Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.06.2014, Page 12

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07 — 2014
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For every one of these ads that pop up
on a Facebook page for Iceland’s expats
there are a dozen posts that read like
cries for help. People who are moving to
Reykjavík for school, or an internship,
or on a whim; people who have lived
in this city for years; all needing but
having a hard time finding affordable
places to live.
And it’s no wonder those on the
prowl in Reykjavík’s rental market are
pleading on the internet for an afford-
able abode. They are few and far be-
tween, with many moving toward rent-
ing short-term for big profit to tourists
rather than offering long-term accom-
modation at a reasonable rate to city
residents.
Great Minds?
The horrendous state of Reykjavík’s
rental market was a hot topic in the re-
cent municipal elections, and one of the
few speaking points that all parties ap-
peared to agree on.
“It is in shambles,” said the Pirate
Party. “It’s insecure and unhealthy,”
insisted the Social Democratic Alli-
ance, which came out victorious in the
May 31 elections.
The Independence party’s pre-elec-
tions chatter blamed the lack afford-
able housing on the City not making
enough plots of land available for devel-
opment. A sentiment conjured by The
Progressive party’s nationalist leader
Sveinbjörg Birna Sveinbjörnsdóttir in
attempting to justify her xenophobic
argument that a plot of land granted
to the Muslim Association of Iceland
for building the country’s first mosque
should be taken back…
We Can Make A Fortune
Renting To Tourists!
No small contributor to the current
state in which Reykjavík’s rental mar-
ket finds itself is the tourist boom and
the eagerness of enterprising Iceland-
ers to get a piece of the pie. As tourism
continues to grow in Iceland it seems
that every owner of a home or apart-
ment is getting into the hospitality busi-
ness, turning their properties into guest
houses, and listing their apartments ex-
clusively on sites like Airbnb.
This has lead to many long-term
renters in 101 finding themselves
evicted as their landlords seek to cash
in on the flood of tourist dollars into
the country.
“It’s nothing more than greed,” said
Sarah* of her former landlord’s decision
to dive headfirst into the tourist rental
market, leaving her and her young fam-
ily with just 8-weeks to find a new place
to live as he rushed to get their long-
term rental tourist-ready in time for
June 1.
“I know the tourism industry, so I’ve
been hearing for
years about people
being kicked out so
that their landlords
can make a quick
buck off of tourists.
I just never expect-
ed that I would be in
the same position.”
After three years
renting from her
landlord, Sarah was
entitled to a mini-
mum of six-months
notice to vacate the
apartment, but giv-
en the fact that she
shared the premises
with her landlord
she went along with
the eight-weeks no-
tice and moved out.
Luckily for Sarah,
she and her family
were able to find a
lovely and spacious apartment in 101 to
move into, but others without as flex-
ible a budget would likely not be so for-
tunate.
There are currently more than 1,000
Reykjavík properties listed for rent on
Airbnb, a popular site for renting entire
homes, spare rooms, or shared spaces
at a nightly rate to travellers. More
than 600 of those are in Miðbær and
Vesturbær, Reykjavík’s central neigh-
bourhoods. Single rooms tend to start
at 5,000 ISK nightly, and entire apart-
ments at around 15,000 ISK nightly, de-
pending on the time of year.
While not all 1,000 plus apartments
listed on Airbnb in Reykjavík are set
aside strictly for tourists—some are le-
gitimately lived in by individuals and
families looking to
make some spend-
ing money while
they’ll be away from
home anyhow—many
listings are proper-
ties that have been
bought and renovat-
ed explicitly for the
purpose of renting to
tourists. Many “host”
profiles even state
something along the
lines of “I have nu-
merous rentals avail-
able throughout 101”
imploring would-be
guests to be in touch
for something that
suits their specific
needs.
Unless their spe-
cific need is a reason-
ably priced long-term
rental, then they’re
out of luck.
What’s Being Done?
In October 2013, the City of Reykjavík
released a housing plan that projected
that more than 7,500 residences of vari-
ous configurations would be construct-
ed in the city by 2022, with an average
of 750 being added to the market yearly.
The Social Democratic Alliance,
which has been in a coalition government
with The Best Party for the past four
years, even campaigned on the promise
of adding 2,500–3,000 new apartments
to the city in the next four years.
These numbers could very well come
to fruition depending on the success of a
scheme developed by City Council last
year. Called Reykjavíkurhús (Reykjavík
Houses), the scheme would see the city
granting plots of land to developers that
would, in turn, use that land to build af-
fordable housing for Reykjavík residents.
In a market where everybody has
traditionally bought a home, but in a
time when hundreds are defaulting on
their mortgages monthly, development
of affordable housing in the city would
be a welcome addition.
Happy Hunting
It’s a jungle out there. With the tourist
boom being treated as a gold rush by
enterprising developers and property
owners, the cost of renting in Reykjavík
is going through the roof.
While plans have been set in motion
to remedy the situation and provide
more options to residents whose in-
comes are currently being stretched too
thin, relief cannot come soon enough.
“It’s a shame, so many families are
cramming themselves into one-bed-
room apartments because they don’t
want to give up living in the centre, but
after having one or two children they
can’t afford a place with two or more
bedrooms in the city,” laments Sarah.
“There’s just no affordable options left.”
* Reykjavík’s rental market is small, com-
petitive, and very dependent on connec-
tions and word of mouth. For this reason
names have been changed.
Help! I Need A
Place To Live!
The dire state of Reykjavík’s
rental market
Words by Catharine Fulton
Photos by Nanna Dís
“Room for rent in 101 Reykjavík. 11 square metres. Internet
not included. 65.000 kr. per month.”
“Room for 1 person. 50.000 kr. monthly, plus deposit. The
room is very small and not very nice, but maybe somebody
would like to take it.”
“One room in a shared apartment in a quiet area in
Garðabær. 75.000 kr. per month.”
“In a market where
everybody has tradi-
tionally bought a home,
but in a time when
hundreds are default-
ing on their mortgages
monthly, development
of affordable housing
in the city would be a
welcome addition.”
Reykjavík | Rental Market