Rättvis svensk bostadspolitik, för vem?

Sammanfattning: Swedish housing policy and its design is a current issue. The demand doesn't match the supply and too few homes are built, based on the need that exists today. Above all, too few rental properties are being built and the demand for rental properties in particular is high, especially in the larger cities. Swedish politicians agree that a change needs to take place in order to solve the housing shortage. What changes and the consequences that these changes bring, from a justice perspective, is a big part of this essay’s topic. In this essay, Swedish housing policy will be studied based on Harvey and Rawls two different theories of justice. They both have different ideological backgrounds and our hope is to be able to answer whether the existing housing policy is fair. We will mainly focus on rental properties within the Swedish housing policy. In order to solve the housing shortage, there is an ongoing debate of market-based rent for newly built apartments and market rent. This is meant to provide additional incentives for construction companies to build more rental properties. These two suggestions have been made without scientific evidence that they will actually work. Instead, it relies on liberal key notes such as the free market and freedom of choice. The effects are believed to be that this could lead to more movement in the housing market. Market-based rent could also lead to an increased freedom of choice and greater welfare gains. However, it is not made clear that these solutions help those living with an already strained economy.