Response to interpellation 2023/24:509 on the government's reform agenda for housing construction

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I have been asked what the government's reform agenda for housing construction looks like for the mandate period.

Markus Kallifatides' question stems from the serious situation in which the construction industry finds itself. Just as Markus Kallifatides noted, the government assesses that global factors, which have contributed to high inflation and higher interest rates in Sweden and globally, have led to a sharp decrease in residential construction.

We find ourselves in a difficult economic situation. The high inflation and the higher interest rates have affected households' demand for housing and simultaneously contributed to high production and financing costs for the construction companies. Housing construction has been significantly affected by this. The number of started homes began to fall during 2022 and decreased markedly during the last year. The Riksbank has recently assessed that the risk of inflation becoming entrenched at too high levels has decreased and that the policy rate can therefore probably be lowered earlier than what has been indicated until now. In the long run, such a development will contribute to a recovery in the construction industry.

The Government is now implementing various measures to mitigate the effects and save jobs in the construction sector and is closely following the developments within the construction and housing area. The Government does not rule out that further measures may be needed. The Government's reform agenda for housing construction during the mandate period is set out in the budget bill for 2024, which as recently as December was adopted by a majority of the members in this chamber.

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Markus Kallifatides (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer to my interpellation!

I quote from the budget bill: "For a couple of years, construction has been carried out at a pace that has met the expected future population growth and to compensate for the latent housing shortage." This is on page 19 under expenditure area 18.

But now, there is a crisis in housing construction, Madam Speaker. Construction workers are being laid off and dismissed. Construction companies are going under, timber house construction companies as well. Subcontractor chains in the sector are being pushed back. The housing supply in the country is deteriorating.

What is primarily being built up in this country is a housing debt for the future. In this situation, the Tidöregeringen has, according to unanimous assessments from industry representatives, trade unions, and academia, chosen to do almost nothing of an urgent character. Instead, the housing minister has returned to the point that the government intends to implement "structural reforms." There is talk of shorter lead times in the construction process, simplified building regulations, and securing more buildable land.

Assignments have been given to the county administrative boards and Boverket to prepare some new documents, a review of the building regulations for student housing has been initiated, and a very modest planning stimulus of a total of 80 million kronor for the country's municipalities has been introduced for 2024. Alongside these very cautious changes, I, one and a half years into the mandate period, cannot see any significant reforms.

It was against that background that I posed my question to Minister Andreas Carlson regarding what the government's reform agenda for the mandate period looks like. The Minister answers that the government is now implementing various measures to mitigate the effects and save jobs in the construction sector and "follows the developments within the construction and housing area."

We actually do not expect anything less from the government, Madam Speaker. It would have been more interesting to hear what the government is following, which metrics, which testimonies, and which analyses. The Minister is welcome to elaborate on this.

The Minister further says in the answer to me: "The Government does not rule out that additional measures may be needed. The Government's reform agenda for housing construction during the mandate period is set out in the budget bill for 2024, which as recently as December was adopted by a majority of the members in this chamber."

Madam Speaker! We have received the budget bill, we are following the general debate, and we are participating here in the work of the Riksdag. It is against that background that I have posed my question. But it perhaps needs to be clarified a little: What additional measures are the Minister and the Government considering, and when will these come?

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Roger Hedlund (SD)

Madam Speaker! Markus Kallifatides from the Social Democrats has submitted an interpellation to Minister Andreas Carlson regarding the government's reform agenda for housing construction. I quote from the interpellation: "What is primarily being built up in the country is a housing debt for the future."

Madam Speaker! This is exactly what we have inherited from the Social Democratic government: a housing debt has been built up for the future. During a booming economy with low interest rates and low inflation, the previous government left a deficit behind. The population has thus increased more than the government managed to build housing for. Then I read this from the interpellator that "what is primarily being built up in the country is a housing debt for the future". That is concerning. The government succeeded, together with previous governments, in building up a deficit of 175,600 housing units since 2006.

What did and what are the Social Democrats doing in the housing policy area linked to other areas affecting the housing supply? If we look at how the Social Democrats act at the local level, for example in my home municipality with the municipal company Gavlegårdarna, we see that they are stopping housing construction. The collapse in housing construction that Markus Kallifatides mentioned in his previous debate, the Social Democrats contribute to in the highest degree by stopping construction. That is what the municipal company Gavlegårdarna did. They set the order for large parts of Sweden through that effort. The Social Democrats have been a part of and contributed to the fact that more housing is not being built in this country.

Madam Speaker! What did the Social Democrats do during their period, and what are the Social Democrats doing today?

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Leif Nysmed (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for the answer! Thank you also to the interpellor for a good question!

This is absolutely crucial. We have already touched upon this a lot. Nothing is being built today, but a debt is being built that will grow in the future.

Just as Markus read out here earlier, it has been expanded over a period of a couple of years at the rate that the population has increased. This is thanks to, among other things, the investment supports, for without them there would have been an even greater shortage of housing.

What I am stuck on in the answer is that the government is now implementing various measures to mitigate the effects and save jobs in the construction sector. Let me express myself very clearly: I come from the construction industry myself. I am in constant contact, several times a week, with different companies and a good number of old colleagues. They do not see this. They do not see the measures to mitigate the effects and save jobs in the construction sector.

Companies engaged in renovation work are laying off staff today, because the increased rot deduction begins to apply on July 1. Furthermore, that specific measure does not create more jobs. It makes it so that a single job can become a larger job.

It would have been better if one had tried to broaden this and direct it as we in the Social Democrats propose, so that instead one raises the deduction up to 50 percent for climate and energy-saving measures. Both the individual and the industry would have benefited, and society as a whole would have benefited. It is like a Kinder egg - three surprises in one.

Then I am a bit surprised by Roger Hedlund's contribution here. What did the Social Democrats do? Yes, we ensured that housing could be built, also in Gävle, and that the calculations could be balanced.

What did the Sweden Democrats do in Huddinge municipality, where I come from, during the period when they supported the Alliance? Virtually zero rental apartments have been built there since 2006. It is nothing one can take credit for or boast about, I would say.

I would like to hear what, besides the misguided tax deduction, the government is doing to mitigate the effects and save the jobs in the construction sector. There are mass layoffs, dismissals, and record bankruptcies right now.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The original question in the interpellation concerns the government's reform agenda. It is formulated as follows – what does the government's reform agenda for housing construction look like for the current parliamentary term?

Markus Kallifatides lists parts of the reform agenda. As I said in my response, it is contained in the budget that the Riksdag decided on in this chamber as recently as in December. It is about simplifying the rules for building, shortening lead times, increasing the availability of building land in attractive locations, ensuring that more people get the opportunity to take the step into the owner-occupied housing market, utilizing the existing stock more efficiently, and providing long-term favorable and predictable conditions to increase the willingness to invest in as well as own and manage housing.

We are one and a half years into this parliamentary term, as the member pointed out. We are working on this in the reform agenda. We are working on it. But we also, of course, take great responsibility in the difficult time we are living in, where construction has decreased very dramatically as a result of the high inflation which has led to higher interest rates combined with a declining economy. In that respect, we must still remind each other that the most important thing we can do is to continue to hold firm in order to succeed in keeping inflation down.

There are bright spots in this, and it is perhaps thanks to the government's responsible policy. It sometimes sounds from the opposition as if the inflation is the government's fault. With that logic, the government's responsible policy is the only explanation for why it is going down. I do not want to express myself so absurdly in the chamber, Madam Speaker. We need to take responsibility together in this difficult situation.

Which meetings and which metrics, I believe I have written, do we in the government listen to when we take in information about how serious the situation is? Yes, we see it for ourselves, first of all. I see it during visits around the country and at meetings with industry organizations, individual companies, and people who have been affected by the very dramatic decline. As recently as yesterday, I had a meeting with Byggnads, GS-facket, TMF, and Byggföretagen, i.e., the parties in the market and in the sector, who also described the dramatic situation.

But it is clear that we could have been in a better position. Now Kallifatides refers to construction in line with population development. But it was the case that the previous government, during none of the years they governed Sweden, managed to complete housing in numbers that corresponded to the needs established by Boverket. It was in a situation with low interest rates and an economic boom. One perhaps should be a bit self-reflective and think about what more one could have done in that situation to tackle the structural problems that I believe we agree exist in the housing market and which we now need to tackle at the same time as we have a situation with high inflation, high costs, and an economic downturn.

I have answered the question regarding the government's reform agenda in the interpellation by referring to the budget, where it appears. I have repeated this here in the chamber. Of course, there are always more questions. But I think it is important, Madam Speaker, to answer questions raised by members in interpellation debates.

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Markus Kallifatides (S)

Madam Speaker! Let me emphasize that I appreciate that Andreas Carlson answers the questions that I and other members ask.

I noted yesterday's meeting between the Minister and various industry representatives and trade unions. However, those conversations do not seem to really affect the government's reform agenda, which remains firm. I hear no announcements regarding short-term layoffs, and I hear no new announcements regarding thoughts on, for example, production support—two things that I believe I know industry representatives and trade unions raised precisely at yesterday's meeting and in other contexts.

In the general debate, there will be a number of other announcements and messages from the Tidö parties.

The Sverigedemokraternas housing policy spokesperson Mikael Eskilandersson spoke in February in the newspaper Bostadspolitik about how migration and re-immigration policy should be an essential part of meeting housing needs. He also pointed to the declining birth rate as something positive that leads to better housing supply.

In a closing remark on March 4, he spoke about relaxed coastal protection, planning incentives for small house construction, conversion of premises, simplified private rental, and favorable mortgages for first-time buyers. We knew all of that, but he also spoke about a further reduced property fee, an increased limit for the maximum amount for rental of housing – I assume it is the tax-free amount, the flat rate, that is referred to – and to investigate the possibility of a rot deduction for rental apartments.

Is this something that the government is considering?

The Christian Democrats' housing policy spokesperson Larry Söder has, on his part, opened up for initiating the process to implement free rent setting in new production. The Moderates' housing policy spokesperson does not consider it to be relevant, but Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson states that she is indeed open to negotiations with the Sweden Democrats on that issue.

Can the Minister inform us - what is the rule?

At the same time as the debate is, so to speak, raging within the Tidö government, as the Minister has accounted for here earlier this afternoon, the government's investigator Peter Larsson has submitted a report on measures to facilitate community building in Norrbotten and Västerbotten. He is very clear that the proposals he presents are relevant for all parts of Sweden where large-scale industrial expansion is currently taking place, including counties other than the two covered by his actual mandate.

It concerns three proposals. The first is a significant capital injection, in this case to Norrlandsfonden, in order to be able to issue investment support for the construction of housing. The second proposal concerns a new, better designed state credit guarantee for new production of housing. And the third proposal, finally, concerns a state rental loss guarantee.

Madam Speaker! I know, and I believe the Minister knows, that very many, not least in northern Sweden but absolutely not only in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, are really wondering now: What proposal will the government present? Can we get some indication of how the Minister and the government reason regarding this?

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Roger Hedlund (SD)

Madam Speaker! What is being done now from the government's side is work to curb inflation, which is of course absolutely crucial for us to be able to get back on our feet again, even when it comes to the housing policy area.

The Minister has meritiously described the government's work in the housing policy area. For the Sweden Democrats, I can only, Madam Speaker, say that I support the government's work and share its position when it comes to how we are to achieve a good housing market again.

We need to enable what the Social Democrats never started: simply enable more people to live in small houses, create better conditions with a model where people can eventually become homeowners through rent-to-buy, remove the second amortization requirement that was introduced, and carry out a series of measures so that, when we get a new start, we can get housing construction moving. It is about simplifying the building rules, shortening lead times, enabling more people to enter the market for owned housing, and better utilizing the stock that exists in Sweden today.

When we have succeeded in fighting inflation, a new start is needed. Then it is important that we have addressed all the long-term issues that create the conditions to reduce construction costs and speed up construction. It is simply about these pieces: shortening lead times, simplifying the building regulations, and enabling more people to enter the market for owned housing.

In this interpellation, a question is posed to the Minister, but I am posing the question to the Social Democrats, Madam Speaker: What is it that you actually want to do? What do the Social Democrats want?

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Leif Nysmed (S)

Madam Speaker! I shall answer Roger Hedlund immediately. We are proposing starter loans for first-time buyers. We have put that on the table. You can go. I do not know if it is you who are braking the government – someone seems to be. You are a supporting party and the fifth wheel. Why not get it started?

We propose a production support to municipalities such as Skellefteå and other growth municipalities.

We propose state credits to keep costs down - for who is cheapest to borrow? Yes, it is the state.

Here are three clear proposals that we can get started on in purely economic terms. But you do not think so. So do not say that we do not want anything! We put something on the table. You put nothing on the table; you just talk. It is actually just paper you are talking about. It is not worth anything.

Come up with a proposal and put it on the table, and then we will debate it. It might be a good proposal, and then we will support it. But come up with something! And before you have come up with anything, don't be so puffed up! Excuse me – I get a bit upset sometimes. It might have been harshly said, but I think one should have a sense of honesty in one's argumentation.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I think we can appeal to one another to maintain a good tone. It is difficult and very serious issues we are discussing here today. I believe we all agree that the decline we see is very dramatic and very distressing, and that this is something that, of course, it is very urgent to ensure that we manage in the best possible way.

This is, of course, the government's focus in the work we carry out when we take responsibility during the difficult time we are living in. We have, to some extent, inherited an area where there were still major structural problems, and the situation is of course not simplified when inflation is so high, which has driven up higher interest rates, and we have a recession which, in combination with inflation, has driven up production and financing costs. This is a serious situation.

I want to say, Madam Speaker, that I appreciate that Member Markus Kallifatides notes that he is receiving answers to the questions. I think that is important. It may be due to my many years in the Riksdag, but in all contexts it is important to answer the questions one receives. Then, in an interpellation debate, many different questions always arise, but I want to assert that I have answered the question that was the subject of this interpellation.

I shall answer one more question that was asked here, namely the one regarding the proposal from Peter Larsson, the government's coordinator for development in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties. I said earlier in the interpellation debate that I appreciate Peter Larsson's work and that he has been around and secured a solid basis for the report he has presented, through conversations with both municipalities, regions, and other actors.

The proposals he has put forward aim to solve some of the problems with production and financing costs. He has also looked at what municipalities and other actors, not least the construction sector itself, can do to keep costs down and make the calculations work so that housing can be built, not just in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties - the proposals also affect other parts of the country. The development we see in our country right now is not only linked to the Norrland counties, but we see a fantastic development with new industrialization, investments, and companies creating jobs and growth across the entire country - I believe the members will agree on this. Therefore, it is so important with both housing supply and the expansion of infrastructure that enables this development.

Member Kallifatides asked for some kind of indication, I believe that was the word. I cannot give any other indication than that I think these proposals are interesting and urgent and respond to an urgent problem. The Government is now preparing these proposals. We have just received them, so I do not think the members expect me to be able to answer today on the spot how we will take this further. But it is of course important that now, together with other measures such as shortening lead times, simplifying and improving regulations and making building land available, we tackle the problems that exist and have built up over a long period, so that we can have a better functioning housing market in Sweden.

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Markus Kallifatides (S)

Madam Speaker! I note that I did not quite receive any answer to the question regarding free rent setting and the debate that is ongoing surrounding it. I also did not receive any answer to my previous question about stimulating competition in the construction sector in a broad sense. Is this something that the Minister sees as an important issue, and what could, in that case, potentially be done?

Madam Speaker! The government base appears to me as somewhat divided, both regarding what is essential to do in the short term here and now to meet the acute and – and we share this image – serious situation, and regarding the more long-term reform agenda. Even regarding that, I see different messages and division, and it concerns me.

Investigator Peter Larsson presents typical Social Democratic proposals to meet the housing policy challenge that the industrial expansions around the country entail, which we all naturally welcome. I am sure that Andreas Carlson does, just as I do.

The government is moving forward with certain Social Democratic proposals in this area, for example, the digitalization in Lantmäteriet's area of operations and the review of national interests, but is phasing out other Social Democratic proposals such as investment support and support for energy efficiency of multi-family dwellings.

Madam Speaker! Our Social Democratic proposals regarding construction stimulus, state-subsidized construction loans, a state real estate company, and a green reform of the rot deduction are rejected, as are – and this is very important – the proposals for a new housing supply act, a national action plan for housing construction, protective measures for tenants in connection with renovations, and a housing commission.

Madam Speaker! I am somewhat disappointed. I naturally thank the Minister for the debate, but I am disappointed. Neither the acute crisis in housing construction nor the housing supply in the country will, in the long run, be able to be met without the state intervening, taking a step forward, investing resources and steering. It is my and the Social Democrats' conviction.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I do not question the ambitions and the grounds behind them. I believe we all share the view that we need to have a better functioning housing market in Sweden. The proposals and the path there may, however, look a bit different, and that is why we have this type of debate in the Swedish Riksdag.

I appreciate the commitment, and I appreciate the interpellation and thank you for it. I also thank you for the concern regarding the government base – it concerns Markus Kallifatides that it is perceived to have different directions. I have the pleasure of being able to reassure Markus Kallifatides: We have a good cooperation. We have a majority in the Swedish Riksdag. Then it is always good and positive with an idea development; that there are different proposals in different parties is natural, and it does not need to be a reason for concern for Markus Kallifatides.

Madam Speaker! Regarding the question of freer rent setting that Markus Kallifatides poses, it is no secret that there are somewhat different approaches in the different parties. My own party, Kristdemokraterna, sees that this could be part of achieving a better functioning housing market.

I will, if and when there are reasons, comment on the conversations that are taking place or not taking place – that was the question, after all. Markus Kallifatides referred to the Finance Minister's statement. It is not the case that all the conversations we have between the parties are open for inspection in the chamber. It might be interesting, perhaps even when the Social Democrats are in power, to hear them. I believe everyone in the opposition thinks so. But I believe the member understands that today I cannot say more than that there are different approaches to the issue in the different parties.

With that, I would like to thank you for the interpellation and this debate.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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