Síðan húsfélagið breytti reglunum lokast þvottahúsið ekki fyrr en klukkan tíu.

Here síðan means since / ever since.

So Síðan húsfélagið breytti reglunum ... means Since the homeowners’ association changed the rules ...

A useful thing to know is that síðan can mean different things depending on context:

• then / afterward in some sentences
• since in others, as it does here

In this sentence, it introduces a time point in the past that still affects the present.

Because the sentence talks about:

• a completed change in the past: húsfélagið breytti reglunum = the association changed the rules
• a current ongoing result: þvottahúsið lokast ekki fyrr en klukkan tíu = the laundry room doesn’t close until ten

So the logic is:

• They changed the rules in the past.
• Now, as a result, the laundry room closes later.

This kind of tense combination is very normal in both Icelandic and English.

Húsfélagið is the definite form of húsfélag.

It means something like:

• the homeowners’ association
• the residents’ association
• the building association

The exact English translation depends on the housing context, but it refers to the group that manages rules for the building/shared property.

Grammar breakdown:

• húsfélag = a housing/building association
• -ið = the (definite article attached to the noun)

So húsfélagið = the association

Because the verb breyta takes the dative case, not the accusative.

So:

• reglur = rules
• reglurnar = the rules, nominative/accusative
• reglunum = the rules, dative

With breyta, Icelandic says literally something like change to the rules rather than using a direct object the way English does.

So:

• breyta reglum = change rules
• breyta reglunum = change the rules

This is an important verb pattern to memorize:

• breyta + dative

This is because Icelandic follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.

The first position in the main clause is already taken by the fronted subordinate clause:

• Síðan húsfélagið breytti reglunum

So in the main clause, the finite verb comes next:

• lokast

and only after that do we get the subject:

• þvottahúsið

So the structure is:

• [Fronted clause] + [finite verb] + [subject] + ...

That is why you get:

• Síðan húsfélagið breytti reglunum lokast þvottahúsið ...

not:

• Síðan húsfélagið breytti reglunum þvottahúsið lokast ...

Lokast is the -st form of loka.

This -st form often has meanings like:

• the action happens by itself
• the thing gets closed
• a more intransitive/passive-like sense

Compare:

• Ég loka dyrunum. = I close the door.
• Dyrnar lokast. = The door closes / gets closed.

So:

• þvottahúsið lokast = the laundry room closes / gets closed

In a sentence about opening hours or building rules, this sounds very natural.

A form with lokar might be possible in some contexts, but lokast emphasizes the room as something that becomes closed rather than an agent actively closing something.

Ekki fyrr en means not until.

So:

• lokast ekki fyrr en klukkan tíu = doesn’t close until ten o’clock

Try to learn this as a set expression rather than translating each word separately.

Piece by piece:

• ekki = not
• fyrr = earlier / sooner
• en = than / until in this expression

But together, ekki fyrr en functions as one unit meaning not until.

Examples:

• Hann kom ekki fyrr en í gær. = He didn’t come until yesterday.
• Búðin opnar ekki fyrr en klukkan níu. = The shop doesn’t open until nine.

In Icelandic, clock times are commonly expressed with klukkan + time.

So:

• klukkan tíu = at ten o’clock

Here klukkan is an established time expression, and the number usually stays in the expected form for telling time.

Common examples:

• klukkan eitt = at one o’clock
• klukkan þrjú = at three o’clock
• klukkan tíu = at ten o’clock

So in this sentence:

• ekki fyrr en klukkan tíu = not until ten o’clock

Because the sentence is talking about a specific laundry room that both speaker and listener know about: the one in the building.

Breakdown:

• þvottahús = laundry room / washhouse
• þvottahúsið = the laundry room

Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• þvottahús = a laundry room
• þvottahúsið = the laundry room

It is closer to since.

The idea is not just that one thing happened after another, but that the earlier event created a new continuing situation:

• Since the association changed the rules, the laundry room doesn’t close until ten.

If you used a simple after translation, it could sound more like a one-time sequence of events. But this Icelandic sentence suggests an ongoing state from that time onward.

So the best reading is:

• ever since the rules were changed
• since the association changed the rules

Yes. Icelandic has a few ways to express similar ideas, though the nuance can change slightly.

For example:

• Frá því að húsfélagið breytti reglunum lokast þvottahúsið ekki fyrr en klukkan tíu.

This also means Since the homeowners’ association changed the rules, the laundry room doesn’t close until ten.

In many contexts, síðan and frá því að can be quite close. But síðan is very natural and compact here.

So for a learner, the important thing is:

• understand síðan here as since
• recognize that it introduces the background event that explains the present situation