Several housing associations are facing significant challenges in evicting criminal tenants from their rental properties, despite an agreement from 2018 aimed at streamlining the process. Now both the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet) and Liberal Alliance are revisiting the issue and proposing new solutions to make it easier for public housing associations to part ways with residents who have been convicted of crimes.
Maria Durhuus, acting social and housing spokesperson for the Social Democrats, expresses a strong desire to automate the process so housing companies are notified when one of their tenants is convicted of a crime that warrants eviction. She emphasizes that hardened criminals should not have the right to live in public housing areas and underscores the importance of closing the loopholes that allow criminals to avoid eviction by having an “unknown address.”
Liberal Alliance’s housing spokesperson, Carl Andersen, agrees on the necessity of being able to evict tenants, even if they are not formally registered at the address. He believes that if there is evidence that a criminal actually resides at a specific address, it should be possible to terminate the lease.
Both parties view positively the idea of introducing a system where the police play a greater role in informing housing associations about convicted criminals. The Social Democrats are prepared to mandate the police to disclose such information, while Liberal Alliance has not yet taken a stance on whether it is necessary to impose this obligation on the police, as it may require additional resources.
It is evident that there is a political desire to strengthen housing associations’ ability to ensure security and order in public housing areas, but the specific methods for achieving this goal are still under debate.