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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,498 Likes: 1
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Just found this little gem in a document from some Eurocrats (or rather lobby group) who wants more bureaucracy:
With a change of occupancy, the electricity supply contract can usually be transferred by a simple administrative procedure. This is a missed opportunity.
I've never looked at the world from that perspective before...
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Calling this a "missed opportunity" is very telling of the mentality of some of these people. A missed opportunity for what? Making a simple task expensive and far more complex than it needs to be? I expect they would dream up some system whereby both old and new occupants have to send formsin triplicate to some new multi-million govt. dept. to get "approval", followed by some exorbitant "Utility service transfer fee."
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Joined: Aug 2002
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A missed opportunity for what, exactly, does it say?
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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I assume a missed opportunity to have the system checked and if dangerous problems are found brought up to code. On one hand that seems like a good way of forcing cheap landlords to have dangerous wiring brought up to code at their own expenses, but on the other hand any wiring older than let's say 25 years would probably be classified imminently dangerous, grossly reducing the opportunities to get an appartment unrenovated with cheap rent, update the wiring at your own expenses and enjoy the low rent. Especially students and young people in Vienna often have hardly any other chance of getting their own apartment unless their parents are willing to pay huge sums. As an example: a 40 square meter apartment (small by Viennese standards) in new construction would be about 400 Euro/month at best, tendency going up with the quality. An old unrenovated (usually nicer) apartment could come less than 100 Euro if you were lucky.
OT: People with really old rent contracts pay 90 Euros for 200 square meter apartments smack downtown...
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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What I don't like is the way that things are being increasingly forced upon people whether they want them or not because some bureaucrat decides "It's for their own good," like mandatory crash helmet and seat belt laws.
The proposed "Home sellers pack" that is in the pipeline here is a good example (the idea being that it will be made a legal requiremement for somebody selling a house to gather together a whole load of surveys and certificates first).
If somebody wants to buy a house without having the wiring, plumbing, roof, or anything else checked, that should be his choice. If he wants to get experts in to look them over first, he's always been free to do so.
If I'm happy to buy a place "as is" without having surveys done, then why should it be any of the government's business?
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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If somebody wants to buy a house without having the wiring, plumbing, roof, or anything else checked, that should be his choice. If he wants to get experts in to look them over first, he's always been free to do so. That's especially the case with people who buy houses just for the "shell" or just for the land. The place will be demolished anyway to make way for whatever new construction will take its place. With that will come new wiring, plumbing, etc. Who cares what state the old stuff is in.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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Here's a story that I found rather wierd: From the Mirror
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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That one is certainly strange, but I'm afraid that's precisely the sort of petty-minded bureaucracy that's being forced upon us at every turn these days in this country.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 223
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Has anyone ever noticed that every new government policy introduced is one that reduces the citizen's freedom and ability to use common sense?
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Posts: 57
Joined: August 2003
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