Icelandic rents far outpace those in other countries

Rent prices in Iceland are completely out of line with those in other countries, Yngvi Ómar Sigrúnarson, chairman of the Association of Tenants, said at a meeting held by the Housing and Construction Authority, known as HMS, on Tuesday, according to mbl.is.

HMS proposed reducing housing benefit payments by up to 3 billion Icelandic krónur and redirecting the money towards building homes for lower-income households.

Yngvi welcomed HMS’s assessment that the housing benefit system is not working in its current form. He said that higher benefits currently increase landlords’ profitability rather than providing support for tenants, because landlords raise rents in line with the benefits.

He said HMS’s proposed rent-to-own scheme could provide tenants in the general housing system with a clearer path to home ownership, provided that a non-profit rental market is developed alongside it.