validated indexation clauses?
At the beginning of 2026 the government retroactively validated many indexation clauses, and limitation periods were restricted in some cases. However, there are still indexation clauses that are unlawful, for example because the reference index value predates the contract by a long stretch or because only the landlord is granted a right to increase the rent while the tenant has no right to a reduction. The firm examines your case individually and decides whether a claim is legally possible.
Have proceedings already been conducted successfully?
Yes. The firm has already conducted proceedings against several landlords and been able to unwind rent increases, all the way up to the Supreme Court: in case 9 Ob 109/25g, the indexation clause used by Niederösterreichische Versicherung AG as landlord was struck down. Beyond that, the Supreme Court has held repeatedly (10 Ob 23/24s, 4 Ob 103/25p) that indexation clauses can be void.
Can the landlord raise the rent retroactively?
That depends on the contract and the applicable law and cannot be answered across the board. What is clear is the other direction: if the indexation clause is void, back-charges lack a basis, and you can reclaim the amounts you overpaid. The initial assessment clarifies both directions for your case.
Do the quick maths
Compare the rent in your contract with what you pay today. That difference is what this is about, month after month. Whether you can reclaim it is what the free initial assessment clarifies.
Start your free assessment