Austria’s Parliament has completed a wide‑ranging rewrite of consumer credit law that will change how cars are sold and financed. The new Verbraucherkreditgesetz 2026 (VKrG 2026), published as BGBl. I Nr. 36/2026, implements the EU’s 2023 consumer‑credit directive and will replace the old VKrG. Key parts come into effect for market practice from mid/late November 2026 — a change drivers, dealers and insurers must prepare for now.
What the law changes for car deals and leases
Under the new law, offers that in practice amount to credit—examples include dealer 0‑percent financing, instalment sale and leasing with a fixed buy‑out option—are explicitly treated as consumer credit. That means sellers who present or operate such products become, in effect, creditors and must carry out and document an individual creditworthiness check before signing. The reform also tightens pre‑contract information (standard information sheets), requires clearer labelling of product types (for instance: “rest‑value leasing without purchase option”) and forbids pre‑ticked boxes and the forced sale of ancillary products such as compulsory insurance add‑ons.
The law restores and clarifies withdrawal and termination rights in situations where a lease is functionally a credit contract. For certain leasing forms with a purchase option consumers will get a 14‑day right of withdrawal and the right to early termination; the rules also require that early‑repayment or settlement calculations must reduce total costs pro rata rather than leaving customers with unchanged fees. Those specifics are spelled out in the new VKrG 2026 and in guidance published by Austrian consumer‑finance advisors.
