Housing associations in Oslo pay 10 million in municipal taxes each year – Greater Oslo

– If it continues now, we are talking double rent. So it’s clear, everyone notices it, says Anne Elton. She is chairman of the Ammerudlia housing association in Oslo. The iconic Ammerud blocks are a familiar sight in the north-east of Oslo. They are part of the Ammerudlia housing association. With 985 apartments, the housing association in Grorud district is one of the country’s largest. Now they pay an eight-figure amount in municipal taxes. For this year, the sum will be NOK 10 million. – And that is a lot of money. Even though we are big, it is a lot of money, says chairman Anne Elton. And the increase has been abrupt: usually the fees have increased by a few tens of thousands a year. In 2022, they increased by approx. 300,000. Then it exploded. In the last two years, they have increased by almost 3 million. – Now we are soon approaching a doubling of the joint costs for some people here in a few years. Some residents now pay over NOK 2,000 more each month than just 2-3 years ago. New water supply And there is little indication that there will be an improvement in the future. After all, in August the city council announced major savings and cuts. At the same time, the city faces major investments in water, waste and drainage. Among other things, the construction of a new water supply for the city. The price tag is approaching 30 billion. Among other things, because of high interest rates. – That bill must be paid, and we share it here in Oslo over the fee, says Environment and Transport Councilor Marit Vea (V). According to the municipality’s own figures, the water supply project alone will add thousands to the fees every year from now on. And the bill? It goes, among other things, to Anne and the other residents of Ammerudlia. There, the fees are now approaching 15 per cent of the joint expenses. The chairman is dreading everything for next year. Then a new, big jump in fees is expected. Increased fees also mean that joint expenses rise. – It is not a good feeling to have to announce that you have to increase again. The chairman fears that they will have to increase joint expenses again. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Doubling in a few years And this is just the beginning. The organization Huseierne has calculated how much the fees will increase in the future. In the 120 largest municipalities, fees for water and sewage will increase by almost 60 per cent, from 2023 to 2027. In some places more. Like in Oslo. There they will more than double. What numbers do we use? Municipal fees vary based on, among other things, the size of the household and the amount of water used or the number of rubbish bins. Therefore, the actual figures will vary slightly from those we use here. Some of the figures are actually paid sums, for example from housing associations. When it comes to calculations of tax per inhabitant, we use the Homeowners’ calculations as a basis. They are based on figures from Statistics Norway that each municipality reports. For Oslo, we also use the city council’s own calculations in its budgets. The Statistics Norway figures show the average water and sewerage fee for a home of 120 square metres. But they have not included the VAT, which the residents also have to pay. The homeowners have included the VAT in their calculation to get closer to what the residents actually pay. And that’s just water and drainage. According to the Homeowners, the cleaning fee will also increase a lot. For example in Trondheim. There, the waste disposal fee increased this year by 48 per cent from last year. In sum, we are talking about so much money that several municipalities will end up with annual fees of over NOK 30,000 within a few years. Some are already there. – In the future, there is a risk that the municipal fees will be so high that people will be forced out of the home they live in today, says general secretary Morten Andreas Meyer in Huseierne. They simply won’t be able to handle the increased costs, he warns. – And politicians must take that seriously. Below you can see how the fees are in your municipality. The figures are based on a home of 120 m², and include VAT. Afraid people will have to move And they are already in that situation in Ammerudlia, according to chairman Anne Elton. Every time they increase the communal expenses, they get feedback from residents: – That they can’t actually afford to live anymore. That it will be too expensive, and they are considering moving. We have received several feedbacks on this. Elton thinks it’s sad to think about. – Now we are also a district that is not the most expensive to live in in Oslo. When you then get that feedback, it’s quite terrifying. Because where are they going to live? It could end up with people being forced out of the municipality and away from work and networks, she fears. The concrete blocks at Ammerud are surrounded by air and green areas. But inside the block there are several people who are now struggling to make the money last, according to the chairman. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen The concrete blocks at Ammerud are surrounded by air and green areas. But inside the block, there are several people who are now struggling to make the money last, according to the chairman. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen People struggle, quite simply. Part of the problem, according to Elton, is that everything increases at the same time. – Now that we have high electricity costs, high interest rates and such, I also think that politicians could take a look at the increases they are running on municipal taxes, she says. Can lower the fee And they can do that. Because even if they are allowed to send the entire bill for water and sewage to the residents, they don’t have to. In Lillestrøm, the municipal council decided that the fee this year should only be price adjusted. Although the municipality’s director wanted to increase the fees by more than 30 percent. Mayor Kjartan Berland (H) says the bourgeois majority there has now asked for a full review of the entire self-catering system. They want to see if it is possible to operate more cheaply. – There is still a lot to be done to get a reasonable level of fees for municipal services, he says. Morten Andreas Meyer believes that municipalities should do what they can to reduce the fees. Photo: Moment studio The municipality is praised by Meyer in Huseierne. He believes it is particularly important at a time when many are struggling. – It has been a good measure to protect households in Lillestrøm, he says. According to Vea, it is not appropriate for Oslo to do something similar now. It will cost a lot and have little effect, she believes. – If we use 500 million of the municipal coffers to lower fees, it will result in a reduction in the fee for ordinary people of around NOK 60. It is terribly small, she says. Here you can see the fees in Norway’s most populous municipalities: Will have a fee brake In Ammerudlia, board chair Anne Elton is prepared for another sharp fee jump. – It is the big, ugly wolf in the autumn when we start budgeting. How much will it increase this year? The housing association now pays more than 3.6 million just for renovations. – These are expenses we cannot do anything about. We must be allowed to throw away rubbish, says the chairman. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Now the politicians have to put the brakes on, Elton asks. – I hope that this year they might come to their senses. Vea says the city council is doing what it can to avoid such large increases. – Our goal is to keep the growth in fees lower than what the previous city council managed. At the same time, we have to recognize that the fees will increase, she says. The municipality’s response about the fees news has been in contact with the Water and Sewerage Agency about the increase in 2024, and future increases. They do not have calculations on how much the fees will increase, they say. From the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024, the annual fees for both water and sewage increased by approx. 23 percent, according to the agency. – We have calculated that for a family living in an average apartment of 87m² in Oslo, the increase amounts to NOK 85 per month in 2024. For an apartment of 120m², the increase amounts to NOK 116 per month, writes the agency’s press department in an email. Published 19.09.2024, at 06.20



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