Ragnar Þór promises overhaul of building inspections
Friday 23rd October 2026 on 15:01 in
Iceland
Iceland’s social and housing affairs minister, Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson, plans a sweeping overhaul of building inspections to prevent construction defects and identify them earlier, mbl.is reports. He said the current system and changes made to it had not achieved the intended results.
Ragnar Þór said the costs of major moisture and mould problems were enormous, and that many cases could be traced to neglect and a backlog of maintenance. He also called for secure funding for maintenance of public buildings, so the money would not be redirected elsewhere.
He made the remarks in response to a question in Parliament on Thursday from Eiríkur Björn Björgvinsson, an MP for Viðreisn. The question concerned follow-up to a 2021 parliamentary resolution on measures to address moisture damage in buildings.
A bill proposing a new inspection system has been published for public consultation. It would introduce risk-based inspections, clarify responsibilities, improve the traceability of information in the construction register and extend inspections to buildings after they are occupied.
The minister said inspections would focus on parts of construction where mistakes could have the greatest consequences. Key records on design, construction and inspections would be retained and made accessible through the register, which he compared to a car’s service log. Better records could help establish what went wrong and who was responsible, strengthening the position of property owners and buyers seeking redress for defects.
Monitoring buildings after they enter use would also help identify defects sooner. The information could inform future assessments of whether property owners need stronger legal protections, including whether to consider insurance for construction defects.
Ragnar Þór said maintenance was often among the first items cut when budgets were tightened. He regretted that a bill on hospital properties had not passed in the previous parliamentary session; it was intended, among other things, to put maintenance funding on a firmer footing through maintenance funds.