TOUR OF THE HABITAT WORLD SEEN BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Norway

#Mots-clés : “Brick and Mortar” Assistance Dernière mise à jour le 7 June 2019

ELEMENTS OF CONTEXT

HISTORY

DEMOGRAPHY

Norway is a constitutional monarchy (King Harald V and the first Minister Jens Stotenberg) in Northern Europe, with a population of 4.9 million. Norway has a low population density (12.8 inhab./Km ²). This is due to a large non-habitable land area (or sparsely inhabited).

SOCIO-ECONOMICAL CONTEXT

HABITAT

HISTORY OF CITIES – HERITAGE

URBAN HOUSING

RURAL HOUSING

RIGHT TO HOUSING

There is no legal provision in Norwegian law establishing the right to housing, but again, it should be remembered that the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is applicable as well as the Norwegian law. (1)

According to the law on social services, it is municipal to help those who do not have the means authorities to acquire a property for their own account. (1)

Related regulations (1) :

  • Tenancy Act passed in 1999 (Act No. 17 of 26 March 1999). This law regulates the lease of real estate, both for housing and other purposes. Under the new law, tenant rights were strengthened, the interests of both parties are nevertheless guaranteed satisfactorily.
  • Law on Lot owners tenants adopted in 1997 (Law No. 31 of 23 May 1997) : a plot of tenant owner is part of a condominium with the right to occupy a dwelling or other item of property.
  • The Storting adopted two laws on Housing Cooperative (boligbyggelag) and housing cooperatives (borettslag) (Laws Nos. 38 and 39 of 6 June 2003). They are jointly known as the laws of the cooperative housing (Borettslover). The cooperative model construction is part of the Swedish model. Made in the interwar period , it was extremely important for the construction of housing in Norway after World War II.
  • Law on the right of preemption municipalities for the acquisition of residential property (Act No. 34 of 29 April 1977).
  • Separate laws have been adopted for the construction (Act No. 43 of 13 June 1997), as well as purchase and sale of housing (Act No. 93 of 3 July 1992). There are also laws relating to real estate agencies, including on the intermediated sales and rental leasing land.

FORCED EVICTION

Norwegian law contains no provision explicitly prohibiting evictions of tenants. However, they can only take place in accordance with the procedures laid down in the relevant provisions. However, the Norwegian legislation protects people against arbitrary and unjustified evictions defines the rights and duties of landlords and tenants. It should refer to the paragraph on housing legislation. Applicable to all persons possessing a legal residence in Norway, the law also defines procedures for legal evictions. (1)

LAND RIGHTS

LAND GRABBING

VULNERABLE GROUPS

  • Homelessness
  • Joungpeople
  • Old people
  • Women

SOME INTERESTING PRACTICES

  • device HIRE PURCHASE : Norway offers people a system of leasing their homes to acquire it by step.

Social and economic aspects

HOUSING MARKET

PRICE OF ACCOMMODATION

Housing prices have increased by 30 % between 2006 and 2012. The current success story in Norway creating a real estate bubble could be completed at the end of the housing boom by a collapse of the market, like other European countries . This is an assertion that counselors of the Central Bank of Norway.

RENTAL VERSUS ACQUISITIVE

In Norway, 80% of the population own their homes and rental sector is almost non-existent.

DISCRIMINATION FOR PEOPLE OF FOREIGN ORIGIN

The information collected from the Centre for the fight against ethnic discrimination shows that a number of actors in this sector discriminatory practices. Examples of discrimination include the adoption at general meetings of regulations that prohibit the foreign access to housing and the refusal of the board to approve a purchase or rental due ethnic origin of the person concerned. News reports also report cases of discrimination found on private markets for the sale and leasing. (1)

In principle, asylum seekers in Norway does not have the right to own their own home but still the state offers them accommodation. This provision is included in the draft of the government’s annual budget, which is adopted annually. The claimant can choose whether to accept the offer made to him. (1)

QUALITY OF HOUSING

INFORMAL HOUSING / SLUM / HOMELESS

HOMELESSNESS

There are no statistics held regularly on the number of homeless people. In 1988, their number was estimated at between 1,600 and 3,000 (people attending the centers of social work and the homeless). The homelessness is defined in different ways and there is not in this respect internationally accepted definition. (1)

The government aims to eradicate homelessness. This is an ambitious goal. They therefore want to intensify the efforts in “The pathway to a permanent home” (På vei til egen bolig) strategy. Homelessness is primarily a problem in cities, but recent surveys show that homelessness is increasing in medium-sized and smaller municipalities too. The escalation plan for psychiatry is almost complete, but major challenges still are to face. There are still large numbers in institutions due to the lack of good housing and appropriate follow-up. (2)

Two different mesures :

  • Project Homeless 2001-2004 was a collaborative project between the government and the seven largest municipalities; Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Tromsø and Drammen. http://www.bostedslose.no
  • Action plans against poverty – http://www.tiltak.no/bostedslose.asp As part of the follow-up of White (2002–2003) regarding the Action Plan to combat poverty, a grant scheme was set up in 2003 for follow-up services in housing for the homeless and substance abusers. The grant was used to strengthen the ordinary services in the local authorities so that they can, to

a greater extent, safeguard the needs of the homeless with regard to managing their living situation.

ROLE OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

– HISTORICAL EVOLUTION

As in most European countries , Norway has faced naked housing shortage after World War I (1940-1945) . The Norwegian government then set up a housing policy aimed at assisting the homeownership non-speculative.

Three types of actors are so active in the Norwegian model of housing policy : the state, the municipalities and the cooperative movement is a private actor.

The 1980s marked a turning point in housing policy from a social – democratic regime to a more liberal model based on a market economy and free competition . Price regulation had already been dropped from the ’50s. Now it also aids are gradually removed and the sale of affordable building plots by the Municipalities.

The state interventions are now targeted only to the most in difficulty (such as the disabled, etc.). Audiences. Since the 2000s, using the stone has been replaced by personal attendants.

– COOPERATIVE HOUSING

Promoted in the 1930s, co-operative housing is one of the tools of the housing policy.

The state then implemented several policies housing assistance grants, subsidized loans and provision of land at lower cost by the Municipalities. As we have seen, this system will help greatly to reduce from 80s.

There is only one national federation representing the Norwegian sector of the cooperative housing : the Norvegian Federation of Co-operative Housing Association (NBBL). This federation built housing cooperatives and provide services to people. There are also some independent cooperatives.

Characteristics of co-ops :

  • They include on average between 50 and 60 apartments.
  • The building and land are owned by the cooperative society members purchase social patrs of the cooperative.
  • The people must be members of an association of cooperatives affiliated NBBL homes. They decide depending on how one person , one vote.
  • A Board of Directors manages the cooperative with the help of affiliate association.
  • Residents pay a monthly fee in proportion to the shares held and the costs of the building.
  • Local authorities have a preemptive right to purchase 10% of housing built by the cooperative.

Financing cooperative housing :

Since the 2000s, “brick and Mortar” Assistance has been replaced by individual assistance, there are certain groups of people who are helped to access the cooperative housing.

Still not subject the sale of shares of the cooperative legal fee 2.5 % of the sale price , but this exemption is often questioned.

Source :Habicoop France (1)

Cultural aspects – Religious – Symbolic

Environmental aspects

Bibliography & Sitography

  1. United Nations Report – Economic and Social Council – Norway 2004 – http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf

MAJOR PROBLEMS BY CIVIL SOCIETY

  • Housing discrimination for people of immigrant origin.
  • A significant number of homeless unrecorded.
  • Exorbitant housing prices. The Central Bank of Norway believes (2012) that the sharp increase in housing prices (housing bubble) could create a housing boom followed by a collapse like what is seen worldwide.

CLAIMS MAJOR CIVIL SOCIETY

CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS

  • NORWEGIAN FEDERATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING ASSOCIATION – NBBL = LA federation that oversees projects of housing cooperatives, or by building logemetns or by providing advice and assistance. wwebsitecontact.
  • KIRKENS SOSIALTJENESTE = Church of social services who wants to help this new poverty grows in Malta, and more specifically to children, disabled people, drug addicts, people with mental suffering. They are convinced that cooperation between public bodies and voluntary associations should lead to creativity and innovation. They offer information on the various stages of the journey home (find it, finance it, keep it, subsidies, residential displacement; vacate). Website Kirkens Sosialtjeneste – websitecontact the office.
  • KIRKENS BYMISJON = network diaconal foundation (founded in 1855 in connection with the Church) who works in various cities in Norway. They go to meet people through advocacy on drugs, prostitution, drug addiction, mental suffering, geriatric care. Their approach is that of health care. websitecontact.
  • HABITAT NORGE = non-governmental organization created in 1988 following the year of the homeless. Its overall objective is to promote interest and awareness in relation to regulatory issues worldwide and in agende policy. Its members have a variety of training, which enriches the debate when the organization holds conferences and seminars. websitecontact.