What are the OIB guidelines?
They appear in almost every permit and in no statute in full. The OIB guidelines are the states’ shared technical language, but each state decides for itself from when it speaks it. For every project Piloti names the edition in force in the state and cites down to the clause.
Entry into force per the OIB overview on oib.or.at, as of September 2025, and as of July 2026 for OIB guideline 6, 2025 edition.
In short
The OIB guidelines are the building-technology guidelines issued by the Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering (OIB), with which the states harmonise their technical requirements; they become binding only when a state declares them binding in its building code or building-technology regulation, and then in a specific edition. Piloti cites them down to the clause and names the edition in force in the project’s state.
What they are and where their force comes from
In Austria, building law is state law. So that a fire safety or thermal protection standard does not exist in nine versions, the states draw up joint guidelines through the Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering (OIB). The OIB itself makes no law: only the state declares the guidelines binding, usually in its building-technology regulation or building act.
They come with the definitions (Begriffsbestimmungen), where words such as building class, escape level or above-ground storey are defined. Anyone reading a guideline without the definitions next to it reads half of it.
How Piloti works with the guidelines
Piloti cites the OIB guidelines down to the clause, for example “Pkt. 3.5.2 · S. 7”, and checks the citation against the source text before it appears. It says which edition applies in the project’s state when that changes the answer.
The six guidelines
- OIB guideline 1: mechanical resistance and stability.
- OIB guideline 2: fire safety, with separate parts for special buildings such as industrial buildings and garages.
- OIB guideline 3: hygiene, health and environmental protection, for example habitable rooms, daylight, ventilation.
- OIB guideline 4: safety in use and accessibility.
- OIB guideline 5: sound insulation.
- OIB guideline 6: energy saving and thermal insulation.
2023 edition: where it is in force per the OIB overview
| OIB-RL 1–5 | OIB-RL 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Burgenland | – | – |
| Carinthia | 31.12.2024 | 31.12.2024 |
| Lower Austria | 18.3.2025 | 18.3.2025 |
| Upper Austria | 1.10.2025 | – |
| Salzburg | – | – |
| Styria | – | – |
| Tyrol | 16.7.2026 | – |
| Vorarlberg | – | – |
| Vienna | 23.2.2024 | 23.2.2024 |
Per the OIB overview, as of September 2025. OIB guideline 6, 2025 edition, applies per the OIB overview (as of July 2026) in Tyrol since 16.7.2026 and in Vienna since 15.7.2026. Where the 2023 edition is not binding, the 2019 edition generally still applies. States can set exceptions and transition rules: check your state’s building-technology rules.
Where the guidelines stop
The OIB guidelines govern building technology, not plot development. How high, how dense and at what distance one may build is set by the building code and the development plan. The procedure, from submission to notice of completion, is state law too.
The guidelines refer to ÖNORM standards in many places. Those standards are a body of rules of their own, and which standard in which version counts is stated in the guideline’s reference. States generally allow deviations from the guidelines where it is shown that the same level of protection is reached.
Good to know
When a guideline refers to an ÖNORM, Piloti names the standard; the office sets the wording beside it from its own collection of standards. Which edition governs a pending procedure is set by the state’s transition rules, which Piloti points to.
Questions
Are the OIB guidelines binding?
Not by themselves. They become binding when a state declares them binding in its building code or building-technology regulation, in a specific edition. States generally allow deviations where the same level of protection is shown.
Which edition of the OIB guidelines applies in my state?
Per the OIB overview (as of September 2025), the 2023 edition is in force in Carinthia, Lower Austria and Vienna, and for guidelines 1 to 5 in Upper Austria and Tyrol. In the other states the 2019 edition generally still applies. Transition rules are in the state’s building-technology rules.
Where can I find the OIB guidelines?
On the OIB website, oib.or.at, together with the definitions, explanatory notes and the overview of which edition applies where. The act that makes them binding is in state law, in the RIS.
What is the difference between an OIB guideline and an ÖNORM?
The OIB guidelines set the technical requirements the state makes binding. ÖNORMs are technical standards from Austrian Standards; they are binding where a law or a guideline refers to them.
Read on
- GlossaryWhat is a building class?
- GlossaryWhat is the RIS?
- Use casesChecking escape routes and fire compartments under OIB guideline 2
- Use casesU-value, HWB and sound insulation: what OIB guidelines 5 and 6 require
- Building law by stateBuilding law in Vienna: Bauordnung für Wien, WBTV 2023 and OIB guidelines