State property company unveils plan to draw up a plan for Grindavík residents to buy back their homes

The state property company that bought most of Grindavík's housing yesterday unveiled a plan for drawing up a plan on when and how former owners can buy their homes back. The plan itself is expected to be ready once work on the plan for it is complete.

“We fully understand that people want clear answers,” says a company spokesman. “That's why we have appointed a working group that will propose how best to appoint another working group.”

Ásdís (46) and her family lived in the same house on Víkurbraut for eighteen years. Today they live in their third rental in two years. “I sent an enquiry asking when we could buy the house back,” says Ásdís. “I got an automatic reply saying it had been received. That was last year. Since then I've had three more automatic replies saying it is still received.”

According to Mysan's information, former owners will have a right of first refusal on their homes. It has not been decided at what price, when, on what terms, or whether the house will still be in the same place. Otherwise, everything is firmly settled.

Meanwhile the state has been responsible for maintaining the houses. This mainly involves checking that they are still there. It is done quarterly.

Many Grindavík residents have run out of patience and taken matters into their own hands. A group of residents now goes on weekly viewings of their own homes, walking the rooms with the state's estate agent and asking whether they might be made a good offer. “He said it was a very exciting property,” says one. “Lots of character. Views of a fissure.”

The spokesman urges Grindavík residents to be patient. “People have shown incredible resilience, and we don't intend to betray that trust,” he says. “We intend to keep testing it.”