‘People need housing to live in’: precarity and the rental market during tourism gentrification

Abstract

Numerous studies from the twenty first century underscore how housing challenges have increased in Western countries. This article focuses on the dynamics of renting, showing how housing precarity today is increasingly shaped by transnational mobilities, intersecting with localized policymaking. While these studies have mainly centred on Southern Europe, this article focuses on Iceland, representing a Northern European country. Our analysis shows that policies geared toward tourism inadvertently amplified housing demand and decreased the supply of long-term leasing accommodations. Our qualitative study (n = 27) of renters illustrates the intersectionality of housing regulations with tourism-centric strategies, thereby perpetuating precariousness amongst renters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, renters hesitated to move into newly available units in the market, suspecting that demand for Airbnb rentals would force them to vacate once the pandemic ended. We contend that analyses of rental markets must consider the complex entanglements and frictions of global environments – characterized by transnational mobilities – and local histories in shaping experiences and notions of precarity.