During construction yesterday, a protected house from 1922 on Skólavörðustígur was demolished.
According to a report by RÚV, a construction representative from the City of Reykjavík said that there was no permit to demolish the house and that the building representative only gave permission for one floor to be added on top of the house.
Houses built in 1925 or earlier and all churches built in 1940 or earlier are under the jurisdiction of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland in terms of construction, relocation or acquiring building permits.
The initial plan had been to do construction next to the protected house, but the structure of the house apparently didn’t allow for that and was subsequently demolished.
The City of Reykjavík now intends to stop demolition work on Skólavörðustígur 36 as the required permits to demolish the building have not been obtained, according to RÚV.
The construction representative, Nikulás Úlfar Másson, is set to meet with lawyers about the next steps.
The case is reminiscent of a very similar debacle from 2016, when the so-called Exeter house at Tryggvagata 12 was demolished without permission. The case was investigated by the police and the contractor company Mannverk was charged with violating the antiquities law.
According to the Penal Code, demolition of this kind can result in fines or up to two years in prison.
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