Conversion of buildings to student housing in Stockholm – A supplement to solve the lack of student homes?

Sammanfattning: Stockholm is today one of the fastest growing regions in Europe and the demand for housing is increasing by the day. In order to achieve the target of becoming Europe's most attractive metropolitan region the city needs highly educated and skilled labour to satisfy the demand of companies today and in the future. However, the housing situation for students in the Stockholm area is at the moment very bleak. Stockholm is at least 7,000 student housings short and the quetime reaches as high as two years. Despite the lack of housing for students, we can’t see any increase in construction. This means that the students have a difficult time finding somewhere to live which results in that they choose to study elsewhere. In 2009 Boverket said that we must examine alternative solutions for resolving shortage of housing for students. In recent years a couple of projects can be seen in which existing buildings have converted its use from office or shops to student housing. An investigation of how the market views this option has been lacking. This essay aims to examine the student housing market in Stockholm in order to investigate whether conversion of existing buildings is an effective supplement when construction of new housing can’t meet the demand. We have furthermore examined a couple of restraining factors, in order to make the process more effective and finished of by drawing a couple of conclusions. The current planning process is considered to be one of the most restraining factors that leads to the fact that conversion can’t be utilized to its full extent. Lead times are said to be long and the fact that the plan is to detailed and precise makes it difficult to convert properties. With the help of more administrators and a more open plan, conversion could be used to its full extent. Building regulations are considered to be another reason why so few projects are being converted. The same rules apply when you build new buildings as when you convert. The market is looking for a change in the presentation of the current rules in order for these to be more applicable and beneficial for the market. Unpredicted expenses are always a risk when converting but with more experience the risk becomes lower. A system where you subsidize a part is not a market request since a lot of the answers suggest that this affects a market negatively in the long run. Rent control is not a factor that is considered to be restraining when converting buildings for student housing.