Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Page 16

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2014
Feature | Tourism
Jóhann Már Sigurbjörnsson, chair of the
Renters’ Association of Iceland, recently
told reporters that “the government, local
authorities, and even labour unions must
respond to this. There are thousands of
apartments going off the rental market
and onto the tourist market. Nothing is
coming in their place.”
Indeed, taking a look at the Facebook
group Leiga (“Rent”), one can get a pretty
clear picture of the situation as it current-
ly stands: you’ll encounter entire families
searching for a place to rent, for months
on end, while landlords offer tiny apart-
ments in far-flung locations for upwards
of 120,000 ISK per month—often asking
three-months’ rent as “insurance depos-
it.” Those without a loose half million lay-
ing around are hard pressed to find a roof
over their heads.
The situation has become so absurd
that local artist Julia Mai decided to par-
ody it, with her “Cardboard Box Reno-
vation” campaign. Posting a photo of an
empty cardboard box with a sign reading
“AirBnB! 20,000 per night” on GoFund-
Me, the campaign aims to raise $6,000 to
“renovate it to make it more attractive for
the tourist market in Reykjavik”.
You're soliciting funds ($6,000!) to
renovate a cardboard box to make it
"more attractive for the tourist mar-
ket in Reykjavík," with the idea of
renting it out on Airbnb. Surely, you
can’t be serious. Who’d rent a card-
board box?
No one would willingly spend a night liv-
ing in a box like this, especially as it’s kind
of small—it would only fit a third you, for
instance. But that's the whole point.

Is this satire, then? A joke? What’s
your target? Folks who rent apart-
ments through Airnb? Homeowners
who rent out their apartments via
that increasingly popular online ser-
vice?
This here is a very serious joke! And I
don’t at all expect I’ll be renting out that
box. I wouldn’t say I’m targeting any
landlords on an individual, personal lev-
el, (although I despise the greed some of
them display). My joke is rather directed
at whoever is in charge of regulating the
market, and is obviously neglecting his or
her job.
It’s true that Airbnb is affecting
Reykjavík’s rental market—indeed,
the chair of Iceland’s Renters’ Asso-
ciation claims that locals simply can’t
compete with tourists on the rental
market. Have you personally been in-
convenienced by Airbnb? What’s the
story here?
Well, yes. For example, I am currently in
the process of looking for a new apart-
ment, which is a really rather hard and
frustrating endeavour. I was given until
September to evacuate my current apart-
ment, which the owners plan to renovate
this coming winter and then letting it out
on Airbnb for the 2015 tourist season. I
have a couple of weeks to find something
[note, this interview was conducted a
couple of weeks ago. At the time of pub-
lication, it does not look like Julia has
found a proper place to stay].
So you’d say there is a shortage of rent-
al apartments in downtown Reykja-
vík?
Oh, I’d say! The few ones that remain,
would-be tenants crowd around them
like seagulls fighting for a half-eaten Bó-
nus rækjusamloka on a Sunday morning.
But, why don’t you move somewhere
else, out of 101 Reykjavík? Tourists
are hardly flocking to places like
Breiðholt or Grafarvogur—those
neighbourhoods must have a few
cheap, relatively nice apartments
available?
Perhaps. But then I might as well leave
the country! I spent the last eight years
living and working in 101 Reykjavík, my
son will be commencing his education in
Austurbæjarskóli this fall. The 101 area
has up-until now provided me with a very
good quality life, and I don't want to leave
that behind because of some people’s un-
bridled opportunism and the city and na-
tional government’s lack of foresight and
oversight. I would, however, like to visit
Breiðholt to see that pretty Erró mural. I
hear it’s really nicely placed.
What’s the worst-case scenario you
envision, if this trend continues?
A growing number of angry, homeless
Icelanders and disappointed tourists
who came here for something other than
meeting other tourists in what seems to
be a giant outdoor airport shopping mall
strewn with tax-free polar bears dolls
and inspirational puffins.
The death of 101, if you will!
How would you propose to solve the
problem? Should authorities further
crack down on Airbnb rentals? Or
should the annual number of tourists
to Iceland be limited?
Limiting the annual amount of tour-
ists sounds like a bad idea. Tourists are
people too, and they should be treated
accordingly. I'd like to see the state regu-
late and limit the amount of Airbnbs in a
given area, and also try to go all 1984 on
those folks that illegally rent their apart-
ments.
While tourism has certainly been playing a critical role in
bolstering Iceland’s economy, like any market force, it is not
without its rippling effects. Property owners hoping to cash
in on the tourism gravy train are finding it far more lucra-
tive to rent to tourists than locals, as those on vacation will
often anticipate having to drop a month’s rent on a few days
or weeks of lodging. Unsurprisingly, this new trend effec-
tively drives up rental prices to a point where many locals
find they can no longer afford apartments in their neigh-
bourhoods—while others are asked to vacate their homes
to make way for high-rolling tourists.
Visitors And Locals:
The Rental Market In
A Nutshell
Reporting by Paul Fontaine
Email Interview by Haukur S. Magnússon
Photo by Axel Sigurðarson