In recent years, Lyngen municipality in Nord-Troms has seen a formidable growth in both tourists and Airbnb landlords. In the last year alone, the proportion of Airbnb landlords has increased by 20 per cent, and altogether there are 130 landlords in Lyngen, according to figures from the tourism company Visit Lyngenfjord. Even if tourism accelerates turnover in the areas, it contributes to making the villages’ challenges even greater. The Lyngsalpan frames the tourist village of Lyngen, which attracts ski and mountain tourists from all over the world. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen – It’s easy to get a job, and it’s easy to get a school and kindergarten place, but it’s difficult to find a home, says Unni Thomsen, teacher at Lyngsdalen childcare centre. Like many other Norwegian municipalities, Lyngen municipality is also struggling with a housing shortage, and politicians have divided opinions on what can solve the problem. Too expensive for young people Thomsen says that it was difficult for her and her family to establish themselves in the municipality. – We sold a property in Tromsø and thought we were going to buy in Lyngen, but it didn’t work out. We ended up building it ourselves, she says. Unni Thomsen and her family were unable to find housing in Lyngen. They ended up having to build it themselves. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen Sunniva Langgård (21) also works at Lyngsdalen childcare centre, and has grown up in the idyllic location between the fjord and the Lyng Alps. She wants to establish herself with her own home. But getting a loan to build is difficult, and there are few homes on the market. For now, she must stay with her parents. – It’s not that easy when you’re young and don’t have a lot of money. You can save as much as you want, but you also have expenses, says Langgård. She says that the homes that are put up for sale are often larger renovation projects that require both time and money. In addition, vacant homes are posted on Airbnb rather than being rented out or sold to permanent residents. This makes it difficult for young people to establish themselves in Lyngen, and Langgård hopes to see a change. At the same time, she understands that it is lucrative to rent to the many tourists during the ski season on Airbnb. – It’s nice to have tourists, but they are unable to feed the village in the same way as we who live here, says Langgård. She is supported by Sigurd Fyhn. The 27-year-old works at one of the local grocery stores in the municipal center Lyngseidet, and grew up in the same place. The last time Sigurd Fyhn checked the housing market in Lyngen, there were only two homes for sale. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen / news He rents a house from his cousin, but has neither the means nor the opportunity to buy into the housing market. – Last time I checked, there were two homes for sale here, says Fyhn. He thinks it is a pleasant feature with the tourists in the village, but that it is unfortunate that they affect young people’s ability to rent a home. – I am a little against the idea of owning a home that is not lived in all year round. Nobody gets to establish themselves when it’s Airbnb, says the 27-year-old. Wants permanent residents to be exempt from property tax Mayoral candidate for Lyngen Liberal Party, Mads Harald Fagerborg Kvien, has no doubt that the municipality has a housing problem. – Many have started to blame Airbnb, and suggest, for example, compulsory residence as alternatives. After all, this is coercion, which may not be the right way to work, he says. Kvien believes it would be wrong to fight against technological development, such as the modern sharing economy Airbnb represents. He believes that young people primarily see tourism in the village as something that gives the place added value. Mayoral candidate for Lyngen Venstre, Mads Harald Fagerborg Kvien, wants to cut the property tax to reduce the housing shortage. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen The party will therefore introduce other measures that may make more people choose long-term rentals over tourism. – We are going to the polls so that people who live permanently in Lyngen or who rent out to permanent residents will be exempt from property tax, explains Kvien. He believes the proposal acts as a carrot, and not a whip, to stimulate people to establish themselves and stay in the village. The proposal meets with both support and opposition in the local party flora. The Alps in Lyngen are very popular with tourists, especially in winter. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen Both the mayoral candidate for the Conservative Party and the Labor Party in Lyngen are cool to the Liberal Party’s proposal and justify it by saying that they are worried about the loss of important income in the municipality. Charlotte Felisie Christensen, the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate, is basically positive about lower property tax, but thinks the proposal will go too far over the municipality’s budget. – Now the municipality probably receives 5-6 million in property tax. It is difficult to have to remove parts of this out of the blue, she says. A complex problem There are different opinions among politicians about what is the right medicine to treat the housing shortage. Christensen believes there are several factors that come into play in solving the municipality’s housing problem. – An investigation must be started into what the situation is today. Is it really Airbnb that is the problem, or is it just something people say, asks the mayoral candidate. Charlotte Felisie Christensen, the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate, believes that an investigation should be started into what is actually the reason for the housing shortage. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen She emphasizes that several houses also stand empty for large parts of the year, because they are used as holiday homes. But she sees that Airbnb is part of the problem. – There is a lot of good with tourism and Airbnb, but in connection with the housing market it can be difficult when it takes up 130 homes that could have been for young people and newcomers, says Christensen. Robert Jensen is Lyngen Arbeiderparti’s mayoral candidate in 2023. Here in front of a mighty mountain home in his home village Furuflaten. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen The Labor Party is also basically positive about Airbnb tourism. – Airbnb is a value for Lyngen. I think what is happening with the turnover of goods and services in connection with Airbnb is positive for the municipality, says mayoral candidate for the Labor Party, Robert Jensen. Jensen believes it would rather be useful to obtain an overview of how many of the unoccupied homes in the municipality can be used, before pointing the finger at the American rental giant. Mayoral candidate Kvien has found out for himself that it is difficult to get housing. After several years of trying to establish themselves here, he and his partner finally got a loan to build a house from the Husbanken. And he believes that more people are required to get mortgages in order for more people to establish themselves in the village – and to reduce the housing shortage. – Young people today do not live in a paid-off house or apartment in Tromsø. We need to borrow money. Mads Harald Fagerborg Kvien is Lyngen Venstre’s mayoral candidate, and hopes the local politicians are open to more creative solutions to remedy the housing shortage in his home village. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen He believes politicians must be open to adopting far more and more creative solutions to remedy the housing shortage. Among other things, Kvien believes that the municipality has been too restrictive with the distribution of start-up loans, and that far more housing should be built in the alpine village. – I think it would be wrong to blame Airbnb. We cannot fight against market forces or technological development, it is a battle we are going to lose. Airbnb is definitely not the enemy here.
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Lyngen does not have enough homes – at the same time houses are empty or rented out on Airbnb – news Troms and Finnmark
