Brothel licensing
General information
Prostitution in Salzburg is permitted only in brothels licensed by the authorities. A brothel may only be operated with a municipal licence.
Requirements
The licence to run a brothel may be issued only if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The site applied for is not located in an area designated in the municipality’s land-use plan as a residential area, an extended residential area or a village area.
2. There is no prohibition under Section 10 relating to the site applied for.
3. Within 300 m of the site applied for, there are none of the following facilities:
• schools, crèches;
• youth centres, youth meeting points;
• residential care homes for children or young people;
• public playgrounds for children;
• sports facilities;
• buildings used for religious purposes;
• official buildings;
• hospitals, convalescent homes;
• nursing and care homes;
• barracks.
4. In view of the surrounding area or the nature of the municipality, it would seem that running a brothel in the location applied for, including arrivals and departures during opening hours, would not give rise to any disturbance affecting local community life in the neighbourhood or the municipality (in particular relating to police rules on safety or morality, of a sanitary nature or relating to tourism).
5. The brothel is not operated in caravans, mobile homes, tents or similar installations.
6. The building in which the brothel is to be run does not serve any purpose other than that applied for. This condition is also satisfied where the building does have dwellings but they are occupied exclusively by persons practising prostitution in the brothel, persons running the brothel or the person designated as the person responsible for the brothel.
7. The sanitary facilities of the building comply with hygienic requirements.
The municipality must issue a brothel licence if the personal and material conditions are met. The licence to run a brothel is to be granted for a limited period, subject to obligations or conditions insofar as this is necessary to safeguard the public interests invoked. The licence must also contain the instructions to be observed in running the brothel.
In any event, the following instructions must be given:
1. The person or persons designated in accordance with Section 3(1)(3) is/are obliged to be present at all times during the opening hours of the brothel.
2. Access to minors is prohibited, and the person responsible is required to prohibit access if there is any doubt as to a person’s age of majority.
3. The brothel operator is obliged to notify the district administrative authority without delay of the names and addresses of all persons engaged in prostitution in their brothel.
Required documents
The written application must contain the following information:
1. The name and address of the applicant, including, in the case of legal persons, the bodies empowered to represent them.
2. The name and address of the owner(s) of the building in which the prostitution is to be established or practised.
3. The name, address and date of birth of the person or persons responsible, at least one of whom must be present at all times during the opening hours of the brothel.
4. The plans and descriptions necessary for the assessment.
5. The location of the building and part of the building in which the prostitution is to be established or practised and the necessary information as to whether the material conditions are met.
6. Any other use of the building in which prostitution is to be established or practised.
7. The brothel's opening hours.
8. The maximum number of persons who will engage in prostitution in the brothel.
The application must be accompanied by:
1. An extract from the land register showing the applicant’s sole ownership of the building in question or, if that is not the case, in addition to the extract from the land register, the written declaration of consent of the owner(s).
2. A criminal record certificate issued within the last 2 months for the applicant and the person responsible.
3. The licence to run a catering establishment in connection with the brothel in accordance with Section 74 et seq. of the Austrian Industrial Code 1994.
Procedure
No data available
Costs and fees
Provincial administrative tax: EUR 2 000
Deadlines
There are no particular deadlines for the applicant.
A brothel licence or authorisation for a substantial modification of a brothel's operations is deemed to have been granted if the municipality does not issue its decision within a period of 6 months. The delivery of decisions revoking or rejecting an application for a licence or granting an application subject to an ancillary provision shall be deemed to have been effected on the 5th working day after dispatch at points of delivery in states with which there is no agreement to ensure delivery. On that date, the fact that the item has been dispatched must be indicated on the homepage of the EAP (Point of single contact, PSC).
Legal bases
Sections 2-6 of the Salzburg Security Act, Provincial Law Gazette (LGBl.) No 57/2009, as amended in LGBl. No 33/2019
Means of redress or appeal
An appeal against a decision is admissible. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 4 weeks to the authority which issued the decision. The period begins to run when the written copy has been delivered or, in the case of an oral announcement, with that announcement.
The appeal must also specify the decision against which it is addressed and the defendant authority, the grounds on which the allegation of unlawfulness is based, the request and the information necessary to assess whether the appeal was filed in time. An appeal is no longer admissible if, after delivery or announcement of the decision, the party expressly waives the appeal.
Moreover, each decision contains details on means of redress, and this contains information about the authority at which the appeal must be filed and the time limit within which this must be done.
Further information
No data available
Competent authority
Municipality in which the brothel is located
Authentication and signature
No data available
Assistance and problem-solving services
Link to form
No data available
Responsible for the content
Data protection
Province of Salzburg – General data protection statement
Last update
08.06.2021