Subventioner och hyresrätter? En bostadspolitisk studie

Sammanfattning

Since the early 1940s in Sweden, subsidies have been a recurring feature in housing politics.

Throughout history, these have been used as a management measure to control the

construction of housing and to promote the Swedish welfare state. The political parties are

today disagreeing on how much responsibility the state should carry for citizens housing. To

solve the conflict, the dwelling has to be defined. Is the dwelling to be considered a social

right, like education and healthcare or is the dwelling to be considered a product for the free

market, driven by supply and demand?

The positive population growth in Stockholm has lead to an increased demand for dwellings.

The supply of dwellings has not been growing at the same rate, which has implied higher

housing prices and longer wait for rented apartments. All municipalities in Stockholm agrees

that more dwellings must be established to counter this development. To make this happen,

the source of why so few dwelling develops today must be identified. Do the developers not

want to build or are they not being provided land allocations by the municipalities? Is it a

combination of these or are there other difficulties in the system? Subsidies have previously

been used as a tool to increase the construction of dwellings and it should therefore be

examined if such a solution is relevant in order to remedy existing problems. In an attempt to

predict the outcome of a re-introduction of subsidies, the impact of past government

intervention should be studied. This to ascertain what type of construction that took place at

that time. It is also important to identify the types of dwellings sought for in today's housing

market in order to develop appropriate solutions.

There are several different forms of subsidies that could lead to an increased construction

volume. Subsidies of land, infrastructure and investment contributions are some of the options

that could be implemented on the market to reduce the housing shortage. But which type of

construction should be increased? What kind of tenure is the society short of? In order to

create balance in the housing market there seems to be a need for all types of tenures to

increase, but not everyone agree to this. The housing market where demand, however, always

exceeds supply today is the rental market, especially in central Stockholm where the system

of rent regulations has lead to a rent level kept below market rent.

Today rented apartments are at disadvantage in the Swedish tax system, which has

contributed to a lower construction rate of this type of tenure compared to others where the

developers gets a quicker return on their investment. Rented apartments are necessary on the

housing market because it creates flexibility and contributes to the choices available for the

individuals. Some say that Stockholm as a city can not grow without this tenure for the simple

reason that people can not get hold of a dwelling.

These are issues that must be solved through housing politics, which means that the decisions

and rules on the market can change direction every four years. Construction processes are

long, often longer than four years. This creates an uncertainty for the stakeholders in the

housing market. To generate a sustainable housing market long-term, an alternative solution

could be joint agreements spanning political borders. A well-functioning housing market

contributes not only to shelter but also promotes welfare and economic growth. It is therefore

of great importance that the market participants are moving in the same direction.