Many newspapers have investigated HD Verk ehf., after a fire broke out in one of their houses at Bræðaborgarstígur 1, killing three people. In several articles, some of them published before the fire, Heimildin reported the poor condition of the house and the bad situation of the foreign workers who lived in it.
73 foreign workers were registered as residents of the house at the time of the fire, one of the journalists claims that their employers provided them that place to live. ASÍ called for an investigation and asked for the employers to be held accountable.
At the time of the fire, HD Verk also owned several other houses, among them houses at the following addresses: Dalvegur 24 og 26, Hjallabrekka 1 og Kársnesbraut 96-A. Workers of Menn í vinna were among the workers who lived in these houses, with suspiction of human trafficking, Heimildin reports.
Before the fire, the house at Bræðaborgarstígur 1 had already been in the news. They claim that the poor condition of the house, open to rain, wind and mold, was known to the owners of HD Verk, at the time Heiðar Reynisson and Brynhildur Stefánsdóttir. Heimildin also interviewed a former resident of the house who expressed concerns about the exact development of events that led to the fire and the death of three people. The manager of the properties was Kristján Gíslason.
Next to the house that burned, another house also owned by HD Verk was allegedly used illegally without permit for a guesthouse and was closed down three times by the police.
Sources published from August 2015 to July 2020:
- https://heimildin.is/grein/11488/asi-kallar-eftir-rannsokn-brunanum
- https://heimildin.is/grein/11545/eigandi-hussins-sem-brann-tjair-sig-utlendingarnir-borga-en-ekki-islendingarnir
- https://heimildin.is/grein/11616/advorun-um-haettuastand-braedraborgarstigs-1-vard-ad-engu-thvi-hun-kom-ekki-fra-ibua
- https://heimildin.is/frett/ohaefur-mannabustadur-i-vesturbaenum
- https://heimildin.is/frett/eigandi-ar-osattur-vid-lokun-logreglu
HD Verk ehf. is also known as H2o ehf. and 10 ehf.
h2o ehf. (kt: 620216-0700); Real owner: Kristinn Jón Gíslason; Ceased operations under this kennitala: 15.12.2020 (company registry)
10 ehf. (kt: 520612-0330); Real owner: Kristinn Jón Gíslason (company registry)