Reykjavík council rejects winter utilities for caravan residents

Reykjavík City Council has rejected a proposal to restore electricity and water to residents at the Sævarhöfði 31 caravan site over the winter, mbl.is reports. The council majority cited inadequate fire safety and the site’s closure.

The proposal, submitted by a representative of the Socialist Party of Iceland, called for utilities to be provided from 16 November to 1 April next year. It also proposed agreeing on how costs would be covered in consultation with residents. Representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Centre Party abstained.

In a statement, the council majority, comprising the Independence Party, Viðreisn and the Progressive Party, said tenants at Sævarhöfði had been told in July that their lease would be terminated because of unacceptable fire safety conditions. Caravan residents were notified at the same time. Tenants were required to leave the building, and residents were told to remove their caravans and other equipment by 1 November.

The statement said the Capital Area Fire and Rescue Service had called for extensive fire safety improvements. The city considered that investment unjustifiable because the site is due to be redeveloped. The majority said the site’s closure was the reason for dismissing the proposal.

The proposal’s supporting document said electricity and water were disconnected on 2 November. It said caravans remained at the site, residents had nowhere else to go and the city had offered them no alternative accommodation.

A Socialist Party representative criticised the decision, saying the lack of electricity threatened residents’ safety, particularly in winter, when they could not use electricity to heat their homes. The representative said fire safety requirements could be addressed in consultation with residents and referred to a parliamentary resolution proposal to establish a legal basis for permanent residence in approved mobile homes.

A representative of the Left also criticised the majority’s actions. According to the representative, an agreement had been reached after a long period of unacceptable conditions at Sævarhöfði to let residents use a site in Gufunes. The agreement set a rent and made the tenant responsible for all costs related to the site’s use, operation and maintenance. The representative said the new council majority had terminated the agreement, creating uncertainty for residents, and also criticised the disconnection of electricity and water.