Going self-employed as a tiler in Austria: what to settle before your first bathroom

The trade licence: Keramiker; Platten- und Fliesenleger

The Gewerbeordnung (Trade Act) does not list tile laying as a separate trade, but as part of the combined craft "Keramiker; Platten- und Fliesenleger" (ceramicist; tile and slab layer, § 94 no. 38 GewO). You register the trade you carry out, i.e. "Platten- und Fliesenleger". The access regulation sets out separately for both parts which documents prove competence. For tilers they are:

1. Certificate of the passed master craftsman exam
2. at least six consecutive years as a self-employed person or business manager
3. Apprenticeship certificate as tile and slab layer (or in a related apprenticeship of at least two years) followed by at least three years as a self-employed person or business manager
4. recognised training for the craft of at least two years followed by four years as a self-employed person or business manager
5. three years as a self-employed person and five years as an employee
6. apprenticeship certificate followed by at least five years of trade-specific work in a senior position

Routes 2 to 5 are mainly intended for tilers who were already self-employed in another EU country. For journeymen from an Austrian business, the practical options are the master exam, route 6 as a crew leader or site manager, and the individual proof of competence under § 19 GewO. You apply for this at the trade authority with certificates, employment confirmations and references; the authority can also restrict the competence to certain activities.

BUAK: what tiling businesses do differently from painters

The Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungsgesetz (BUAG, Construction Workers Holiday and Severance Pay Act) expressly includes tile and slab laying businesses in its scope. If you employ workers, you register them with the BUAK and pay monthly surcharges for holidays, severance pay and, where applicable, winter holidays. Your workers' holiday entitlements then don't depend on your business, but move with them via the fund. For your pricing this means: a tiler's non-wage labour costs are higher than in trades without the BUAK obligation. Plan for the surcharges before you publish your first hourly rate.

Waterproofing: where most complaints come from

A leaking bathroom gets expensive: knock off the tiles, dry out, waterproof again, re-tile and pay for the damage in the flat below. For immovable property, the warranty period under § 933 ABGB (Civil Code) is three years, and many defects show up in exactly that period. For waterproofing bonded with tiles, ÖNORM B 3407 (planning and execution of tile, slab and mosaic work, current edition 2026-01-01) is the state of the art. ÖNORM B 2207 is the contract standard that governs scope of work, billing and acceptance if you agree it.

Tools, vehicle and storage

Cutting and grinding tiles and natural stone produces fine quartz dust. Work wet or with extraction at the source, and provide respiratory protection as soon as you have employees. A dry storage room for adhesive and grout is a must, because bagged products absorb moisture and become unusable.

Pricing, using a bathroom renovation as an example

A typical job: bathroom with 5 m² of floor and 20 m² of wall, walk-in shower, 30 × 60 cm tiles, material supplied by the customer through a tile dealer. The figures are assumptions for illustration; calculate with your own values:

With large formats from 120 cm edge length, the effort rises considerably: two people for handling, a flatter substrate, more adhesive. Calculate a separate surcharge or separate items for this instead of copying the price per m² of the standard format. And if you supply the material yourself, factor in breakage, offcuts and your purchasing time.

Registration and start: the final steps

You register the trade online via GISA or at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Magistrat. After that you are a member of the Landesinnung der Hafner, Platten- und Fliesenleger und Keramiker (regional guild of stove fitters, tilers and ceramicists), socially insured with the SVS, and you report the opening to the tax office. Business liability insurance that also covers consequential water damage is part of the basic equipment. The general start-up steps are in Starting a business in Austria, the mandatory details for your website in Mandatory details in Austria. How to win new jobs with photos of finished bathrooms is shown in the post References and reviews.