Response to interpellations 2023/24:149 and 159 on 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 housing construction and the government's measures. KD argues that the government has announced a planning stimulus for small houses 1, started an analysis of the shore protection 1, and that the coalition partners have agreed to reform the shore protection 2. KD emphasizes that inflation is the cause of high costs 2 and that the focus is on infrastructure 2. KD argues that the increase in the tax deduction for renovations shall save jobs 3. S argues that there is a glaring housing shortage 4, that the government is passive 5 6, and that the state must introduce construction loans 4. S considers that the government prioritizes the renovation tax deduction over construction 7 8 9. SD argues that the government is working on proposals for growth 10, time-limited building permits 10 as well as start-up loans and rent-to-buy models 11.
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! Isak From has asked me if I intend to take any initiatives to provide housing for the green industrial transition in northern Sweden. Sofie Eriksson has asked me if I have received information linked to the industrial development in Ludvika. Sofie Eriksson has also asked me how I intend to act regarding housing construction to support municipalities with large industrial expansions.
I choose to answer both interpellations in a single context.
I want to start by saying that I have received information linked to the industrial development in Ludvika.
Today we see investments in the industries of the future in large parts of the country, not least in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, where many communities face an extensive expansion. This is positive, while at the same time it creates challenges because, among other things, new electricity production, infrastructure, housing, educational opportunities, and the influx of skills must be established quickly.
Sweden is in a difficult economic situation where the conditions for housing construction have deteriorated significantly as a result of high inflation and higher interest rates in both Sweden and the rest of the world.
To favor new production, the government has announced in the budget bill for 2024 a planning stimulus to municipalities that adopt detailed plans for small houses, this in order to increase the supply of buildable land for small houses. The background is that many want to live in small houses, such as villas or terraced houses. The announced support regarding the enabling of small house development covers 60 million kronor for 2024 and 75 million kronor per year 2025 and 2026.
Furthermore, an analysis work regarding the shore protection shall be initiated.
The government sees great opportunities for northern Sweden to lead the new industrial revolution and become an engine for green innovations. The local need for new housing is particularly great around the large company establishments and company expansions in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties. From several perspectives, it is desirable that incoming labor chooses to stay and settle in the affected municipalities. Attractive housing and living environments are important prerequisites for long-term sustainable recruitment.
To promote the coordination of state interventions that enable sustainable community building and rapid population growth in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, in the societal transformation occurring due to major company establishments and company expansions, a letter investigator has been appointed. The investigator's mandate includes proposing state interventions for increased housing construction in municipalities with rapid population growth in order to meet the need for sustainable housing and living environments in both the short and long term.
The Government also intends to develop a strategy for the new industrialization and social transformation in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, in which housing supply is an important part. The Government has also tasked Tillväxtverket to coordinate the work at a national level to support the new industrialization and social transformation in these two counties.
Furthermore, the County Administrative Board in Norrbotten County and the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten County will each be allocated 2.5 million kronor to strengthen their capacity to handle goal conflicts arising due to the societal transformation in the wake of large establishments and expansions within the industry.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! Let us first state that last week was a dark week with eight dead in accidents linked to construction sites. It is a development that no one wants to see, and we have every reason to go into depth on the question of what it is that makes the construction industry so affected by accidents.
We can also observe that the accidents that occurred at Northvolt in Skellefteå were not the first. Very many accidents are also linked to work-related crime where third-party hired workers are on site and perform something they do not have the right to do.
Madam Speaker! We do not need more unemployed people. We have a horrible situation. In September, more than 1,500 people were laid off from the construction industry. That is an increase of 446 percent since the previous year, and it is still increasing. One has to go all the way back to the financial crisis in 2008 to find similar figures.
It is not better within the timber house industry. There, the permits have more than quintupled, mainly from the small house industry and the model house industry, i.e., where modules are built. And the year is not over yet.
At the same time, we have a glaring housing shortage, not least in northern Sweden and also in Ludvika in Dalarna, which Sofie Eriksson will speak more about. But we also have a situation, particularly in the northernmost part of Sweden affecting Kiruna and Gällivare, where the availability of buildable land is completely lacking despite the fact that these are extensive municipalities.
We have a financial market that does not want to stand up for the fact that there are projects that need to be sustained. We have, in Skellefteå, Boden and Luleå, buildable projects that could start immediately if the financiers were there.
The coordination that is now taking place at the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten, which Andreas Carlson refers to to some extent, also shows that new measures were needed here. A handshake was needed between the state and municipalities that are in an extreme societal transformation so that the state is also involved and provides guarantees, because we obviously have a financial market that does not see that these are actually projects that are profitable and can be implemented.
There is an increased proportion of unemployed people, and there is a shortage. Unemployed - shortage. This should be possible to match.
Should the small house industry in Småland go on strike, even though it is possible to build both modular houses and villas that can be erected in Skellefteå, Luleå, Boden, Gällivare and Kiruna? Instead, the strikes and the layoffs continue. The sector risks coming to a total standstill if this continues. If the economy turns, it will not be possible to match. Here, the state must step in and take overall responsibility.
Sofie Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
The light comes, as everyone knows, from the north. We in Ludvika are part of lighting the lamp. 120 years of world-leading industry within energy transmission continues now in Ludvika. In Grängesberg, where I live, modern transmission technology was invented. It is unthinkable today to imagine our society without that enormous technological leap.
Madam Speaker! 147 billion kronor is the largest export order in Swedish history. It is one of several multi-billion order awards to Hitachi Energy in Ludvika in recent years. The latest giant order consists of technology developed in Ludvika that is to be delivered to offshore wind farms in the North Sea off the coast of Germany and Holland. Approximately 12 million people will be provided with green energy through this single order. The technology contributes to the highest degree to the global transition.
But as Fredrik at HVDC in Ludvika said, in the end, it is about screws and nuts. A job must be done. Today, there are approximately 3,500 people working at the factory in Ludvika. Now, three new people are hired every day. There were just over 800 new ones last year and approximately 1,000 new ones this year. The assessment is an additional 1,000 in 2024. This is happening here and now, and it is a gigantic challenge for a municipality with just over 27,000 inhabitants.
Recruitment and new hires will hopefully mean significantly more residents in Ludvika and neighboring municipalities. But for it to be possible to meet the challenge, Ludvika, just like other industrially expanding municipalities, needs state action in practice. At least 500 new homes must be built within a three-year period. Both public housing and private actors need support to start enough construction projects quickly. Local forces do as well as they can, but they are not enough to go the whole way.
For our municipality, the need for stimuli is estimated at around 100 million kronor. But the Minister for Housing delivers approximately 1.5 per mille of this to Ludvika in the form of a part-time hired planning architect. The money cannot be used for actual construction. It is not enough, Madam Speaker. The business sector is investing, but the state is braking.
We Social Democrats have several proposals on what can be done, including introducing a state construction stimulus that can be targeted at smaller towns with large industrial establishments and expansions. We propose state construction credits to lower investment costs and the financial risk. The proposals exist, but there seems to be a lack of decisiveness.
Minister for Enterprise Ebba Busch visited Ludvika a few weeks ago, and we are pleased about that. In an interview with Aftonbladet, she talks about social construction and the role of the state. But in the response from Andreas Carlson to my interpellation, none of this is described. The government delivers no money at all for actual support for actual construction. I agree with Andreas Carlson's party leader that new politics are needed to meet the needs. The question is whether these were empty words. We do not see the stimuli. The bankruptcies are standing like poles in the ground. People are being sent home, and important housing is not being built.
We have received a state that is withdrawing. And, Madam Speaker, we do not have time and we cannot afford that type of passivity.
Roger Hedlund (SD)
Madam Speaker! Today, there are two interpellations submitted to the Minister for Housing regarding the need to quickly provide more housing in the areas where there is a rapid expansion for industry and growing companies. This is an important issue.
I have for many years tabled motions on the issue. My years with these motions have been nothing compared to how long the issue I intended to bring up now has been driven, namely the Ostkustbanan and Norrbotniabanan. Here we would have needed a government that had pushed a bit faster on that issue and made it possible to commute to Norrland where an expansion is taking place. It is clear that it is a major infrastructure issue.
Now we are here and now in this situation. Therefore, it was a bit funny to hear Social Democrats talk about construction stimuli. They would hardly solve the situation here and now for the expansion that is occurring now, particularly in Norrland. What is needed are measures that a bit faster create opportunities for more people to get a home. There are several measures that Sverigedemokraterna, together with the government, are pushing forward in this area. They must be highlighted to illuminate the situation.
One example is the time-limited building permits. They were extended by five years and are valid until May 2028. There is an opportunity with time-limited building permits to produce temporary housing in the areas where they were needed quickly. The comical thing about the situation is that the time-limited building permits were established during the previous government, then with the prerequisite of shaking out quick, new homes for migrants who came to Sweden during the migration crisis in the autumn of 2015.
The measure was not at all suitable for creating conditions for rapid expansion for, for example, the industry in Norrland. It is a typical example of a measure that the previous government proposed to once again create conditions for migrants to come to Sweden and get a fast track into the housing market. But today's government, supported by Sverigedemokraterna, is working on proposals to create conditions for growth in the country. There is a big difference between the government we have today and the old government. I am glad that we have a new government in Sweden today.
Migration policy has affected housing policy to a large extent. With the new paradigm shift in the area, it creates conditions to release more housing to those who need them. Previously, housing was built only to meet the large population growth, while today we can build housing for those residents in Sweden who need a home so that they can study and take the jobs offered where the growth is large.
Madam Speaker! There are several measures that I will address in my next speech. The government has today, through the Minister for Housing, presented a number of proposals that are out for investigation, a number of stimuli that make it possible for the municipalities to solve the problems that exist in Norrbotten and which have also been exemplified with Dalarna. There, I have great confidence that the Sverigedemokraterna, together with the new government, will provide the conditions that are needed.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin with the interpellant Isak From's observation, namely that it has been a dark week. I share that perception one hundred percent. It is a very great tragedy when someone loses their life in a workplace accident, and I and the responsible Minister Paulina Brandberg, who is working precisely with occupational environment issues, and the entire government, share the commitment that Isak From expresses.
Isak From also points out that there is a lack of access to buildable land. I also share that view. It is one of the major structural deficiencies that need to be addressed and rectified. We take a step in the budget that has been presented to the Riksdag - and which has been voted through here in the chamber if I am not completely misinformed, Madam Speaker. This means a stimulus for municipalities to produce detailed plans for small houses.
In that work, it is also about making attractive buildable land available. I mentioned in my response that an analysis is underway regarding the shore protection. Within the framework of the annual update of the Tidö Agreement, the four coalition parties have recently agreed that the shore protection shall be reformed. In the updated Tidö Agreement, there is an ambition to appoint an inquiry to reform the shore protection with the aim of increasing the possibilities for construction near water, where, among other things, the municipalities shall be given a larger role in matters concerning the shore protection.
We have also announced that we will proceed with the measures for which there are already preparatory documents, Madam Speaker.
I also want to elaborate a little bit on the assignment of the housing investigator to promote coordination of measures for sustainable community building and rapid population development in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties. The observations and proposals that the coordinator Peter Larsson will produce are, of course, important. It is something that we will analyze. Due to the nature of the assignment, it is, of course, about Norrbotten and Västerbotten, but it may also be relevant for situations such as the one described in Ludvika.
I have, as I also mentioned, familiarized myself with the situation in Ludvika. I have had a meeting with Hitachi Energy. My party leader has, as also mentioned, been on a visit. It is about seeing how the transport infrastructure can enable the very large societal transformations that are occurring as a result of new industrialization or, actually, the expansion of industrialization. It is an industry that has been on site for a long time but which is now developing at a very high pace. It is also about housing supply. In this, the focus for the government's infrastructure policy also lies on freight traffic.
When it comes to housing construction, I want to use the last minute to address that which is most serious in the situation we have.
What affects housing construction is inflation. The members do not mention it in their remarks, Madam Speaker. It is inflation that has led to increased production and financing costs. Ebba Busch was very clear about that in the interview that the interpellator points to. It is inflation. When it has receded, a toolbox with different measures and steps opens up. Given that it is inflation that is the cause, we must work to bring down inflation. If the recession holds, there are other tools in the toolbox, but it is very important to continue fighting inflation and to have a responsible economic policy that does not counteract the monetary policy, because then there is a risk that the situation will become even worse.
It is an answer to the question concerning Ebba Busch's statement in the interview, where she was also clear that it is inflation that needs to be fought.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! To Member Hedlund, I can say that the Norrbotniabanan was included in the national plan until 2006. Then we got an alliance government, and then it disappeared. It would have been finished by now, a long time ago. From the beginning, it was also not divided into two parts, but it was supposed to go all the way. Unfortunately, it stopped in Umeå, but now it is moving forward again. Now the government has also decided so that the appeals that were filed are removed.
When it comes to the government's response and the connection to the shore protection, it becomes both a bit funny and unfortunately a bit pathetic. The Tidö parties voted down here in the chamber the proposal that the Social Democrats and the Centre had, which actually would have enabled building near the shore in large parts of the country. That was voted down. And now they come here, several years later, and want to investigate the issue anew. It is quite distressing. There was a proposal. One only needs to present it again, so we can make a decision here in the chamber again.
When it comes to the housing supply and financing, I am completely convinced that we need to look at new business models together.
Could the Government be interested in tasking Skellefteå to, together with the state, test new business models that promote green, socially sustainable construction?
In the wake of the green industrial transformation, we need housing that is long-term sustainable. What is being built now, with barrack-style housing, only creates new conflicts. It is not a long-term sustainable solution for the housing supply. Real housing is needed in Skellefteå, Luleå, Boden, Gällivare, and Kiruna.
As I began with, particularly Kiruna and Gällivare are associated with other obstacles. Different national interests there place obstacles in the way.
There are projects today that could start immediately, but instead we have increased unemployment in the construction sector and in the small house industry and increased layoffs and bankruptcies at the same time as we have a great need for new housing in several places. This must be possible to combine.
The Minister is also involved in what concerns inflation. Yes, it is certainly a concern. But now very clear figures are coming in that it is on its way down. The government needs to send signals that we see that this ship is about to turn, that we will actually get a falling inflation and that the projects that can start should be able to start. But here it was also needed that the state is involved and takes some of the responsibility. It is unreasonable to place the entire responsibility for the societal transformation on individual municipalities.
Sofie Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! Yes, the business sector is investing in Sweden now. The question is why our current government does not seem to be so interested in meeting the needs that are created in relation to that development.
It is good that one looks at Norrbotten and Västerbotten. But has one missed what is happening in municipalities such as Östersund, Timrå and Ludvika, the establishments and expansions that are occurring in our municipalities? Coordinating functions for state interventions are also needed here.
But back to the housing. Housing construction is crashing, and the government is watching. Where is the decisiveness? Where is the housing policy? I do not see it.
I repeat what I said in my first post: We do not have time to wait out this and hope that it turns around in a few years. By then, it might be too late. We really cannot afford to let these investments end up in other countries, where we can see that the state steps in.
Our government can do things. One can stimulate housing construction. One can implement effective measures for infrastructure so that companies can export their goods and people can commute to work. One can provide sufficient funds to municipalities and regions so that one does not need to cut back on, for example, healthcare while the needs are increasing. Why is that not being done?
Madam Speaker! My view is that there is simply an ideological direction that is about passivity - that the state should not do so much. They want to reduce the social commitment so that they can lower taxes and increase the inequalities in the country.
This right-wing government does not seem to believe that common problems are best met with common solutions. Or perhaps one believes that the crash in the construction sector and the housing shortage are not common problems. It is becoming a look-after-yourself-and-ignore-others society.
The problem for the government is that this also leads to weaker competitiveness and reduced willingness to invest in our country. It becomes obviously skewed. Here, the business sector wants to create as many new jobs as possible. The transition, which in many ways could mean concern that jobs will disappear, leads to the opposite in Sweden. But it doesn't work; it doesn't add up if the state withdraws. The risk is that the investments end up in other countries. We cannot stand around twiddling our thumbs.
It is good that the government wants to produce more buildable land. But how are we going to get the actual construction started? The interest rate situation and the abolished supports for construction mean that few dare to take that risk right now, and I believe that is where the shoe pinches. It is here that the government so foolishly stands by and lets the construction industry fall over. It is about priorities in the end.
We can stand here and bicker for as long as we want about different processes and this and that. There are positive things in that, but construction is almost at a standstill and people are being laid off. And something can be done about this. The question is why our government abstains.
Roger Hedlund (SD)
Madam Speaker! To begin with, I would like to reply to Isak From, a Social Democratic member participating in the debate.
Regarding the Norrbotniabanan and the alliance government's work on the issue, I can only say that it does not concern the Sverigedemokraterna. We were not part of the alliance government and did not support it.
I can only state, Madam Speaker, that the Social Democrats during their time did not work fast enough on the issue. We see the result of that today.
In other respects, housing construction is primarily a financing issue. Inflation and high interest rates are what have put us in the situation we are in today. These things are, of course, very difficult to influence, but the government, together with the Sweden Democrats, is doing very much to achieve a turnaround of the economic situation in Sweden.
Ultimately, it is mainly about people being able to afford to live. The housing that is built must have the prerequisites for that. There is no point in building housing that people in the end cannot afford to move into. That policy does not work in practice. The measures that the government, together with the Sverigedemokraterna, are working on today create the conditions to actually produce housing for people who also have the possibility to take it.
Regarding the situations that the interpellants raise, but also other situations in the Sweden of housing shortages, we have several proposals that are under investigation and underway. For example, the matter regarding start loans for first-time buyers is being prepared, and developing a lease-to-own model that enables people to rent their way into owning their home in the future.
We have a committee working on a review of mortgage caps and amortization requirements - one of many proposals that the government has initiated since it took office. It is a proper focus on housing policy from the new government, in contrast to the old one. Now we can make a real difference.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Yes, it is exactly as Roger Hedlund says here at the end that many different measures need to be implemented in a short time at a high tempo. It would, of course, have been better if several of the measures of a structural nature had been in place before we ended up in a recession with high inflation.
We have a long period behind us now when money has been almost free and there has been a boom. It is clearly a lot to ask to expect that a new government in a year, and during a recession and with high inflation, will be able to solve even more than the own government did during eight years during a boom and when the money was almost free.
Let me go into some of the elements so far in the debate. When it comes to national interests, the previous government did something good when they commissioned a preliminary study with Lena Eriksson, who has produced proposals on how one could achieve even better physical planning in Sweden. National interests are included there. She has presented interesting and extensive proposals that we are processing in the Government Offices.
It is also good that Isak From admits that inflation is a concern. One cannot blow the danger away as easily as Isak From does in this debate, Madam Speaker, but it is important with perseverance so that we do not get an even worse situation.
The needs resulting from the new industrialization do not, of course, stop in the north, as Sofie Eriksson says. We are seeing a new industrialization and an intensified industrialization in the east, west, south, center – yes, actually across our entire country. Therefore, it is of course a high priority for the government to see what can be done to facilitate and enable this fantastic development, which fundamentally is about where Sweden can lead the way in the green transition. It creates jobs and strengthens growth in our country. But there are, of course, bottlenecks that need to be managed. In that case, it is of course important to have a good dialogue and cooperation between the different levels. That is why we have the coordinator Peter Larsson on site. That is why the county administrative boards have an important task. But one cannot escape the fact that it ultimately is about bringing down inflation and implementing the structural reforms that will result in a better functioning housing market.
Sofie Eriksson also mentions the proposal on construction credits, construction loans, and says in the debate here that the government is doing nothing on the financial side for housing construction. I just want to inform the members in the chamber that there is a credit guarantee. The purpose of the state credit guarantee that is in place is precisely to promote the construction of more housing by facilitating financing for developers. During 2022, new credit guarantees were granted for just over 2,300 apartments, most of which were guarantees during the construction period.
Boverket notes in its report that it is a reasonable assumption that some of the construction projects that are guaranteed could not have been completed without the lender having signed a credit guarantee.
There are other different proposals that Peter Larsson is working on as coordinator for the expansion in the north. I look forward to taking part in the proposals. I believe, of course, that they can ease the situation there, but there are also opportunities, potentially seen, depending on what he comes up with in his assignment, that they can ease and enable societal transformation even in other parts of the country.
This is a priority issue. That is why the government is working at a high pace when it comes to housing policy and the housing market. But we will not escape the fact that inflation must be dampened, Madam Speaker.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! With the Minister's and Member Hedlund's party influencing the government, we have increased unemployment, more layoffs, and a housing shortage all at the same time.
One of the major investments in the budget is the increased ROT and RUT deductions. An increased ROT deduction for replacing countertops at home does not build new villas and does not create new apartments and small houses in Kiruna. It is a prioritization that one has actually chosen to make.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the inflation and energy crisis that have characterized all of Europe and driven up prices, extensive construction programs were underway, not least in Skellefteå. There, several different companies had very large plans that still exist. But the companies' liquidity crisis is so great that they cannot get started. Here, we Social Democrats have proposed some form of start-up support, for example, especially for those municipalities that are now in the middle of the societal transformation. One must get started. There are several projects that can get started. But it may be necessary for the state to signal that this issue is important.
Now, people are signaling that the increasing unemployment is not so important. In several parts of the country, it is actually quite high, though not in Västerbotten. We need both people and housing. That can be matched. Unemployment, labor shortages, and new housing can be matched.
Sofie Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! Now we are making a real difference, says Roger Hedlund from Sverigedemokraterna. As usual with a right-wing government, housing construction is decreasing sharply.
Madam Speaker! The industrial development that we are now seeing in Sweden is something to be protected and nurtured. But one must also be a bit careful, because it is not self-evident. It is not a law of nature that it is precisely here that establishments, expansions, and investments should occur. The international competition for this is very great. As a country, we should want to have those jobs here. That also requires a housing policy that meets the needs.
The Minister speaks about inflation. It is highly central in this context. I just want to bring to the record that our proposals also do not fuel it. We do not have higher expenditures in total than the government does. But we prioritize differently.
The government prioritizes removing a plastic bag tax and introducing luxury-ROT and luxury-RUT instead of incentives for construction. The ROT deduction has been touched upon here a bit. A fresh audit report from the Swedish National Audit Office has been released, showing that the reform has not been effective in combating undeclared work. Nevertheless, the government continues to raise the ceiling.
I wonder if there has been a matter of prestige in this. Just because the investment support was abolished, one cannot introduce something similar again. It would be extremely serious if such ideological blinkers hinder growth and welfare in our country.
Madam Speaker! What we have received is a state that is withdrawing. We do not have the time and we cannot afford that type of passivity.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I intended to comment finally on the entries at the end regarding the grass root deduction.
The purpose of raising the ceiling for the rotavdrag is to save some jobs in a very vulnerable sector. It is cyclically correct. The National Audit Office report referred to does not examine the effects of when the rotavdrag is used as temporary cyclical support, such as the temporary increase of the rotavdrag that the government has announced in the budget bill for 2024. We will, of course, analyze the report and respond in a letter regarding how we view it, which will be submitted to the Riksdag.
Madam Speaker! Otherwise, I would like to thank you for the debate and the commitment. You can rely on the fact that it is a priority for the government to ensure that we succeed with the social transformation that is now taking place and that the investments we are talking about, also in the area of infrastructure, shall aim to strengthen jobs and growth throughout the country so that all of Sweden can function.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.