Rental flats in Skarðshlíð ready in November

Secure long-term housing for low-income individuals and families.

Twelve rental flats in Skarðshlíð will be ready for occupation in mid-November. The rental flats are intended to ensure that low-income individuals and families have access to secure housing on a long-term lease. Skarðshlíð Housing Association hses and Modulus Property Holding Company entered into an agreement for the development in May last year. The founding member of Skarðshlíð Housing Association Ltd is the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður, and the long-term vision is for residents to manage and run the association themselves.

^{The houses will be handed over fully finished on the 15th of November.}

A contract between Skarðshlíðar íbúðafélags hses. and Modulus eignarhaldsfélags for the construction of general rental flats in Skarðshlíð was signed in May 2018. The contract is for the development of 12 flats on the plots at Hádegisskarð 12 and 16 in Skarðshlíð, and Modulus will hand them over fully finished around mid-November. There are six flats on each plot, a total of six two-bedroom, 50m² Apartments, 4 three-room, 60m² apartments and 2 four-room, 80m² flats. Applications are now open and the deadline for applications is 10 November. Applicants must meet certain income threshold requirements, have their legal residence in Hafnarfjörður, and be over 18 years of age. All initial applications for the flats will be placed into a pool and applicants will be ranked in numerical order by lottery. This ensures all eligible applicants have an equal chance of being allocated a flat. The Housing Office of the City of Hafnarfjörður receives two of these ten flats for the municipality's social housing system. 

„This represents a new approach to the services and projects of the local council, designed to better meet the needs of residents, and it is truly an act of innovation. In this case, we are finding solutions for those who are on the borderline of being too high an income for social housing, yet still too low for the general rental market. Here, we are offering permanent housing at a much better price than is usual on the market today. In the future, we anticipate that the operation will become fully self-sustaining and, if successful, the project should encourage other local authorities, community organisations and contractors to undertake similar developments. We expect the first residents to move in on 1 December.“ ssays Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor of Hafnarfjörður, who is hopefully pleased that it is time for the flats to be handed over. 

The rent per square metre is expected to be around 2,500 kr. The rent for a two-bedroom flat will therefore be around 125,000 króna and for a four-bedroom flat around 200,000 króna, which is considerably lower than on the general rental market, and in some cases, residents may also be entitled to housing benefit.

Skarðshlíð Housing Association Ltd and the development

Skarðshlíð Housing Association hses is a non-profit organisation established by the City of Hafnarfjörður. The association's purpose is to build or purchase, own or manage the operation and maintenance of social housing, and to provide services in the public interest in accordance with the law on social housing. The construction cost of the housing is approximately 280 million króna, and the capital contribution from the Housing Finance Authority and the City of Hafnarfjörður amounts to 30%. It is intended that the rent will cover loan repayments, finance charges and running costs.

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