Response to interpellation 2023/24:113 on housing construction
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD proposes that the government provide incentives to the municipalities to increase the supply of planned land for small houses 1. KD also wants to facilitate the conversion of premises into housing by giving municipalities incentives to adopt detailed plans that enable this 1. KD argues that conversion is resource- and climate-smart and can create more vibrant city centers 1. KD also proposes a temporary increased ceiling for the rot deduction to dampen the effects of the tough economic situation and save jobs in the construction sector 1. KD expects that the incentive improves the conditions for housing construction and that the construction industry will be positively affected 1.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I have been asked what analysis I have made of the effects of the 20 million that are allocated in the budget to the municipalities to change detailed plans.
Sweden is in a tough economic situation, where the conditions for housing construction have significantly deteriorated. At the same time, there is a housing shortage in 180 of the country's 290 municipalities. The Government therefore proposes measures in the budget bill for 2024 to strengthen the construction sector. These include, among other things, a temporarily raised ceiling for the rotavdrag to cushion the effects of the tough economic situation and save jobs in the construction sector so that there is competent staff available when the economy turns, as well as stimulus measures for the municipalities to increase the supply of planned land for small houses.
But there is also a need to better utilize the potential that exists in the existing property stock so that more housing can be added. In recent years, the proportion of empty premises that are not rented out has increased, partly because companies, as a result of the tough economic situation, have reviewed their office costs and more have started working from home since the corona pandemic. Taken together, there is therefore a potential to increase the supply of housing by facilitating conversion. Therefore, the government proposes a stimulus to the municipalities to provide increased incentives to enable the conversion of premises into housing.
There are several obstacles to converting premises into housing. One of these concerns what the current detailed plan permits. A current detailed plan may contain planning regulations that prevent conversion from premises to housing, for example, regulations regarding the use of buildings or the extent of the development. For a conversion to be possible, it may then be required that a new detailed plan is prepared. The Government therefore intends, with the proposed stimulus, to give municipalities additional incentives to adopt detailed plans that enable housing construction through conversion from premises to housing.
The stimulus is proposed to include 20 million kronor for 2024 and is estimated to include 25 million kronor for each of 2025 and 2026. The proposal aims to reduce one of the obstacles that property owners may face when they want to convert premises into housing.
An effect that we can expect is therefore that the conditions are improved to address one of the obstacles that exist. When more housing can be enabled in existing buildings through detailed plans, a larger supply of housing can be made available to housing consumers. The Government also assesses that the construction industry is positively affected by more conversions being enabled. Property owners can also receive increased revenues for spaces that would otherwise stand empty or could have been utilized more efficiently.
Conversion from, among other things, offices to housing can contribute to creating more vibrant city centers, and utilizing the existing building stock in a more efficient way is both resource- and climate-smart.
According to Boverket's report 2021:3, over the last 20 years, an average of approximately 2,500 housing units have been added annually through the conversion of premises into housing. The government's hope is that this level will increase when the municipalities' incentives to adopt more detailed plans that enable conversion are strengthened. The government will return with how the stimulus is to be designed.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.