10 tenant requirements

10 tenant requirements.

A home is a basic need and a human right. Everyone should have access to cheap and safe housing. Housing is part of society's infrastructure, not a market product. A sufficient supply of cheap and safe rental housing must be ensured. Housing must be livable. landlords Housing benefits should be increased Laws, regulations, supervision, public donations and taxes should be used to curb the housing market Tenants' rights struggle should be supported

The housing system in Iceland, and especially the rental market, is the single factor that most reduces the standard of living of the largest group. It has long been clear that an unchanged housing policy does not improve the situation, but promotes the shortcomings of the housing system. In order to improve the situation and raise the living standards of about 30 thousand families in the rental market and the general public, the board of the Tenants' Association presents these ten demands.

1. Home is a basic need and human right

It is the primary duty of society to take care of the basic needs of the population, adults and children.

2. Everyone should have access to cheap and safe housing

Housing issues are the basis of all well-being. It doesn't matter what we do to improve the situation of those who are disadvantaged, sick or struggling, if people live with usury, insecurity and income anxiety, all the effects of other assistance are wiped out. Housing insecurity and high housing costs are the main prerequisites for child poverty.

3. Housing is part of the community's infrastructure, not a market product

A healthy housing system that serves the entire public must be built. The housing system should not be a playground for those who want to make a lot of money in a short time. The housing system should be stable and reliable and yield lower returns in the long term, but above all safety and prosperity for the residents.

4. A sufficient supply of cheap and safe rental housing must be ensured

The only way to ensure cheap and safe housing is to build apartments that are subject to fluctuations in the real estate and financial markets. This part of the market is much smaller in Iceland than in our neighboring countries, where there is a better balance in the housing system. Governments, local authorities, trade unions, pension funds, public cooperatives, public housing associations and other parties can and should meet this need. Building tenant building cooperatives needs to be made easier in particular. The larger the non-profit driven part of the housing system, the more balanced its other parts will be.

5. Residential premises must be habitable

All housing that is rented out as residential housing must be habitable and meet the requirements for a framework for a productive home life. Tenants should be able to apply for authorization to repair the premises at the landlord's expense if it does not meet the requirements and receive the support of public bodies for this. Uninhabitable housing has no place on the rental market.

6. A ceiling must be set on how expensive house rent can become

The government should issue reference prices and maximum rent prices. People who choose to rent higher would then not be entitled to discounts on capital gains tax due to rental income or other government support for home owners. Only landlords who rent at reasonable rates can belong to a public housing scheme. Usury is supposed to be an underground activity not a recognized business. Default insurance should be part of the rental price, and an advance payment and security deposit from the tenants should be paid.

7. Rent increases beyond the increase in the landlord's costs must be prohibited

It is necessary to put into law that it is not allowed to increase the rent beyond the costs of the landlord for maintenance, financing or other things related to the operation of the premises. Rental prices should not follow real estate prices or the purchasing power of the public, so that landlords eat up all the increase in purchasing power of workers.

8. Housing benefits should be increased

International standards say that normal housing costs are about 25% of disposable income and that housing costs exceeding 40% of disposable income are significantly burdensome. Despite the current housing benefits, the majority of tenants bear burdensome housing costs. These tenants therefore bear the cost of an unhealthy housing system and pay for its shortcomings with reduced living standards. A natural measure is for the public sector to bear these costs by increasing housing allowances. The public sector has a direct benefit from fixing the system, lowering prices and increasing security, in order to reduce its costs for housing benefits.

9. Laws, regulations, supervision, public contributions and taxes should be used to control the housing market

After many years of attempts by the government to let the market develop the housing system, it is clear that this raises housing prices, encourages housing and undermines the public's safety and living standards. The public sector should therefore use all available means to curb the market, drive away the scammers and build a stable and fair housing system that serves the public. The goal should be to build a stable and safe system. One way is to oblige apartment owners to deposit their apartments in rental companies to ensure their legal and professional rental.

10. Tenants' rights struggle must be strengthened

Tenants' associations must be strengthened so that they can fight for the group's interests and rights. No group in Iceland lives with poorer conditions and rights compared to a comparable group in our neighboring countries.

In an arena where the status of people is unequal, the power of association and organized struggle is the best way to protect the weak against the abuse of their position by the strong. We know the positive consequences of an organized struggle from the labor market, but the negative consequences of the lack of such in the housing market. Tenants' associations should have the right to negotiate rents and terms on behalf of their members and other tenants in the same way that trade unions have the right to negotiate wages.

The position of marginalized groups needs to be strengthened in particular to prevent discrimination in the housing market due to origin, ethnicity, class, language, color, religion, lifestyle, political views, atheism, gender, sexuality, gender identity, gender expression, gender identity, age, disability, physical appearance , body type, health, brain or other status.

The legal status of individual tenants vis-à-vis landlords needs to be strengthened. Tenants who disclose violations of the law, usury, threats and other injustices by landlords need special protection so that their stories do not lead to homelessness.