Today’s big topic: Cheaper housing is on the way in Copenhagen
A building lot in Carlsberg Byen is ready for the construction of public housing, but it’s sitting empty because building has become so expensive. Now the new government is proposing to raise the cap. Annesophie Hansen, chief executive of fsb, which owns the lot, met with Jens Elmelund, CEO of KAB, at the site during the municipal election campaign.
What’s happening?
Bent Madsen can hardly hide his enthusiasm for the extensive government platform that now sets the course for Denmark’s new government
A surprisingly large part of it clears the way for more affordable social housing, especially in the capital. And that is music to the ears of Bent Madsen, who is the chief executive of the industry association BL – The Danish Federation of Non-profit Housing providers. After a thorough reading of the government platform, he says he can already guarantee that construction on several thousand new »affordable« non-profit homes in Copenhagen will get underway this year — in a city where soaring prices are making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people with ordinary incomes to find a place to live.
»The associations are ready to build more than 4,000 social housing units in Copenhagen, and now they can get started. It’s incredibly satisfying«, Bent Madsen says.
Why it matters!
The new government is raising the so-called maximum cap — the maximum amount a non-profit housing association is allowed to spend to build social housing. Back in December, a majority in Parliament agreed to raise the maximum cap by up to 20 percent, but then a general election was called, and the bill was shelved. Now it has been revived — with an added option to raise the cap again if the first 20 percent is not enough.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– Distortion takes over Copenhagen today
On Thursday, Copenhagen throws a street party as Distortion descends on Vesterbro. The music kicks off at 4 p.m. and wraps up again at 10 p.m. And you might as well admit it now: you can’t do it all. Because, like last year, roughly 50 smaller block parties will be happening around the neighborhood — small, niche parties put on by local organizers.
Here are a few highlights from the packed program for your tour de force.
– Parking company warns against scam messages
Parking company Q-Park is warning against fake text messages in a press release. The messages are an attempt at fraud, and in them recipients are urged to click on a link to access further information. Q-Park points out that this text message has not been sent by the company.
– For the first time, women are in the majority in a Danish government
Mette Frederiksen’s (S) third government is historic as the first to have more women than men. There are 11 women and 10 men, according to the Prime Minister’s Office’s list of ministers, which also shows that there are in total four fewer ministers than when the SVM government was formed in 2022.
At the general election on 24 March, voters also elected a Parliament with the highest number of women ever: 48 percent of the members of the Folketing are now women.
Talk of town: Here are all the new ministers
At last, it arrived.
After ten weeks of intense negotiations, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) was able to present the 21 ministers who will govern Denmark for the next four years.
The new government is packed with interesting stories. For the first time ever, there are more female ministers than men. The appointment of Samira Nawa (RV) as minister for climate, energy, and utilities has given Denmark its first Muslim minister. The Social Democrats have a new crown prince.
Politiken’s political analyst, Elisabet Svane, dissects the government, minister by minister.
Read the full article here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.