In 1990 the Danish Properties Directorate (Ejendomsdirektorat) under the Ministry of Housing and Building was abolished and resurrected as the national Palace and Properties Agency (SES). Simultaneously, the rules on administration of the state's office properties and premises changed. While the Properties Directorate of the Ministry of Housing and Building placed office properties and premises and a wide range of services at the disposal of ministries and agencies free of charge, the new rules implied that the users now were to pay in order to use the premises. The new status as a national enterprise involved a larger financial margin, including permission to sell consultancy and certain kinds of property services to municipalities and counties.
New Business Goals
In 1995 the Agency acquired new business goals. The majority of the performed activities such as security and cleaning were outsourced, and focus was in stead directed at the Agency's core services: To provide appropriate office premises for the central administration and to administer the operation and maintenance of the buildings and gardens included in the Agency's property portfolio.
A new activity in the form of presentation of culture now arose. The Agency was to present the cultural heritage actively and systematically to the public. The purpose was and still is to increase the knowledge of the cultural values and establish an understanding of why it is important to preserve these in the future.
Properties on Market Terms
In 2001 the so-called SEA reform entered into force. The purpose of the reform was to create a market oriented property administration that could work on roughly the same terms as the private letting market. The reform implied more freedom to act to both the lessee and lessor, and to SES the reform opened up the possibility of also constructing new buildings.
Christinia and the Local Government Reform
Within the last years the Agency has been able to add a number of interesting task to its portfolio. In June 2004, responsibility for the Christiania area was transferred to SES and the responsibility for implementing the amended act on Christiania was delegated to the Agency. The same year it was decided that SES should have a coordinating role with regard to the buildings in relation to the local government reform, and in January 2005 the handling of the Danish court buildings was transferred from the Danish Court Administration to SES. 1 January 2007 SES takes over the properties of the police a task that adds approximately 170 police stations and other buildings in Denmark, Greenland and on the Faroe Islands to the Agency's property portfolio.
Last updated:: Friday, March 13, 2009
