A new push on housing

Ritstjórn

Neighborhood plans Zoning

Undirritun viljayfirlýsingar um nýja sókn í húsnæðismálum. F.v. Finnbjörn A. Hermannsson, forseti Alþýðusambands Íslands, Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, borgarstjóri og Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir formaður BSRB
Undirritun viljayfirlýsingar um nýja sókn í húsnæðismálum. F.v. Finnbjörn A. Hermannsson, forseti Alþýðusambands Íslands, Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, borgarstjóri og Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir formaður BSRB

Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, Finnbjörn A. Hermannsson, president of the Icelandic Confederation of Labour, and Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir, chair of BSRB, signed a letter of intent this morning to explore new ways to increase the housing supply and accelerate residential development in Reykjavík, aiming to bring greater balance to the real estate market. 

Letter of intent

Through this letter of intent, the labor movement and Reykjavík City aim to launch a new push on housing.

A partnership that has delivered results

In recent years, Reykjavík City, the Icelandic Confederation of Labour, and BSRB have turned a new page on housing through their collaboration—founding Bjarg and later Blær, and through the City's allocation of capital grants in the form of numerous lots for the development of affordable rental housing owned by these organizations. 

As a result, nearly a thousand lower-income working families have been guaranteed a secure home. The initiative has been highly successful, and the waitlists make the demand for continued development unmistakable.

I welcome this milestone, which aligns with our charter and the planned vision for diverse housing development in Reykjavík. 

Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, Mayor
Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, borgarstjóri fer yfir húsnæðisuppbyggingu í Reykjavík á fundi í Ráðhúsi Reykjavíkur
Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, borgarstjóri, flutti erindi um uppbyggingu húsnæðis í borginni á fundi í Ráðhúsi Reykjavíkur

Identifying opportunities

A working group will be established, comprising two representatives from each party, and tasked with developing project proposals that can create opportunities given current conditions. 

The working group's main tasks are:

  • Explore whether housing development in Úlfarsárdalur (M22) can be accelerated through the involvement of an infrastructure fund owned by pension funds.
  • Map potential continued residential development over the next 10-15 years, drawing in part on the opportunities created by an updated Transportation Charter.
  • Review the results of the "housing for youth and first-time buyers" initiative and make recommendations for potential changes, new areas for lot allocation, or alternative approaches to increasing the number of such homes, along with allocation rules for the project's next phase.

The working group will begin its work immediately, with results expected by the end of May. The parties agree that once the working group's findings are available, they will assess whether and on what basis to advance them.