Do Shit: Housing Benefits Edition

We immigrants get a bad rap sometimes. Despite the fact that moving to another country, learning a new language, integrating into a new culture, and basically starting life from scratch far from the place you were born is a hell of a lot of work — signalling not only personal strength and bravery, but also a strong work ethic (navigating bureaucracy is no walk in the park) — there are people out there just waiting to catch us cheating, leeching or taking advantage of our adopted home to fit their (usually racist) narrative.

Some of these people salivating for an anti-immigrant gotcha moment are even elected officials — I know, shocking.

Icelandic welfare queens

Independence Party MP Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir saw her gotcha get got at Alþingi this month when she made a request for data on the benefits being paid out to foreign nationals living in Iceland. It surely broke poor Diljá’s heart to learn that the average Icelandic national takes significantly more from the system by way of housing benefits, child benefits, unemployment benefits and other payments from various social services than the average immigrant. Wait… so us Útlendingurs are just going to work (at jobs we are largely overqualified for, according to some other recently released data) and paying taxes so that a bunch of Icelandic welfare queens can sit at home eating Dominos and listening to Útvarp Saga? Gasp.

No, no, no, we won’t judge Íslendingar for benefitting from a system that is there to provide social support. But, we sure are going to tell you about some of the benefits potentially available to you and point you in the direction of applying for them. If you’re living and working in Iceland, you are paying into the social welfare system. As I’m sure Diljá Mist agrees, immigrants have just as much right to claim benefits as someone born and raised here.

Rent. Is. Too. Damn. High.

Let’s get the party started with housing benefits because (all together now) the rent is too damn high. We’ll cover child benefits and unemployment in the next two issues, so keep your eyes peeled.

Housing benefits are legislated under the Housing Benefit Act, No. 75/2016, to give a bit of relief to the housing costs of renters.

There are a few conditions a tenant must meet to be eligible for benefits: they must be a resident of the property they’re renting; they must have a rental agreement valid for at least three months; they must be at least 18 years old and authorise the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS) to process their information; and their rental unit must include at least one bedroom, kitchen facilities, a private toilet and a bathroom.

“If you’re living and working in Iceland, you have as much right to claim benefits as someone born and raised here.”

To apply, pop over to hms.is, toggle to English if you so desire, and find “Housing Benefits” under the “Loans and benefits” menu. This is where you can also calculate how much sweet rent relief you may be eligible for. Following the breadcrumbs toward applying online, you’ll be prompted to log in with your handy dandy rafræn skilríki to continue the process. Once logged in, you have the option of toggling between Icelandic, English, Polish and Spanish. HMS, you spoil us!

From there, you’ll fill out your application. That’ll involve reading and signing off on a bunch of legal disclaimers and filling in the “fasteignanúmer” (property number) of the place you’re renting, and then filling out details about yourself, your household members and your household income, and submitting a copy of your lease.

About that landlord of yours

Is your landlord being a dick about you applying for housing benefits? That likely means they’ve been pulling a fast one on the tax office. But don’t let their lack of scruples get in the way of you getting what’s yours. Apply for benefits anyways. Your landlord having to pay taxes on their rental income is a them problem.

The Rent Act, No. 36/1994, states that rental agreements are to be made in writing. As the tenant, you need a signed and valid lease to register your legal domicile and apply for benefits, so be sure to push for a written lease right off the bat and register it with HMS. If your landlord won’t provide you a written lease — again, that’s a massive red flag — you still have rights. But you don’t have the right to housing benefits.

So get that lease and get that money, friend.

Do more shit — get further guides to being an útlendingur in Iceland here.