The Housing Financing Fund (HFF) is an independent government institution with a new role followed by amended legislation. HFF is now the institution responsible for implementation of housing policies instead of being primary a loan fund.
HFF’s future role is:
- Provide mortgage loans to individuals, municipalities, companies and organizations to finance housing purchase and construction work, limited to social role. (Act 44/1998, the Housing, cf. Amendment by Law 84/2012).
- To be responsible for establishing a new system granting government contributions to non-profit organizations to build new rental homes for the public, limited to social role and income. Prioritized to the municipalities where shortage of rental housing is the most. (Law no. 52/2016, the general apartments).
- To support housing policy making and cooperate with local authorities in creating regional housing policy planning. To monitor housing needs and local planning (Law 44/1998, on Housing).
- To analyze and raise awareness of the housing market, to support decision making of individuals, local authorities and government in the housing market, to promote stability and support government housing policy making (Law 44/1998, the Housing Act no. 52/2016, the general apartments).
- To carry out payment of housing benefits * and monitor the development of leasing market in cooperation with local authorities (Law on housing allowances no. 75/2016 and rental housing no. 36/1994)
The role is shifting from focus on granting mortgages to be the institution responsible for the implementation of housing policies.
The fund is financially independent and funds its lending and operations by its own income. The purpose of the fund is to ensure housing security and equality through lending and organization of housing affairs limited to social role in order to increase people´s opportunities in obtaining and leasing housing on controllable terms.
The Housing Financing Fund replaced the Icelandic Housing Authority upon the confirmation of the new Housing Act no. 44/1998 once the State Building Fund and the Workers´ Building Fund were merged. The history of official lending for residential housing dates back to 1955 when the law on housing control, mortgage lending for housing construction and the elimination of unhealthy housing was confirmed. The Housing Authority was founded two years later and then the Housing Financing Fund at the beginning of 1999
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