Reykjavík City to take over unsold apartments

The Socialist Party's proposal to utilize empty apartments will be presented and discussed at the city council meeting tomorrow:

Reykjavík City agrees to approach those who have been involved in the development and financing of so-called luxury apartments in the city center that have not been selling (e.g., apartments at Tryggvagata 13). The goal of Reykjavík City will be to take over ownership of these apartments at a favorable price and use them to provide secure housing for those in the city who are in need of housing.

The parties behind the aforementioned apartments have had difficulties selling them, and given the economic situation we are now facing, it is not foreseeable that the apartments will be in demand at their current price. It is therefore proposed that Reykjavík City seek to take over the apartments and make them accessible to the groups in society most in need of housing.

It is also proposed that Reykjavík City explore the same arrangement with the city's large hotels currently under construction and convert the spaces, for example, into student dormitories and nursing facilities. The Department of Finance and Risk Management will be tasked with contacting those who have been involved in the financing and development of the aforementioned apartments and engaging in discussions with them on behalf of the city. Reykjavík City then agrees to work with stakeholders such as the labor movement, Félagsbústaðir, the Icelandic Disability Alliance (Öryrkjabandalag Íslands), the Student Housing Organization (Félagsstofnun stúdenta), and organizations for senior citizens on the utilization of the apartments.

Here you can see the proposal with an explanatory statement:https://reykjavik.is/sites/default/files/skjol_borgarstjornarfundur/5_tillaga_j_ibudirdocx.pdf