DN Debate. Rent control must go, also for the old tenancy

Housing policy with its results in the form of housing is a huge economic failure. In Stockholm, sweden is approximately 560 000 in the queue. It takes an average of ten to twenty years to get a tenancy, depending on where in town you want to live. A second, Södermalm, was recently out to someone who's been in queue for 34 years!

In Belgium, there is no housing shortage. Where can those looking for an apartment to get a tenancy on the day. Not only that: the supply of apartments is overwhelming. You just have to choose the size and location. And then write the contract with the landlord. The explanation is that Belgium does not have a council like the one in Sweden. Despite the fact that the country suffered enormous devastation through two world wars, it works the housing market well. Cynikern can conclude that Sweden been of something that has been more devastating for the housing market than the war and occupation by a foreign power, namely, of rent controls.

this opens a historical opportunity to dismantle the samhällsskadliga rent control by a blocköverskridande agreement between, on the one hand, the Centre party and the Liberals, and on the other the Socialists. A successful liberalisation must then apply the rental market in the entire country. The settlement may not be limited only to newly built apartments. Otherwise it will take an ”eternal” amount of time before a clear positive effect.

A straight forward method of reforming the rental market would be to make the black market white.

We choose here is to first highlight some of the hyresregleringens many harmful effects. Then we take up a few suggestions for solutions.

• For the first, those who lack the waiting list for the existing rental units or the capital to buy a condominium have great difficulties to enter the housing market, particularly in a large city such as Stockholm. the Housing market was provided recently with the ”double lock” for young families when the government introduced the so-called ceiling on mortgages. The possibilities deteriorated further when the requirements were introduced. The result is, among other things, a clearly poorer functioning labour market and a more difficult process of integration of new groups in Swedish society.

• For the second, households with rental apartments in the Stockholm city centre has benefited from large hyressubventioner regardless of whether they have high or low incomes. Researchers have shown that while the typical holder of a tenancy in Stockholm city centre is an older, well-educated, native-born person without children are those who live in the suburbs of Stockholm, mainly young low-skilled workers in households with small children and immigrants.

An acquaintance – an older, well-educated, native-born person without children – has a tenancy of 160 square meters at the heights of Södermalm in Stockholm. He pays 12 000 sek a month. Marknadshyran is around 20 000 sek. Every year he gets by rent control as a subsidy of around 100 000 sek per year, one gift at a evighetskapitalisering corresponding to sek 2.5 million (at 4% interest rate). This creates the rent control a grotesque injustice that should be urgently eliminated.

• third, rent control makes that there will be net no new rental units. the Fiscal council, revealed in an interim report in 2017 to the conversion of rental apartments to condominiums, which the alliance government conducted contributed to 147 000 rental units converted to condominiums. Because the addition during this period was only 65 000, decreased the number of rental properties with 82 000!

Because rent control makes the perspective of private economics profitable to convert rental apartments to condominiums, rent control, in fact, the biggest threat to the tenancy as the form of housing. The tenancy rights threatens to disappear in the long term, if not rent control should be abolished.

the Current attempts to form a new government with the support of the blockgränserna can hopefully open the door for a real transition of the housing market. Certainly, defended the failed housing policy of the powerful vested interests that the tenants ' association, the LO, and not least the privileged tenants who profit from rent control. Moreover, social democracy has traditionally stood up for rent control, despite the harsh criticism that have long been put forward by economists as Assar Lindbeck, Sven Rydenfelt and Ingemar Ståhl.

Now it is up to the responsible parties to dismantle rent regulation in such a way that a broad acceptance can be reached. Here are several ways to try.

Tenants get the legal right to sell their lease to the highest bidder. Today's black market for the tenancy would end at the same time as the purchase and sales of rental properties legalized. It would contribute to a more efficient exploitation of the stock by people with high willingness to pay will replace the low. The method solves the basic problems with rent control.

It means that property owners may raise rents at the same time as they write out a promissory note (a debt instrument) on the hyreshöjningarnas value of the annually level an amount equal to the difference between the new higher and old lower rent. It is then to be right in forecasting these differences. The method is theoretically elegant but practical difficult to implement. And why should tenants who historically profiterat on the rent control benefit in the future? Their gratisåkande should be stopped as soon as possible.

No one knows exactly today was this level, but a ceiling on the annual rent increase is a method to make it possible for tenants to adapt gradually to a new location. There will then be no chockhöjningar in the short term. Then follow the rents marknadshyran.

We are in favour of a solution with limited increases during a phase-in period. It marks directly the end of rent control. It immediately sets in motion an adjustment that leads to the free rents. Such a transition is the prerequisite for a better planning of the housing market. First with free price formation, it is possible to make rational investment for all parties.

There are several methods more than the ones we outlined above – to immediately come up out of the morass that the rental market plunged. The important thing is that decisions come quickly and that the measures covers the whole of the rental market. Politicians now have an opportunity to make blocköverskridande decisions immediately, eliminating the waiting list and the housing crisis.

It would be a big win for the Swedish society on the ongoing government formation talks can be used to loosen up the knots created by the soon 80 years with rent control.

rent control was introduced as part of the economic policy during the second world war. Peace came in 1945. Now is the time for peace, even in the rental market. After a long winter it is time for our.