– I don’t think it will take that much for the house to be rented out, says Andreassen. He uses the home as a commuter home because he has a 20 percent position as a priest at Utsira. The rest of the time it is empty. Then he and his family live on Karmøy. – It is a well-functioning holiday home, but we probably need to get a heat pump in and insulate better if a refugee family can benefit from it, says Andreassen. For him, it is important to be able to find another place to live on the days of the month when he is at work. – Then we could rent out, he says. Einar Andreassen uses the house as a commuter home. Photo: Rosa Irén Villalobos / news It is precisely people like Einar Andreassen that the government is looking for. That is why they are launching boligdugnaden.no today. This is a measure to get more private people to rent out. The refugee situation has led to the local rental market soon being emptied of housing in several places. – There are both refugees, students and others who need to rent housing, says municipal and district minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik. Utsira has the most residents Last year, Norwegian municipalities took in 31,000 refugees. There are 208 people living in Utsira. In 2022, the municipality settled 15 refugees. This means that the country’s smallest municipality is one of those with the largest number of residents in relation to the number of inhabitants. – The situation is just as precarious this year. There is nothing to indicate that the number of refugees will decrease, says Gjelsvik. So far this year, between 1,800 and 3,000 refugees have arrived each month. The latest estimates from the Directorate of Immigration show that more will arrive this year than last year. Mayor of Utsira, Marte Eide Klovning. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Utsira is one of the municipalities that needs many more private rental homes. – We have made the decision to settle 30 refugees. Now we have received a request for five more, says Mayor Marte Eide Klovning. She is happy that the municipality has been able to accept so many refugees already. – It is important for us to be able to help. But we also see that they have been a great resource for this community. Many of them are already out at work, says Klovning. Searching for empty houses Before the war in Ukraine started, the “housing reserve” in Norway was calculated at 136,000 homes. 14,000 of these are in densely built-up areas. In addition, there are around 50,000 holiday homes in reserve. – We now need even more rental housing across the country. The fastest way to achieve this is to use empty homes and holiday homes, says Gjelsvik. Municipal and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik. Photo: Rosa Irén Villalobos / news He understands that it can be a big step for many to rent out, which is why they have now developed the website where home owners can get relevant information. – They can find out if the home is suitable for renting. In addition, they can get good advice on what to do before renting out. They can also get tips on how to find a tenant, says Gjelsvik. For Einar Andreassen, this information is important. – We really want to help so that more refugees can come to Utsira, he says.
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Soon empty for private rental housing in several places in Norway – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
