"You don't know which housing you'll go to next":

Precarity and tenants' experience of the Icelandic housing market

Abstract

The term precarity has been increasingly used abroad in recent years, e.g. to refer to individualsʼ vulnerable position on the rental market. The concept contextually highlights how social structures make some individuals vulnerable and underlines the importance of contextualizing their experiences broadly. The article discusses the Icelandic rental market and the conceptʼs usefulness for understanding whether and how the development of the rental market in recent years creates precarious conditions for tenants. The study combines quantitative and qualitative data, i.e. statistical information on the scope and state of the rental market, and tenantsʼ experiences, collected through interviews in 2020. The interviewees were both Icelanders and people of foreign origin living in Iceland. A private housing policy has historically characterized the Icelandic housing market, and the position of renters is often precarious in many respects.