The investigator is ready: This is how the housing shortage will be solved

Reducing the risk of investments in the construction of housing – this is central to solving the housing shortage in Norrbotten and Västerbotten. This is according to the government's investigator Peter Larsson in the final report he has now submitted to the government. And housing – this will be required if tomorrow's workforce is to have somewhere to live.

The starting position is not the best, said Peter Larsson at the press conference where the report was presented.

– It is the weak housing market where turnover cannot be compared to a metropolitan area. The risk is higher and banks and other players have not dared to count on it developing into a strong housing market.

This is a reality in most parts of Norrbotten. Älvsbyn has potential as a commuter town to three establishment municipalities (Luleå, Piteå and Boden) but it is difficult to find anyone who wants to build. The municipality itself says that it is a "loss-making business even when we put the shovel in the ground". Gällivare's municipal housing company recently said that they would have to charge SEK 24 a month in rent for a newly built three-room apartment of 000 square meters, just to walk around.

Greater state responsibility

To solve this, the state needs to take greater financial responsibility for housing supply in Norrbotten and Västerbotten. Peter Larsson has three main proposals:

• The state foundation Norrlandsfonden will receive 4 billion kronor for housing construction. This will be done through the state budget.
• New government credit guarantee for so-called establishment and expansion municipalities that better meets their special conditions.
• State rental loss guarantee, where the state should be able to guarantee a certain portion of rental income or compensate for rental losses and rent loss.

– It would be of great importance for many individual construction projects, where it is all about today. It creates the security that many actors are striving for. Lower the thresholds, get started with construction, so that the population supply, the supply of skills, can be secured, says Peter Larsson to Swedish Radio.

“Sweden's lowest unemployment”

In his Report from an Event, Peter Larsson reflects on the impact a stereotypical image of northern Sweden has.

"The historical images, as well as the experiences, live on when contemporary decisions are to be made. In the investigation's assignment, for example, property developers' hesitation regarding investments in housing have often had Stålverk 80 as a reference for their hesitation. The image of the high unemployment of the 1980s has met the coordinator during all three assignments and remains as a background - despite the fact that the two northern counties today have the lowest unemployment in Sweden," he writes, among other things.

Region Norrbotten welcomes Peter Larsson's proposals and now wishes them to be adopted and implemented by the government.

– It is obvious that the state needs to respond with financial commitments, and be prepared to provide money. Peter Larsson writes in the report that every establishment decision would have had to be combined with a decision on housing in attractive living environments, and that is true. Housing is a prerequisite for the industry's transition. This support should be seen as an investment, not a grant, says Anders Öberg, chairman of the regional board in Region Norrbotten.

“Negotiations for the autumn budget”

Housing Minister Andreas Carlsson (KD) will now look further into the proposals and see if the government will make them a reality.

– For KD, housing supply is crucial to enabling continued investments in northern Sweden. It is an issue that we will take with us into the negotiations ahead of the autumn budget, he tells Sveriges Radio.

Read Peter Larsson's final report, Report from an event

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa