Blær’s Allocation Rules

1.1. Allocation is available to those who have been active on the labour market and full members of VR for at least 24 months out of the previous 36 months at the time of allocation. Full members who are temporarily not working for up to 12 months, whether due to maternity leave or illness, retain their rights. The member must not have owned real estate for the past five years upon allocation.
1.2. Applicants must be 18 years old when registering on the waitlist and 21 years old when an apartment is allocated.
1.3. In order to apply for an apartment, the applicant must have a confirmed registration on Blær’s waitlist.

2.1. When registering on the waitlist, the applicant must pay the annual membership fee according to tariff. Registration on the waitlist must be confirmed by the applicant annually by paying the membership fee according to tariff. These fees are non-refundable. The applicant's status on the waitlist is only active when the membership fee has been paid and from the time it is paid. If the membership fee is not paid annually, the applicant will be dropped from the waitlist.
2.2. Registration on the waitlist takes place electronically on My Pages on vr.is.
2.3. All information due to registration on the waitlist and the information obtained due to the allocation shall be treated as confidential, and Blær’s staff and the Complaints Committee shall be bound by confidentiality, pursuant to Article 8.
2.4. Applicants are responsible for meeting all general conditions for allocation, cf. Article 1. Applicants are also responsible for providing and recording true and adequate information. Blær does not take responsibility if the wrong email address, postal address or telephone number has been registered, and this may mean that registration on the waitlist is cancelled, and the applicant drops off the waitlist. Blær does not seek confirmation of information relating to property ownership, trade union membership or registration in until the time of allocation.
2.5. The Housing Foundation has two waitlists: On the one hand for new tenants, and on the other hand for those who are already tenants in the Housing Foundation but want to move (transfer list). In order to be able to register on the transfer list and request a transfer, the tenant must have lived in the premises for a minimum of two years and meet all the general conditions for allocation, cf. Article 1.
2.6. The lowest number on both lists determines the allocation, taking into account the number of rooms and priority according to Art. 4.
2.7. Entries on the waitlist are sorted in the order they are received and become valid when the membership fee has been paid.
2.8. An initial exception to this arrangement is that registrations up to and including 16 June 2024 will be collected and applicants will be assigned to the waitlist in random order.
2.9. Registration on the waitlist alone is not enough to be allocated an apartment, but the applicant must also apply for a specific type of apartment when the company advertises apartments available for application.
2.10. Application for an apartment. When apartments are available for application, the members who on the waitlist will receive an email with further information. If the apartment matches the member's family size (see Article 4), then the person can apply for an apartment electronically on My Pages on vr.is. There, the applicant authorises Blær, in the event of an allocation, to retrieve the necessary information to ensure that the person meets the conditions of allocation, cf. Article 1.
2.11. It is not permitted to transfer a place/position on the waitlist to another individual.
2.12. All communication between the applicant and Blær is carried out electronically to the email address registered by the applicant. If the applicant has comments on Blær's assessment, they must submit a written comment to Blær's Complaints Committee vrblaer@vr.is, within seven days from receiving confirmation of the assessment from Blær, or from the time the allocation was made.
2.13. Registration is rejected in the following cases and the applicant must be informed of the reason for rejection:
2.13.1. Registration may be rejected if it is deemed to be insufficient in any way or if the information contained therein turns out to be incorrect. The applicant then has the right to appeal, cf. Article 2.12.
2.13.2. If the applicant does not meet the conditions of Article 1.
2.13.3. If the applicant is in arrears with Blær.
2.13.4. Registration may be refused if the applicant has been evicted from Blær's rental property due to violations of the rules.

3.1. When the applicant is to be allocated an apartment, Blær confirms that the applicant meets all the conditions for allocation, cf. Art. 1. on general conditions for allocation and Art. 4. on criteria for the number of inhabitants per apartment. If the inspection reveals that the applicant does not in fact meet all the conditions for allocation, they shall be informed of this and will not receive an allocation. If the applicant has comments on Blær's assessment, they must submit a written comment to Blær's Complaints Committee vrblaer@vr.is, within seven days from receiving the assessment, along with all necessary documents to support their case.
3.2. When allocating apartments, applicants choose an apartment in their size category in the order in which they are listed on the waitlist.
3.3. If the applicant has been allocated housing, they must confirm their acceptance within seven days of the allocation and pay a confirmation fee according to the tariff. The confirmation fee is non-refundable if the applicant cancels, but otherwise goes into to the security deposit according to the lease agreement. If the confirmation fee has not been paid within the specified deadline, the allocation will be cancelled, but the applicant will still keep their place on the waitlist.
3.4. If, after the lease agreement is signed, the information the applicant has provided during registration or with accompanying documents turns out to be incorrect, and the applicant was, or may have been, aware that this was the case, the allocation becomes invalid and the lessee is obliged, at Blær's request, to vacate the premises within 30 days from when the applicant receives a written challenge to that effect, if they have accepted the apartment.
3.4.1. Applicants must not have owned real estate for the past five years upon allocation, cf. Art. 1 on the general conditions for allocation. If a resident in Blær's housing acquires real estate after the lease agreement is signed, they must notify Blær, who is then authorised to examine the matter and cancel the lease agreement if deemed necessary.
3.5. If the person on the top of the list rejects an offer for allocation, they keep their place on the waitlist.

4.1. Studio apartments and two-bedroom apartments. Childless couples and individuals can be allocated a studio apartment or a two-bedroom apartment.
4.2. Family apartments (3–5-bedroom apartments). Applicants with a child/children can be assigned a 3–5-bedroom apartment. If a child is expected and therefore not registered in Registers Iceland, the applicant must submit a pregnancy certificate to Blær's office. After receiving a certificate, it will thus be possible to get an apartment allocated according to the expected family size. 

For more information on the types of apartments, see here:

4.3. Applications where it is assumed that there will be more than two people in each bedroom are rejected, cf. however, the exception in Art. 4.4.
4.4. Applicants with children of preschool age are permitted, despite Art. 4.2 and Art. 4.3, to apply for smaller apartments where it is not expected that the child/children will have their own room. However, please bear in mind with such an application that even though there is a certain priority for existing tenants for new apartments, there is always a considerable waiting time to be expected to get a larger apartment.
4.5. A parent with joint custody of a child/children, where the legal domicile of the child/children is registered with the other parent, can be on the waitlist for a family apartment. Confirmation of joint custody from the District Commissioner’s Office must be submitted. In other respects, information from Registers Iceland applies when assessing the applicant's family size.
4.6. The number of children is taken into account when an apartment is allocated, both with regard to the priority of allocation and the size of the allocated apartment. However, this does not apply when the applicant's children have reached the age of 20. Children over the age of 20 who need care or services due to mental or physical disabilities or illnesses continue to be given priority as children of the applicant. A confirmed disability assessment from the Social Insurance Administration or a medical certificate must be submitted which shows that the child needs such support due to the above and it is clear that this is an ongoing condition.
4.7. Allocation from the transfer list shall be carried out with the below-mentioned priority, and the transfer list will receive every fourth apartment that is allocated.
4.7.1. Those who are in the same building, are at the top of the waitlist if the size of the apartment is suitable.
4.7.2. Those who are in a different house and want to move due to divorce, separation or death.
4.7.3. Those who are in a different house and want to move.
4.8. Applicants who do not receive an allocation remain on the waitlist.
4.9. If it is not possible to rent an apartment from the transfer list, it must be added to the general waitlist. If it is not possible to rent an apartment from the general list, Blær is permitted to rent to an applicant who does not belong to the priority group, and VR members who otherwise meet the conditions of Article 1 have priority to rent. Market rent may be demanded in such cases, but lease agreements must not be for a longer period than one year.

5.1. No later than one month before receiving the apartment, the applicant must sign a lease agreement that contains more detailed provisions on the rights and obligations of the lessee. Keys to the premises must only be handed over to new lessees upon presentation of a signed lease agreement.
5.2. The security deposit is equivalent to three months' rent. The security deposit is made to guarantee that the lease agreement be honored, i.e. with respect to rent payments, costs incurred when returning the apartment, and compensation for damage to the rented property for which the lessee may be responsible according to the provisions of the Rent Act. Blær stores the security deposit in accordance with the provisions of the lease agreement and Act no. 36/1994. The lessee may also choose to purchase insurance through an authorised agent. A security deposit must be available at the time of signing the lease agreement. The security deposit must be returned after an audit has taken place on the premises and a final settlement has been made.
5.3. Lease agreements are tied to the names of those who will be allocated the relevant premises. Lessees are absolutely not permitted to exchange or agree to exchange apartments amongst themselves.
5.4. The lessee is not permitted to sublet the apartment or part of it without the written consent of Blær. Subletting is only permitted due to special circumstances assessed by the Board of Directors. It must be verifiably demonstrated that this is a temporary measure. The maximum subletting period is two years and must be one continuous period. The original lessee continues to have rights and obligations under the law. A sublease according to this provision does not create rights for the sublessee regarding the apartment.
5.5. Only those registered on the lease and the tenant's family have the right to live in the rented property.

Keeping pets in Blær's apartments must be in accordance with Article 33 of the Act on Multi-Family Buildings no. 26 (1994). According to that law, keeping dogs and cats in a multi-family building depends on the consent of 2/3 of the inhabitants who share a common entrance or staircase. A housing association or a housing association department can thus, with the consent of 2/3 of the inhabitants, grant either a general license to keep dogs and/or cats, or to individual owners such a license for a specific animal.

Registration/licence of pets subject to registration must be submitted. Pets must be kept in such a way as not to cause noise, disturbance, unsanitary conditions, or uncleanliness. Lessees undertake to comply with the regulations and rules of the relevant ministry, the Environmental and Food Agency and the relevant municipality regarding keeping pets. It is not allowed to have dog breeds that are considered dangerous, or undesirable based on experience or the opinion of experts, e.g. a veterinarian, dog trainer or dog control personnel. For further details, see here.

7.1. Blær must deliver the premises to the lessee on the first day of the rental period, and a handover inspection will be carried out simultaneously. Blær reserves the right to delay delivery for up to 15 days due to uncontrollable circumstances and without special compensation but will reduce the rental fee amount to correspond to the delay. The lessee must be notified of any expected delivery delay as soon as possible. Delivery time is usually between 11:00 and 15:00.
7.2. The lessee must return the premises cleaned and packed up no later than 15:00 on the day of return and a return inspection will take place at the same time. The lessee must be present at the inspection. If the lessee is unable to attend the inspection, they must nominate a proxy in writing. If neither the lessee nor the proxy attends the inspection, return may be delayed at the lessee's expense. If the lessee delays the return of the premises beyond the previously determined time, they must pay 3 days' rent for each day that the return is delayed.
If the lessee returns the premises poorly cleaned, a cleaning service is used, and the lessee pays the bill.
Blær collects a return fee at the end of the lease according to tariff.
Painting work at the end of the lease is at the lessee's expense, taking into account use and condition. Settlements are made at the end of the lease.

The Complaints Committee shall work within Blær, composed of three representatives, two from VR and one from ASÍ. The Committee shall resolve all disputes that arise regarding the assessment of registration on the waitlist and allocations, and the Committee's decision is final. The Complaints Committee is subject to the general rules of the Administrative Act, as appropriate.

These allocation rules are subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of VR. Proposals for amendments to Blær's allocation rules shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for refusal or approval.