More housing support for families with children

In the fiscal budget for 2011, the Government is proposing to strengthen housing support for families with children. This will be done by increasing the limit for housing expenses for households with many members.

“I am very happy with the proposal that families with children with high housing expenses will receive more support. This group has a high priority in the Government’s fight against poverty,” says Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Liv Signe Navarsete.

The limit for housing expenses increases with the number of family members. A family of two can increase the housing expenses limit by NOK 1,500 a year. A family of five or more will see an increase of NOK 9,000 in the expenses limit. There is also a proposal to increase the housing expenses limit by NOK 2,000 for all those who live in Oslo. At the same time the self contribution for all households increases by NOK 1,600.

The rules for housing support were revised last year. On average recipients are now paid NOK 2,200. This is about 8 per cent more than before the revision. In total more than 125,000 households receive housing support each month. This is 15 per cent more than before the revision.

The Government proposes to allocate NOK 3.83 billion to housing support in 2011. This is about NOK 238 million more than in 2010.

For more information, contact the press centre at the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on tel. +47 22 24 25 00.