Does Every Op­er­at­ing Fa­cil­ity Need A Per­mit?

Current case law regarding the approval of operating facilities

The Commercial Code ("Gewerbeordnung 1994") has many peculiarities and differences to other laws that must be taken into account when planning and implementing projects. One important aspect is that the group of parties involved in an operating facility approval procedure under the Commercial Code is much wider than for example that of a building permit procedure. While the construction law regulations of the federal provinces essentially consider the surrounding property owners as parties, neighbors within the meaning of section 75 para. 2 first sentence GewO 1994 are "all persons who could be endangered or inconvenienced by the construction, existence or operation of an operating facility or whose property or other rights in rem could be endangered". In a large city like Vienna, the potential group of parties can quickly include hundreds of neighbors, depending on the location and type of business