Reykjavík rejects seven-unit home with oversized basement

Reykjavík’s building official rejected an application to legalise extensive alterations to a single-family home in the Hólahverfi neighbourhood of Breiðholt, mbl.is reports. The property contains seven apartments, while approved plans allowed only one additional apartment and a much smaller basement.

According to the approved plans, the house had a 130.2-square-metre apartment on the upper floor, a 57.5-square-metre basement apartment and a 34-square-metre basement. In reality, the upper-floor apartment measures 172.7 square metres, while five apartments occupy 223.1 square metres in the basement. A further 34-square-metre apartment is located in the garage.

The basement was substantially enlarged by excavating space beneath the foundations. The owners said the property had been in its current condition since 1998, while the ruling states that it may have been this way since it was built, more than 50 years ago.

After rejecting the application and determining that the property did not comply with planning rules, the building official ordered the owners to restore it to the approved plans. They were given 60 days to carry out the work or face daily fines of 25,000 Icelandic krónur. The owners appealed that decision.

Only one additional apartment allowed

Reykjavík argued that the property did not comply with either the applicable planning rules or the planning framework for the Efra-Breiðholt neighbourhood, approved in 2022.

That framework allows new apartments on the ground floors or in the basements of apartment buildings where conditions permit, provided the changes comply with relevant regulations and the framework’s guidelines. It also allows one additional apartment in each terraced, semi-detached or single-family house. The additional apartment may occupy no more than one-third of the building’s total area.

The basement in this case is larger than all the other space in the house and garage combined.

The city also said the maximum permitted building area on the lot was 287 square metres, with a maximum floor-area ratio of 0.41. The plans submitted show a total building area of 429.5 square metres and a floor-area ratio of 0.61, meaning the property substantially exceeds the permitted limits.

Owners said they acted in good faith

The owners argued that the property had remained in its current condition for decades and that they had acted in good faith by taking the initiative to apply for approval.

They said tenancy agreements were in force, with indefinite terms and notice periods of at least 12 months, making it impossible to remove the tenants within 60 days. Some of the tenants are also clients of Reykjavík’s social services, they said.

The owners added that the tenancy agreements had been registered and that the tenants received housing benefits.

They also argued that building authorities had previously approved similar work. They referred to earlier media reports involving a well-known public figure, saying no demolition had been required in those cases and that they had therefore been entitled to expect the same treatment.

The appeals committee found that the property’s current configuration clearly does not comply with the applicable planning rules or the neighbourhood planning framework.