'There is clearly no social housing policy’

The Government has recently received a report on social housing policy and one on start loans for first-time homebuyers. What effect can we expect these proposals to have?

– There is clearly no social housing policy at present. Disadvantaged groups all too often receive no financial support. The report contains a number of interesting proposals, even though as a whole they are not enough. Hopefully, the report will be the start of the creation of a social housing policy for the next parliament.Start loans for first-time homebuyers make homeownership easier. This is basically a good thing; slightly more people can get on the property ladder a little bit quicker. However, it must be remembered that you have to be creditworthy to get a start loan. So for disadvantaged groups, a start loan does not provide financial support.

The January Agreement contained several housing policy proposals, which have not been implemented. Should they be taken up again, or are entirely different things needed?

– Yes, the proposals should definitely be implemented, even though none of them completely solve the housing problem. If you take, for example, the report on market rents for newly built rental homes, its proposals are practicable and would increase willingness to invest. The rent levels will not automatically rise as a result of the reform, but investors will feel safe knowing what the actual rent levels will be. This will increase willingness to invest, resulting in more homes being built, mainly in big cities. Government policy must deal with the housing issues before the next parliament. At present, there is no holistic approach.

More refugees came in March than in the last two years combined. With regard to housing, what can government policy and Heimstaden be better at this time around compared to the last wave of refugees?

– The housing issue is perhaps the most important one to solve for our new members of Swedish society. Without decent, safe housing, it is extremely difficult to become a part of society. Heimstaden takes its share of responsibility by trying to make more housing available for refugee families. In this respect, we are more active than during previous waves of refugees. For example, in Poland and the Czech Republic, we are doing a lot now to help arrange accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing the war. In the short term, government policy must provide financial support for accommodation. In the long term, however, what is most important is providing access to education and making it easier to work.

Kent Persson was interviewed by Andreas Bergström, Senior Consultant at New Republic. ‘Three Quick Questions…’ is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic