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Housing Minister Invited to See Oslo's Darkest Homes
🇳🇴 Norway /Elections & Politics

Housing Minister Invited to See Oslo's Darkest Homes

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Norwegian housing minister Bjørnar Skjæran visited an Obos housing project in Oslo.
  • The visit highlighted concerns that daylight requirements for apartments are too strict, potentially hindering construction speed.
  • Researchers argue that the building designs, not the daylight requirements, are the cause of poor lighting, and lowering standards would normalize current violations.

Aftenposten, a leading Norwegian newspaper, has invited Housing Minister Bjørnar Skjæran for a private tour of Oslo's darkest new housing environments. This invitation comes after Skjæran's visit to an Obos project on Ensjø, where he was shown an apartment allegedly struggling to meet daylight requirements due to its design. The minister's immediate conclusion was that the regulations need to be relaxed.

The minister has seen what the developers choose to show him. Now he can see what they do not show him.

— AftenpostenThe newspaper's invitation to the housing minister for a private tour.

However, researchers specializing in daylight in buildings argue that this discussion has gone astray. They contend that the issues observed in the Ensjøkroken project, such as deep rooms and balconies that shade windows, are a result of poor architectural planning and development strategies, not overly strict daylight standards. The fact that the daylight requirements "bite" in such a situation, they argue, is precisely the point – it's a sign the regulations are functioning as intended.

The requirements must be eased.

— Bjørnar SkjæranThe housing minister's conclusion after visiting an Obos project.

This situation arises amid pressure from housing developers and a government report proposing 72 measures to speed up housing construction. Aftenposten expresses concern that a political process that could impact housing quality for an entire generation is being rushed without sufficient expert input. Ongoing research by the newspaper's sources indicates that homes are already being built that do not meet current daylight standards. Instead of lowering the requirements, the authorities should investigate why existing regulations are not being followed.

The fact that the daylight requirement bites here is precisely what the requirement is meant to do.

— ResearchersCritique of the argument to lower daylight standards.

Aftenposten emphasizes that while they are not fundamentally opposed to revising daylight requirements, the premise of making them easier to meet to increase construction speed is problematic. They question whether housing quality remains the primary consideration. The newspaper concludes by reiterating its invitation to the minister for a private tour, suggesting he has only seen what developers want him to see, and now he can witness the reality they try to hide.

To respond to this by lowering the requirements is to make today's illegalities tomorrow's normal.

— ResearchersWarning against relaxing building standards.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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