In the coming years, the central challenge will be to provide dwellings that the middle-income group can afford. Prices of owner-occupied and cooperative dwellings have skyrocketed in the past ten years. The price development has made it increasingly problematical for middle-income families to find a dwelling in Copenhagen and the Greater Copenhagen Region. Concurrently, there has been a decrease in the number of rental dwellings, which are a relatively more inexpensive housing form. Copenhagen has had a significant net relocation loss (no. of inbound relocations minus no. of outbound relocations) of middle-income families in recent years. Dwellings for the middle-income group are necessary if Copenhagen is to meet the challenge of providing qualified labour, limiting road traffic congestion and ensuring that Copenhagen remains a socially cohesive city. In comparison with, for example, English, French, German and Dutch cities, Copenhagen cannot use the tools for urban planning, sale of municipal land, financing and the like that are used internationally to provide inexpensive dwellings for the middle-income groups. New statutory instruments are needed in the housing area if Danish municipalities are to have the necessary degrees of freedom to meet this challenge through housing policy measures.
