In Austria, as in many other countries, the demand on the housing market has increased considerably. In order to relieve the housing market, there have been discussions about imposing a tax on vacant dwellings. Since the federal legislator has not yet come up with a regulation, however, some federal states have now introduced vacancy taxes on their own. After providing brief insights into the Austrian constitutional framework, this article provides an overview of the current federal state laws, including an initial analysis of their efficacy.