Housing issues are essential for individuals' basic needs and also play a crucial role in the economic system.
Instability in the housing market has been a focal point, with property bubbles forming, difficulties in influencing supply and demand, and a heavy housing cost burden for a large group of people, both in the rental and ownership markets. The role of professional investors in the market is also controversial.
Among Iceland’s international human rights commitments is the right to adequate living conditions, including the right to housing. This right includes, among other things, that housing should be financially affordable. The state has multiple obligations to implement this right, including both actions and omissions. Almost nothing has been discussed about the right to housing in this country, although it is clear that housing security is a key factor in acceptable living standards.
The research aims to analyze the content of the right to housing and its status in Icelandic law and to apply a human rights perspective to the housing market. This will identify the requirements for regulations, such as tenant protection, enforcement procedures, and a more active role for the state in ensuring the right to adequate housing.
A human rights perspective provides an opportunity to emphasize the social role of housing as people’s homes rather than an investment opportunity and can thus serve as a guiding principle in the formulation of housing policy and legislation in this area.
