Iceland review - 2019, Side 61

57
Iceland Review
Housing construction only began to pick up in
2015. That year, the number of new construction
permits in Reykjavík was up 72.4% compared to the
previous year. But the previous years had built up a
large overhang of unsatisfied demand which found
its way into rising prices.
Market failures
“The authorities have relied on the market to solve
this issue, which has been a mistake. Contractors
and investors have failed to build for ordinary peo-
ple, especially low income people who are econom-
ically stressed,” Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir,
Reykjavík City Council member for the Socialist
Party argues. According to government statistics,
18.7% of renters spent more than 40% of their
disposable income on rent in 2017. Less than half
of renters (49%) feel they enjoy housing security,
compared to 94% of homeowners. Just over one
fifth of renters, or 21%, report they need to dip into
their savings or go into debt to make ends meet,
compared to just 7% of homeowners.
“Families with children have been forced to
move into industrial housing where they live in
completely unacceptable conditions. Meanwhile,
contractors have been busy building apartments
nobody wants. This is especially the case in down-
town Reykjavík where all construction has either
been hotels or luxury flats that don’t meet the
needs of working families.” Sanna argues politi-
cians should have encouraged non-profit housing
options instead of allowing the motive of profit to
“mismanage the supply of a fundamental human
need: safe and secure housing.”
Nína Guðrún and David Park are moving into a part
of their unfinished home in Urriðaholt.