A major leasing company is now offering Reykjavík renters seven-year fixed-price contracts, RÚV reports. Almenna leigufélagið, which manages some 1,200 rental properties in Reykjavík and other parts of the country, is now offering renters a new type of contract with a fixed rental price, tied only to the consumer price index.
The new type of lease is being marketed under the trademark Alma. While contracts will be signed for one year at a time, the tenant will have the unilateral right to extend the agreement for another year. Tenants can extend the contract six times for a total rental period of seven years.
The high cost of housing, particularly for renters, has been key topic in ongoing wage negotiations between unions and the Icelandic Confederation of Enterprise (SA). Almenna leigufélagið recently pulled back a planned general rent increase following a meeting with VR Union.
