MP urges longer property return period and waived stamp duty

Ingveldur Anna Sigurðardóttir, a parliamentarian for the Independence Party, wants Grindavík residents to have longer than three years to return homes bought back under a proposed scheme, and says stamp duty should be waived. mbl.is reported that the scheme would let residents repurchase their properties for the same price paid by Þórkatla, a real estate company.

Speaking during parliamentary business at Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament, Ingveldur Anna said uncertainty over volcanic activity remained and residents should be able to return to Grindavík on their own terms. She said it was important not to force families to uproot themselves again while events were still unfolding.

The planned scheme offers three options, she said: repurchasing a property through a rent-to-own arrangement, reserving a property, or renting an apartment in a multi-unit building at market rates. The scheme is due to be presented at a public meeting in Grindavík on Wednesday.

Ingveldur Anna said three years could pass quickly and called for the return period to be extended. She also questioned why the statutory right of first refusal, which is due to be removed, could not remain in place for another year.

She said waiving stamp duty on repurchases would be fair because Grindavík residents had not chosen to leave town. More than 1,000 people work in Grindavík each day, she said, and people live there, with children back at school. Although the town is open, it remains at an uncertainty level and land uplift is continuing.

The most recent eruption in the Sundhnúkur crater row ended on August 5 last year.