Housing for asylum-seekers and new citizens, an investment perspective on different kinds of solutions in relation to economic integration

Sammanfattning: The number of refugees worldwide has reached record levels in recent years. Sweden experienced a sharp increase of refugees in 2015 that lead to a shortage of accommodations. The study aims to explore how the Real Estate companies view different accommodation solutions for asylum seekers and new citizens and how they view factors related to the housing with an impact on economic integration. The study is qualitative and based on interviews with the Swedish Migration Agency, and representatives of municipal and private property companies. The result is that construction of new apartments is a challenge for many municipal housing companies and several actors view long-term demand of apartments as uncertain in areas where demand has increased due to immigration. Regarding existing stock there is a lack of economic incentives to set aside apartments particularly for asylum-seekers and new citizens. There is a resistance among several actors to invest in housing particularly for asylum-seekers or new citizens. The private Real Estate companies focused on community properties does not think that housin particularly for asylum-seekers or new citizens is included in their strategy. There are municipal actors that have chosen to invest in this kind of housing. For construction of housing for asylum-seekers or new citizens to be attractive for investors it is necessary in negotiations to achieve a relatively high rent and long contractual period. It is also necessary that the location and characteristics of the housing provide good chances of alternative use once the contract expires. Regarding factors with an impact on the possibilities of economic integration the actors involvement vary. In general the municipal housing companies takes great responsibility not only for providing housing but also for creating a good living environment and in some cases even employment