Aps Tellef Inge Mørland lives in a free commuter apartment from the Storting at the same time as he owns his own apartment in the capital. He thinks that his own apartment is too small to live in over time.
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The Storting is setting up free commuter housing for representatives who are registered or live more than 40 kilometers away from the Storting.
When parliamentary representative Tellef Inge Mørland was elected for the Labor Party in 2017, he applied for and was granted commuter housing in Oslo, at the same time as he owned an apartment in Oslo and one in Arendal.
He says that his own apartment in Oslo is a bit “scarce” and prefers to live in the 65 square meter Storting apartment.
– Even though it is fine to live on 38 square meters, it will be experienced as something scarce over four years or longer, Mørland writes in an e-mail to VG.
He says he has rented out his apartment for periods.
Do not state Oslo apartment
KrF leader Kjell Ingolf Ropstad says he is “sorry” for Aftenpostens commuter home unveiling Sunday night.
The newspaper revealed that the minister received free commuter housing, was registered in the boys’ room in Evje and received rental income for parts of the period from a semi-detached house the family owned in Lillestrøm.
Mørland says that he switched to living in the Oslo apartment and in Arendal when he was elected, but says that he had the most days in Arendal and was registered there.
He did not give up the Oslo apartment when he applied to the Storting for commuter housing, but believes that he has not provided incorrect information.
– I have given up my home in Arendal, but not the one in Oslo, when I experienced that it was my apartment in Arendal that was to be the basis for the application. I was also considering at that time whether I should sell the apartment in Oslo, Mørland writes in an e-mail.
–The Storting: Should have resigned
The Storting says on Tuesday night that Mørland should have informed about the apartment he owned in Oslo before.
– Yes, the Storting should have all relevant information to make a decision as much as possible in line with the regulations, writes the Storting’s director, Marianne Andreassen, in an e-mail to VG.
She says that they can not rule out that the decision to allocate him a parliamentary apartment would have been different if they knew that he owned an apartment in Oslo before.
– We can not answer this definitively until we have all the information from the representative himself. But we can not rule out that it could have consequences for his application, she says.
–Rejects errors
Mørland said earlier Tuesday that the practice of being able to own in Oslo and get free commuter housing from the Storting at the same time was confirmed two years ago.
He points to Red i 2019 proposed that one could not get commuter housing if one had one or more homes within the 40 kilometer limit, but only SV and MDG supported the Red proposal of the other parties.
The background was that DN revealed that Frps Himanshu Gulati had a commuter apartment covered in Oslo, at the same time as he owned four apartments in the capital.
– The principle in this was considered by the Storting after the Gulati case, in June 2019. The principle in the regulations I have followed was where the majority explicitly stated, against the votes of Rødt, MDG and SV, says Mørland.
–– Not unreasonable
Mørland estimates that during the Storting period he has received rental income from his Oslo apartment of NOK 90,000, after fixed expenses and tax.
He estimates that before the corona he has been at home in Arendal every other weekend, during many of the meeting-free weeks and when there have been local meetings in the party or with business and organizations.
During the election campaign, he says that he has almost only been in Arendal, except when he has been on day trips in the region.
– Do you think it is reasonable for taxpayers to pay for free commuter housing for representatives who already own or buy housing in Oslo?
– There will probably be different opinions about that. I do not think it is unreasonable, provided that you have expenses for housing in the constituency you represent. Of course, it could also be an alternative to sell the home in Arendal, in favor of one’s own home in Oslo, writes Mørland.
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