Response to interpellations 2022/23:99 and 100 on measures for increased housing construction
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns measures for increased housing construction and the phasing out of the investment support. KD considers that the investment support was an expensive subsidy with low precision 1 2 and that it is an inefficient tool 3. KD instead wants reforms that increase the availability of buildable land, simplify building regulations, and provide incentives for increased housing construction 1. KD argues that simplified rules and shorter lead times can lower prices and rents 2 3. S considers that the investment support was important for lowering new production costs 4 and that its phasing out risks that 30,000 rental apartments will not be built 4. S wants a reformed form of investment support 5. S considers that the government has broken promises and phased out the support prematurely 6 7. S argues that the abolition risks crashing the construction industry and increasing unemployment 7. S proposes that Boverket be authorized to grant funds to already submitted applications. S argues that regulatory simplifications do not increase demand 4. S criticizes that the government has discontinued investigations into social dumping, block rental, and housing segregation 6. S argues that the government lacks a policy for increased housing construction 8.
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! Markus Kallifatides has asked me if I see any risk that housing will not be built in the Stockholm region as a consequence of the cessation of the investment support as of 31 December 2022 and if I intend to take any measures to influence the construction. Leif Nysmed has asked me what reasons underlie the government's decision to cut the investment support at the turn of the year 2022/23 and what concrete measures I intend to take to increase housing construction.
I want to emphasize that it is an urgent matter for the government that the housing supply functions. But we are in a worrying economic situation, and the conditions for housing construction have deteriorated rapidly because of this. Housing construction is expected to decrease this year, primarily due to the economic development with high construction costs, rising interest rates, and reduced purchasing power among households. That development is expected regardless of the phase-out of the investment support.
The decision that the investment support should be phased out was taken by the Riksdag in 2021. The Government is now completing the phase-out by ensuring that support granted before 31 December 2022 can be paid out. It is a responsible action in the tough economic situation that Sweden finds itself in.
The Government considers that the investment support was an expensive support and that it risked going to projects that would have been carried out anyway. The phase-out is therefore assessed to have a limited effect on total housing construction while simultaneously significantly reducing state expenditures for the support.
Instead of costly subsidies with low precision, the government now wants to develop reforms that increase the availability of developable land, simplify building regulations, and provide incentives for increased housing construction. Municipalities shall be urged and stimulated to increase their planning readiness, especially regarding small houses.
Markus Kallifatides (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
In his answer, the Minister argues that the abolition of the investment support is judged to have "a limited effect" on new construction. I wonder what are the reasons and the background to this assessment. How has the government reached this conclusion?
During 2017-2022, approximately 60,000 apartments have been built with the support and have had a rent level that is approximately 2,000 kronor lower. We Social Democrats therefore do not quite share the government's assessment - even though we would like to see a further development of public support for new construction, i.e., for example a reformed form of investment support.
Madam Speaker! My question actually concerned my home region, Stockholm and the Stockholm region. There are approximately 80,000 active housing seekers in the municipal housing agency. The information I had in December was that there were then unhandled applications for investment support for approximately 3,600 apartments in Stockholm County. The Government Offices should have better information than I do, so I want to give the Minister another chance to answer the question and give his view on how many apartment projects are now not getting started here in the capital region.
If it were to be the case that the Stockholm perspective is considered too limited, let us instead listen to the municipal councilor in Kiruna! In Dagens Nyheter on January 9, I could read the following:
"We need to get more people to move to Kiruna. Competence supply is the most important focus we have in Norrbotten right now, says Mats Taaveniku." Dagens Nyheter asks how that is going to happen. "The municipalities cannot manage this initiative alone with the tax base and the substandard state supports in the latest budget. The state must take greater responsibility, in order for us to manage this transition, says Mats Taaveniku." He is, therefore, a municipal councilor in Kiruna.
It further states: "He believes that the state investment support must be reintroduced to accelerate housing construction in the north. It was the current government that, in opposition in 2021, pushed through a phase-out of the support."
Dagens Nyheter concludes the article by stating that they have contacted Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson to ask if the minister wants to reintroduce the investment support for housing, without success.
In light of the serious situation for housing construction here in the Stockholm region, but obviously also in the northern parts of the country, would it not be appropriate to reconsider your position on how the phase-out of the investment support should proceed, Andreas Carlson? Why not let the county administrative boards and the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning continue to process already submitted applications, as we Social Democrats have proposed in our budget motion?
Leif Nysmed (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer but begin by stating that the Minister for Housing does not answer my questions.
It is true that the investment support was phased out in 2021, but the Minister for Housing does not answer the question of why the rules of the game are being changed for those who applied for the support in time and who were promised to have the support paid out. Once again, the government is breaking the promises it gave before the election.
This risks leading to approximately 30,000 rental apartments with lower new production rent not being built - and that in a time when all forecasts indicate that housing construction is plummeting from 67,800 homes in 2021 to 33,000 during 2023, if one looks at newly started constructions. I spoke with Byggföretagen, and the risk is that they adjust their figure down further. At the same time, the need according to Boverket is still 63,400 homes per year. This is worrying.
The Minister for Housing also does not answer the question of what measures the government intends to take to increase the construction of housing. As we have already pointed out, the only support for ensuring that average income earners can afford to demand a newly produced rental apartment is being abruptly removed. Consequently, there is a risk that 30,000 rental apartments will not be built with lower rents. The only thing I have actually found from the government and KD regarding increasing demand is that in the election they spoke about the second amortization requirement being removed, but they cannot even manage to carry out that election promise. Even less is stated in the Tidö Agreement regarding housing policy.
I also wrote in my interpellation to the Minister for Housing that it is not sufficient to only refer to regulatory simplifications. It does not increase housing construction. If more housing is to be built, the common person must also be able to afford to demand it – otherwise, it will not be built. No developer builds empty homes. The investment support lowered new production costs by approximately 20 percent, without the quality being lowered. It was rather the opposite.
During the eight years I have worked with housing policy here in the Riksdag, the regulatory simplifications that have been put forward have been about reducing the requirements on apartment sizes or reducing accessibility. Are these the regulatory simplifications the Housing Minister refers to when he highlights such? Is it tighter and less accessible housing that is intended to increase demand?
How much lower does the Minister for Housing believe the price, or the rent, would become? And what is it that guarantees that the savings that a standard reduction might potentially provide will reach the end customer?
In order for housing construction to truly increase again, it is required that, regardless of type, housing is built that people can afford to demand – otherwise, nothing will be built. Regulatory simplification does not increase demand.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you for the questions and the commitment. I will begin with Leif Nysmeds two questions.
One of the questions concerned which reasons formed the basis for our phasing out of the investment support. I answered this in my opening statement. We consider that the investment support was an expensive support and that it risked going to projects that would have been carried out anyway.
The second question concerned what other concrete measures we in the government are taking. We have presented many different reforms that are to be developed during the mandate period. They were already pointed out in the budget, and this work has been kick-started.
Let me remind Leif Nysmed and Markus Kallifatides that it is 100 days since the government took office this Thursday. Several areas have been neglected, and we have restructured the housing policy to increase the availability of buildable land and to simplify building regulations. Leif Nysmed says that this has nothing to do with ensuring there are homes that people can afford, but that is not quite correct. By simplifying building regulations and shortening lead times, one can also bring down prices. This, in turn, leads to cheaper housing and cheaper rents.
There are a multitude of different measures to be taken here. The Christian Democrats were in government from 2010-2014 and were responsible for these issues when Stefan Attefall was Housing Minister, and much was initiated then. The previous government has done some good things, but the pace has been far too low.
There are initiatives in the industry and in various other places, for example the initiative Bygg i tid, where 16 different proposals are pointed out to simplify rules and shorten lead times. It is such things that are in the balance when the government now makes its assessments and trade-offs of which measures should be developed at a high tempo. It is about making housing accessible also for groups that today stand far away from the housing market. It is about lowering the thresholds through more buildable land and shorter lead times and by getting construction started.
Can this be done in the very tough situation that prevails right now? We are in a recession. Housing construction has always been linked to the economic cycle – when it goes down, housing construction goes down, and when it goes up, housing construction goes up.
Markus Kallifatides asked about Stockholm. As has been evident from previous debates and also today here in the chamber, Madam Speaker, the government assesses that the investment support has had low accuracy, as it could be granted for construction projects that would have been carried out regardless of the support. This assessment also applies to projects in the Stockholm region. The government therefore makes the assessment that the phase-out has a limited effect on housing construction.
In the Stockholm region as defined in the support regulation, 102 dwellings in newly built houses were completed during the period 2016-2021. During this period, investment support was paid out for 3,317 dwellings. In relation to the construction need, the support has been sought to a small extent in the metropolitan regions. It was therefore that the previous government introduced different systems to prioritize applications from the metropolitan regions.
Our assessment remains that it has become an expensive support that has risked going to projects that would have been carried out anyway and which may therefore have a limited effect on the total housing construction. The support also does not solve the fundamental problems that are the cause of the housing shortage and the queues in the rental housing market. Perhaps that is why the Social Democrats have also not allocated funds for investment support in their budget, Madam Speaker.
Markus Kallifatides (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to comment on the Minister's submission.
The Social Democratic budget motion and the Social Democrats' committee motion in the area contain a proposal to authorize Boverket to grant appropriations for an additional 8 billion kronor in investment support in its current form.
It is the economic situation we are currently in, with rising interest rates and rising prices, that lies behind the dramatic fall in construction. It is not the case, Andreas Carlson, that construction has always fluctuated in line with different economic cycles. Sweden has, during certain periods, had a conscious Social Democratic housing construction policy. It is about maintaining the pace of construction during economic downturns.
We stand by the view that it would be very good to ensure in a pragmatic way that construction is maintained in what threatens to become a deep recession. One way would be to phase out the investment support in a slightly different way than what the government has now chosen.
I must nevertheless praise the government. The other day, the Christian Democratic ministers Carlson and Slottner appeared together in the mass media and stated in a press release that the county administrative boards are now being tasked to report on which measures they, together with the municipalities, have implemented to promote increased housing construction. Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson says in the press release from January 20 that such a mapping can become a good basis for considering which measures may be needed at the national level.
Madam Speaker! It can be said that I have received the mandate of the Swedish people, Magdalena Andersson, and Lena Hallengren to map out which measures the sitting government has taken to promote increased housing construction. I wish to present my results.
The government has phased out the investment support prematurely and thereby broken the line that was established here in the Riksdag as recently as the summer of 2022. Many in the construction industry are deeply disappointed, and Andreas Carlson knows that by this point.
In addition, the government has commissioned three state inquiries of immediate importance for the housing supply in the country.
The first is the inquiry into countering social dumping. This is an inquiry that, in its work, has already been able to establish that social dumping is a greater problem in Sweden than had been thought and that there are municipalities that simply do not see it as their task to fulfill their housing supply responsibility.
The second is the inquiry into order and tidiness in the rental market, which was to map the occurrence and abuse of so-called block rentals and so-called apartment hotels. This inquiry was also to address the issue of a rental register.
The third, Madam Speaker, is the inquiry into residential segregation. The investigator should, among other things, map out which housing companies actively strive to ensure that tenants can remain after extensive renovations, account for how a selection of these housing companies operate, and propose how good examples can achieve increased dissemination.
I want to ask Andreas Carlson: If it is indeed an urgent matter for the government that the housing supply functions, as the Minister has certified here in the rostrum, is it then really a good idea to scrap all these investigations into housing segregation, illegal block rentals, and social dumping?
Leif Nysmed (S)
Madam Speaker and Minister! One might think that this is an inefficient support, but when it was abolished in 2021, a promise was still given to those who applied for the support that they would receive it if they had applied before December 2021. Many had submitted applications, which were counted and processes started. They now risk not receiving the support – or rather, they do not receive it. I believe it concerns up to 30,000 objects.
At the same time, we know, as my colleague Markus said, that 60,000 homes have nevertheless been built in this country with the investment support, and they have had lower rent. This means that average-income earners can demand them, and that is why they have been built. This has been a prerequisite to be able to build, especially in many places out in the country where the market has been weaker. It has also been important to be able to build in many of the surrounding municipalities here in Stockholm County. For example, the Moderate-led Tyresö built the cheapest rental apartments in the Stockholm region. There are therefore some wise people also on your side who have utilized the investment support and understood its importance in being able to build housing for average-income earners.
The government has betrayed its election promise. The investment support received an abrupt conclusion. Nor is the amortization requirement being removed, which the construction companies called for when I spoke with them last week. There is chaos surrounding the electricity price support, and the government's toolbox is completely empty in this context.
This now risks crashing an entire industry. Housing construction is being halved at the same time as the need remains at the same level as the construction in recent years, around 60,000 homes. It is serious. We are increasing the debt we have been paying off since 2017.
KD claims to protect small house builders, but Anebyhus reports that they have sold one house since September. A single house! They will go under. Obos will halve its production and has already warned a large number of employees. Lars Weiss at Veidekke writes in his latest editorial on bostadspolitik.se that housing construction is heading towards a long and grim fimbulwinter, and he compares the situation with that of the 90s.
I was a young construction worker during the 90s crisis and still clearly remember how this recession hit us construction workers, how long and intense the period of unemployment became for many of us, how many of us left the industry and how long it took before the housing construction started up again.
Housing construction needs to be maintained at a high level. A dip resulting in unemployment means that we lose competence in the industry, because people do not sit at home twiddling their thumbs but switch to another job. It becomes difficult to lure them back later to quickly get started and make up for the deficit that we now risk increasing even further. This is truly serious.
After several years of high housing construction and a reduced accumulated housing deficit since 2017, housing construction is now suddenly plummeting. How many young people will be forced out onto the insecure and growing second- and third-hand market in order to be able to move out from home?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Markus Kallifatides mentions the Social Democrats' shadow budget. It may be good to know what is in there for those following the debate. There are no additional funds for the investment support beyond what is included in the budget bill for 2023. True, the Social Democrats raise the authorization framework to 8 billion but add no additional funds. It is important to keep that in mind. Perhaps that is why the member speaks of a further development of the support. Yes, when one does not have coverage for continued support oneself because one has not allocated any funds, this can indeed be a creative way to still have a communication on the issue.
I still believe that one should approach the issue with great respect, as many are in a difficult situation as a result of the tough economic situation.
I would like to thank Markus Kallifatides for the kind words regarding one of the decisions we have made, namely the mapping of the county administrative boards' work. This increases the pressure to produce more buildable land. One must report on what measures have been taken together with the municipalities to promote increased housing construction. It is true what Kallifatides said about this being a good basis for further measures. But it is in itself important to increase the pressure on county administrative boards and municipalities to produce more buildable land.
This is not the government's only proposal, decision, or measure. We have presented a list of measures with a high pace of reform, and we will present which new investigations are to be appointed. Regarding the three investigations, Kallifatides knows very well that it is also about priorities and maintaining a high pace to counter the shadow society that has taken hold, and that can be done in many different ways. This is an important priority for the government.
Leif Nysmed is familiar with the situation in the industry, and I am very well acquainted with it. I was in Småland on Friday and met representatives from the timber house industry. These were companies in Jönköping County and the rest of Småland that build houses, including Boklok, with its new factory in Gullringen outside Vimmerby. The timber house network was also there. Not least Obos, which Leif Nysmed mentioned, pointed out the consequences of what is happening now.
But there were also many good ideas and proposals here that align well with the priorities the government is making. There are no shortcuts to tackle the problems that exist in the housing market and with housing construction. There was again talk about regulatory simplifications, lead times, and buildable land.
Does this solve the situation here and now? It can mitigate the effects, but above all, the problems that have built up over a long period need to be addressed. We are therefore putting a lot of energy and effort into solving these problems.
Regarding the risk of losing competence in this tough situation, the government is following this closely so that it does not have the effect Leif Nysmed points out: that one loses important key competence which makes it take a long time to get started again. Here, development is important so that one can use this time instead of losing momentum. That the government follows this closely is also an important message to those who are uncertain, and it is my colleague the Minister for Employment who has this responsibility.
Markus Kallifatides (S)
Madam Speaker! We will have to sort out this matter regarding the investment support properly at some point.
We Social Democrats proposed in our budget motion an authorization for an additional 8 billion. If we were the government and sat in the Ministry of Finance, we would of course have backed it up with funding in the years it concerns, 2024-2025 and possibly some more years. We therefore have a concrete proposal.
Madam Speaker! I sat in the front row before Christmas when State Secretary Andreas Carlson had an interpellation debate with my party colleague Gunilla Svantorp. Andreas Carlson then explained in detail his change of mind regarding a new high-speed railway in Sweden. From having recently been a mover in the Riksdag for a new such railway, he is now an opponent. Andreas Carlson had allowed himself to be convinced by good arguments, not least at the Christian Democratic national convention, and presented it as something of a virtue for a politician to be able to change their opinion.
I want to give Andreas Carlson a chance to demonstrate this virtue once again and change his mind. In the most serious situation for Swedish construction in three decades, the government has prematurely abolished the only effective housing policy we had: the investment support for the construction of rental apartments with lower rent levels. Do as we Social Democrats have proposed and authorize Boverket to grant funds to already submitted applications. Save jobs, support the economy, and give more people a chance at good housing, including through 3,600 apartments here in the world's finest capital.
Leif Nysmed (S)
Madam Speaker! I must begin by apologizing for exceeding my time last time. This time I shall be more disciplined.
I would like to conclude by thanking you for the debate with the Minister for Housing. We will likely get more opportunities to debate, and I hope that we can develop and discuss future solutions. We must increase demand, otherwise nothing will be built. We can shorten the times, but there still must be those who can afford to buy in the end, otherwise nothing will be built.
It is obvious that everyone who is looking for a home and who can afford to demand one will have to wait a long time. It is obvious that many companies within the construction industry will have difficulty surviving the crisis. In December alone, 126 companies in the construction industry went bankrupt. That is the second highest figure in ten years. It is serious.
It is obvious that construction workers will pay a high price through increased unemployment. It is obvious that 30,000 rental apartments were not more important than that construction suddenly stops. They could have been very necessary for the industry right now.
Madam Speaker! An honest answer from the Minister for Housing would have been that the government has no policy for increased housing construction. The government sits contentedly and watches as housing construction crashes right now. It is not possible to interpret the non-answers we receive from the Minister for Housing today in any other way.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I think it is a welcome element in Swedish politics to talk about virtues, as Markus Kallifatides says. Perhaps more people at some point should reconsider and see what other ways there are to look at things. I try to look at politics in that way and be open to new ideas, thoughts, and approaches and be able to be convinced by good arguments.
When it comes to the investment support, however, I will disappoint Markus Kallifatides. It is a very inefficient support. But it says quite a lot about the Social Democrats. It is just as Markus Kallifatides said: It was the only effective tool that you had.
Admittedly, it was not so effective, but it was the only tool, while I point to many other tools. It is about increasing demand by increasing purchasing power so that people can afford to pay. It is about simplifying building regulations. It is about shortening lead times and about producing more buildable land. It is about ensuring that those who are far from the housing market get closer to it.
There are many, many measures, and I look forward to returning to the Committee on Civil Affairs, members Nysmed and Kallifatides, and the Chamber to have a good dialogue about these.
I thank you for tonight's debate, and as Leif Nysmed pointed out, I look forward to continued good dialogue in these issues that are so crucial and important for Sweden, which concern people having somewhere to live and realizing their housing dreams. People should be able to move to where the jobs or love are, or for whatever other reasons one now wishes to move.
This is a very important policy area that the government prioritizes, and I look forward to returning to it.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.