Proposal by the city councilor of the Socialist Party of Iceland on the establishment of a Reykjavík City construction company

Proposal by the city councilor of the Socialist Party of Iceland on the establishment of a Reykjavík City construction company

The City Council agrees to instruct the relevant departments within the city to immediately begin preparations for the establishment of a Reykjavík City construction company, which aims to build apartments for individuals and families facing the most severe housing problems. The objective of the construction company will be to manage the entire process from start to finish, and the Department of Environment and Planning is tasked with exploring how this can be implemented, in cooperation with the Department of Welfare and the Department of Finance and Risk Management. This includes examining the import of building materials and potential bulk purchases available, and developing ideas for hiring for the projects. The role of the construction company will be to oversee the construction of apartments on city land and rent out the apartments on a non-profit basis.

Explanation:

A housing crisis prevails in the city, with a significant shortage of apartments, which has inflated rental prices in the general rental market and makes it difficult for individuals facing housing problems. It is essential that the city intervenes in the situation with increased seriousness and takes responsibility for building for city residents who are in the greatest need. By establishing a Reykjavík City construction company, the city can create a housing association that is completely separate from companies driven by profit motives. As the situation stands, many parties are involved in housing development in the city. By bringing a portion of the development and rental directly under the city's purview, intermediaries who seek to profit from housing development and apartment rentals can be removed from the equation, which will result in lower rental prices for city residents. It is essential to ensure that sufficient apartments are available, as the housing crisis continuously undermines the living standards of the general public, though of course most severely those of the worst-off, and this is the city's responsibility. It has been fully proven that looking to the market in the hope that it will provide a solution to the problem is futile. We need to implement social solutions, and a Reykjavík construction company would be a powerful addition to housing development while efforts are made to strengthen other non-profit rental associations and support apartment construction by trade unions.