Proposal of the city councilor of the Socialist Party of Iceland on the establishment of a building society of Reykjavík City (byggingarfélags Reykjavíkurborgar)

Proposal of the city councilor of the Socialist Party of Iceland on the establishment of a building society of Reykjavík City

The City Council approves entrusting relevant departments within the city to immediately begin preparations for the establishment of a building society of Reykjavík City, which aims to build apartments for those individuals and families who are in the greatest housing distress. The objective of the building society will be to manage the entire process from start to finish, and the Department of Environment and Planning (umhverfis- og skipulagssviði) is entrusted to examine how this can be implemented, in cooperation with the Department of Welfare (velferðarsvið) and the Department of Finance and Risk Management of the city (fjármála- og áhættustýringarsvið borgarinnar). There, it is necessary to examine the import of building materials and possible bulk purchases that are available, and to develop ideas for hiring for the projects. The role of the building society will be to manage the construction of the apartments on city land and to rent out the apartments in a non-profit operation.

Explanation:

A housing crisis prevails in the city where there is a great shortage of apartments; such has inflated rental prices in the general rental market and makes it difficult for people in housing distress. It is necessary for the city to intervene in the situation with increased seriousness and ensure construction for city residents who are in the greatest need. With the establishment of a building society of Reykjavík City, the city can create a housing association that is completely separate from companies with profit motives. As the situation stands now, many parties are involved in housing development in the city. By bringing part of the development and rental directly to the city's table, those intermediaries who seek to profit from housing development and apartment rentals can be removed from the equation, which results in lower rental prices for city residents. It is necessary to ensure that enough apartments are available, as the housing crisis constantly undermines the living standards of the general public, though of course mostly the worst off, and that is the city's responsibility. It is futile to look to the market in the hope that it will provide a solution to the problem. We need to implement social solutions, and a building society of Reykjavík would be a powerful addition to housing development while efforts are made to strengthen other non-profit rental associations and support apartment development by trade unions (verkalýðsfélaganna).