– That was never the intention, says the leader of the urban development committee.
Ever since 2007, there has been a very limited number of small apartments that can be built in the center of Oslo. The politicians do not want apartments that are less than 35 square meters here.
In addition, 40 percent of the apartments must be over 80 square meters. The aim is to secure housing for people in different stages of life, and thus a varied composition of people.
But the guidelines known as the “apartment norm” for the city center are now also used to block small apartments in the outer districts as well.
Politician James Stove Lorentzen reacts to that. He chairs the city development committee in the city council and believes that this means that no apartments are built that a single person with a regular salary can buy.
– That was never the intention, he says.
– Must allow smaller homes
Lorentzen points out that a person with a regular salary can afford fewer and fewer homes in Oslo. Last year only 1.5 out of a hundred homes, according to The nurse index.
The starting point is that the price cannot exceed NOK 3 million, if a nurse with a salary of approximately NOK 600,000 is to be able to afford the home.
– We can’t do that in the city centre. Property prices there are too high, says Lorentzen.
He therefore believes that a proportion of smaller apartments in the outer city must be allowed.
– This does not mean that developers should be free to build lots of small apartments. We want to give them the confidence to find good combinations adapted to local needs and demand, says the Conservative politician.
James Stove Lorentzen (H)
Chairs the urban development committee in Oslo City Council
Developer: Center requirements have become minimum requirements
Lorentzen receives support from city and area developer Silje Strøm in the property development company Fagerstad. She is strongly critical of what she calls in the industry website Estate “a terrible example of proposals for apartment distribution”.
– The administration of the apartment standard has slipped far beyond the inner city. We meet it as a minimum requirement in all planning matters, she tells Aftenposten.
The Rødtvet industrial area in Groruddalen will become a new district with 300 apartments. Strøm believes that the norm from the inner city is even more strictly enforced at Rødtvet.
The city council will not allow apartments under 35 square meters there. In addition, a maximum of 35 percent of the apartments can be between 35 and 50 square meters. There is a requirement that 45 per cent of the apartments must be over 80 square meters and half of these again over 90.
– We want to build many small apartments of between 20-35 square metres, but with good common areas. It could be function rooms and a bicycle workshop, says Silje Strøm as an example.
– With homes of less than 35 square metres, you can get under NOK 3 million in price at Rødtvet. If you want to build according to the norm for the inner city, it won’t work, she says.
See more examples in the photo gallery.
1 out of 3Illustration: Rift
Can still build family apartments
Lorentzen points to one common denominator in Groruddalen: the locals protest against high-rise buildings. They want more larger homes and terraced houses.
– But there is no contradiction. We can have both several larger and several smaller apartments, he says. The right-wing politician believes that this can be solved by building slightly fewer of the medium-sized apartments that dominate today.
– Important for creating a stable living environment
City Development Council Hanna Marcussen (MDG) writes in an e-mail that the norm is used “as a guideline”. According to her, to ensure good variety in the composition of apartments in new areas and projects.
– It is important to create a stable and sustainable living environment, writes Marcussen.
She further writes that the Planning and Building Agency believes a minimum requirement of 35 square meters ensures good housing quality, but that it is not an absolute requirement.
– Developers can, for example, calculate the proportion of common area with good quality and the private area per housing unit. If there are good projects or other weighty reasons, it is possible to build units also under 35 square metres, writes the city council.
She will encourage builders to think new and creatively about good common areas in buildings where smaller units are desired.
– In the outer city, it will also be possible to add more small apartments of between 35 and 50 square meters than there are in the inner city. There is great potential here that the builders are not using. We have several examples of regulations where developers do not build as many small apartments as they actually have the opportunity to, she says.
