– When we found the apartment I thought, “so nice that you can get such a good apartment so quickly”. I didn’t even think about it being relatively expensive, says Sebastian Ekberg. He and his wife Ann Jeanette moved to Norway from Sweden three years ago. For the apartment at Bislett in Oslo, where they live with their four children, they have paid 19,100 in rent. From the new year, they must pay NOK 1,900 more per month. An increase of 10 percent. After haggling. The landlord initially wanted to increase the monthly rent by over NOK 3,000. In total, they have to pay almost 23,000 more in rent next year. – People we talk to are shocked at how much we pay to live, says Sebastian. All four children in the Ekberg family live in the same room, and enjoy it. The oldest is seven years old. As they get older, it gets worse, the parents think. Photo: Anders Fehn / news But he adds that prices are high all over Oslo. In the city center they can walk and cycle everywhere, which saves them money. Legal rent shock The rent increase they get is completely legal. It was also the first demand from the home owner. Because their contract expires at New Year’s. When a new contract is to be entered into, the landlord can set a new price – as long as it is not “unreasonably high.” Then it is usually the normal rent for the area in which the home is located that governs. Leia can also be increased during the tenancy. But – there are rules: It is important to protest against illegal demands for increased rent, believes the Tenants’ Association. – But it is difficult to do anything about the legal increases, says Anne-Rita Andal in the association. Strong rent jump next year The fact that landlords can adjust the rent every year will have extra big consequences next year. Because in 2022, all prices have increased. Among other things, because of the war in Ukraine. This means that the consumer price index (CPI) is unusually high. Right now it is at 6.5 percent. Such a high price adjustment means that several people can have their rent increased by over NOK 1,000 each month. – It’s a completely different level, where you can actually feel it in your wallet, says Andal. – People cry and are in despair. Those with the poorest finances are especially hard hit. As single parents. They notice this well in the Single Parents’ Association: – Now we feel that we function as a helpline. People cry and are completely distraught, says the association’s leader Cathrine Austrheim. Many are afraid of being fired. So that landlords face higher interest rates and costs when selling. Because the rent increases so much that they have to move. Anne-Rita Andal i is head of the housing environment department at the Tenants’ Association. They are worried about a sharp increase in rental prices in 2023. Photo: Kirsten Randers-Pehrson / Tenants’ Association An uneasiness shared by many who rent, according to Andal in the Tenants’ Association: – Many of our members find it very difficult to live on borrowed time. – Feels like rubbish The Ekberg couple have also experienced this. If the owner had refused them a new contract, the family with four small children would have been on the ground from New Year’s. – To be at the mercy of every three years whether you are thrown out or not, as a family with children – I think that is completely absurd, says Ann Jeanette Ekberg. They got the impression that the landlord thought it was just as well if they moved when the contract expired. So she could renovate and find someone who would pay more. – It was a terrible experience. You feel like rubbish, says Ann Jeanette. – Then you are a source of income, says the man Sebastian. Because they have so many children, the Ekberg couple cannot get a mortgage even with a high income. Since rental prices are consistently high throughout Oslo, they chose to live within walking distance of work, kindergarten and school. Photo: Anders Fehn / news news has spoken to their landlord. She does not recognize that the couple are powerless in the tenancy relationship. She says she has only adjusted the rent once in the three years they have lived there, and that the increase they are now getting is only a few hundred Swedish kroner above the price adjustment. She also points out that she has several thousand in expenses every month in the apartment. Price ceilings in several countries The couple reacts to how unregulated the housing market is in Norway. – Since Norway is also a welfare country, and has a history of redistribution, I think it is jarring in a way, says Sebastian. Several times they have thought that it was a mistake to move from Sweden. There, tenants have several rights. Longer contracts. And a form of rent price cap. Something several countries have: The rental market in other countries During 2022, several countries have introduced price ceilings or freezes for rent. This is also possible in Norway – the Storting can, according to current legislation, adopt a temporary rent freeze. Our neighboring countries also have other regulations: For example, it is common for collective negotiations on rent in Sweden – almost like wage negotiations in Norway. There are stricter rules for when a tenant can be terminated. And if that doesn’t happen, fixed-term contracts will eventually be converted into ongoing contracts. And in Denmark, around 20 per cent of rental housing is subsidized by the state. – In Norway, you don’t have any of that. If you talk about it, there will be an uproar, says Andal in the Tenants’ Association. They believe several of the proposals Rødt is now making in the Storting are interesting. The party proposes, among other things, a study of price ceilings in pressured areas, such as Oslo. – We think there should be a limit to how much you can take in rent, says parliamentary representative Tobias Drevland Lund. Tobias Drevland Lund sits on the municipal committee at the Storting. Now he is fronting a number of proposals to regulate the housing market for Rødt. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – Immediate measures must be taken. Red also wants a separate rental supervision – which can help with information about rights and obligations, and check whether rental properties are legal. Today, it is difficult to find out what is legal and what you are entitled to, they believe. The Tenants’ Association agrees with that. They want a new tenancy law, which is easier to understand and with strengthening of tenants’ rights. And they are happy that the government will work on a new law, and has announced a notification to the Storting on housing in 2024. – But that doesn’t help people who sit and freeze here and now, and who can’t afford food because their rent is so high , says Anne-Rita Andal. She believes the authorities must consider immediate measures. Sebastian and Ann Jeanette know they are better off than many other renters. – We are resourceful, well-educated white middle class, who know the system. Take away any of those factors and it goes to hell, thinks Ann Jeanette. Photo: Anders Fehn / news The Ekberg couple agree on that. – Waiting is not an option. Honestly, says Sebastian Ekberg. – I worry, then, about people in Oslo. Hello! Do you have thoughts about the case you have read? Or more tips about the housing market, facilitation at school, crime or the health system and mental health? Perhaps about something completely different from Greater Oslo that should be taken care of? 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The family with children feels powerless in the rental market
