3 Immigrants Paying 210 Thousand For Shared 8 Square Metre Room

The typical rent prices for a 8 square metre room with two beds and sometimes a wardrobe with access to a shared bathroom and a kitchen is between 55 and 65 thousand ISK a month, according to Halldór Grönvold, deputy director of the Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ), reports MBL.

Halldór was discussing the housing situation of foreign workers in Iceland on Monday at a conference hosted by The Society of the Reykjavik Academy and Reykjavík municipal authorities when he pointed to the dire reality facing immigrants on the housing market.

“I heard an example today of three people who pay 210 thousand for a shared 8 square metre room,” Halldór said.

A large part of the workers working for employment agencies in Iceland live under appalling circumstances, sometimes sharing a room with two others, with access to a kitchen and bathroom shared with even more people. Others even live illegally in industrial buildings unsuitable for housing.

The housing market in Reykjavík has become quite controversial and earlier this month the Grapevine reported on the 100,000 ISK toilet-shower apartment.