Copenhagen Municipality has paid for private renovations for years - the Blue Party calls it 'unfathomable'

Thursday, October 09, 2025 • 4:30 PM UTC - in Politics

Municipal politicians from the Social Democrats, Socialist People's Party, and the Red-Green Alliance in Copenhagen have criticized the rising housing prices in Copenhagen, which they deem to be too high.

However, these same parties are now being attacked by the blue parties at Copenhagen City Hall for making some homes in Copenhagen more expensive - at the expense of taxpayers.

> It is completely incomprehensible to me as a conservative that the owner should not pay when it is they who benefit from renovating the property.

> Jakob Næsager, children and youth mayor, Conservatives

In the past five years, the square meter price in Copenhagen has doubled.

Meanwhile, Copenhageners have been able to see their brick houses turn into gold over the past decade, while politicians at City Hall have allocated nearly 1.5 billion kroner to renovate private apartments in Copenhagen in the same period.

This is according to an answer from the administration at Copenhagen City Hall, which DR has obtained insight into.

It is the so-called renovation grants, from which the money is distributed.

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What is the renovation grant?

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The renovation grant is support for renovation projects, which is provided by the state and municipalities.

The support is given to housing cooperatives and private rental properties.

The funds have been used for roof replacement, facade renovation, window replacement, energy optimization, and the installation of bathrooms, where there was previously only a toilet in the stairwell.

The properties finance a portion of the renovation themselves, and the municipality provides a contribution to the project.

The amount that the municipality has spent on renovating private apartments has caused outrage among several of the blue parties. Venstre's employment and integration mayor, Jens Kristian Lutken, believes that the money has made some of the Copenhagen apartments more expensive.

- When money from the municipality is used to renovate one's property, the value of the property increases - it doesn't need the municipality's help to do so. This means that there are fewer affordable apartments in Copenhagen. It is the left-wing faction at Copenhagen City Hall that insists that these funds should be distributed, says he.

Approximately the same message comes from the Conservative People's Party.

- It is completely incomprehensible to me as a conservative that the owner should not pay when it is they who benefit from renovating the property. We would like to close the grants, because they are only contributing to pushing prices up in the city, says children and youth mayor, Jakob Næsager.

*The grants come from another time*

The renovation grants come from a time when Copenhagen was a completely different place. Back in the 80s and 90s, Copenhagen was a much poorer city, and the quality of the housing stock was much worse, explains Martin Vinæs, lecturer at Aarhus University and researcher in housing policy.

- The renovations that the municipality has contributed to have resulted in some apartments becoming more expensive. Typically, it would be some of the cheapest apartments that become more expensive, says he in P1 Morgen.

What effect has this had on the housing market?

* These are images of the building at Ny Carlsberg Vej 6. In 2023, the housing cooperative received support to replace the roof, insulate the attic, replace the windows with 3-layer wood/aluminum windows, and facade renovation. The images are from the municipality's project description and were taken before the renovation took place.

1 / 3 These are images of the building at Ny Carlsberg Vej 6. In 2023, the housing cooperative received support to replace the roof, insulate the attic, replace the windows with 3-layer wood/aluminum windows, and facade renovation. The images are from the municipality's project description and were taken before the renovation took place. 1 / 3 These are images of the building at Ny Carlsberg Vej 6. In 2023, the housing cooperative received support to replace the roof, insulate the attic, replace the windows with 3-layer wood/aluminum windows, and facade renovation. The images are from the municipality's project description and were taken before the renovation took place. 2 / 3 These are images of the building at Ny Carlsberg Vej 6. In 2023, the housing cooperative received support to replace the roof, insulate the attic, replace the windows with 3-layer wood/aluminum windows, and facade renovation. The images are from the municipality's project description and were taken before the renovation took place. 3 / 3

- It conflicts very poorly with the desire to have room for various types of people in Copenhagen - for more students, young people, people without so much money.

According to Martin Vinæs, there may well be value in having some apartments with lower quality, which in turn are cheaper.

- We see in other major cities that it is typically these types of apartments that they use to enter the housing market, says he.

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S: Good idea that we have created a good city to live in

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DR would like to interview Copenhagen's Technical and Environmental Affairs Mayor, Line Barfod, about the criticism, but she has not had the opportunity to do so.

Instead, she has sent a written response, where she emphasizes that Copenhagen should also be a city for families with children.

- It is crucial for Copenhagen that we break up the asphalt, tear down the wooden planks, and create large green yards. It is an important part of the green Copenhagen, and it helps many families with children to stay in the city instead of moving out to the countryside.

She also points out that the renovation grants, in increasing numbers, are being used for climate adaptation.

- The money that Copenhagen Municipality gives for the renovation of the yards, is not a gift to real estate speculators. When housing cooperatives and private owners receive support, they must pay the money back if the property is sold.

> But fundamentally, we think that the idea with these grants is a good one.

> Niels Bjerre (S), member of the technical and environmental committee in Copenhagen

DR has asked the administration at Copenhagen City Hall how many of the funds, which have been spent, have been returned to the treasury as a result of apartments that have received support being sold – and the answer is that 53 million has been returned to the municipal treasury over the past 10 years.

Member of the Technical and Environmental Committee in Copenhagen, social democrat Niels Bjerre, does not deny that there are apartments that have become more expensive as a result of renovations.

- They exist, but it is also become a better apartment to live in. And fundamentally, we think that the idea with these grants is a good one, we have created a good and healthy city to live in.

We see strong price increases in Copenhagen, so the question is also whether the private properties themselves would be able to pay if they took out a loan to renovate their properties?

- I would not deny that it could be a good reason for us to look at the criteria we set for the renovation grants, and we may need to set other criteria if we want things to be pushed in a certain direction.

- We will also look at this together with the bourgeois parties. But fundamentally, we think that the idea with these grants is a good one.

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