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PROPERTY

Sweden opens the doors to its secret spaces

Sweden's National Property Board (SFV) is a landlord of giant proportions. It manages a seventh of the country's land area and owns 1,800 properties in Sweden and another 73 abroad.

Published: 22 May 2008 16:46 CEST
Sweden opens the doors to its secret spaces
Photo: Gunilla Svensson Arkitektkontor

Impressive, but the Board is at pains to point out on its web site that all its properties “are owned by Swedes collectively” and that its duty is simply “to administer them in the best possible way”.

The notion of taxpayers owning the state’s assets is enticing and on Saturday all Swedes will have the chance to act like the property moguls they sort of are.

May 24th marks the second ‘Secret Spaces’ day, on which the National Property Board will throw open the doors to 27 of its ‘hidden treasures’ for the benefit of Swedes and tourists alike.

The first event, back in 2004, was a grand success with over 50,000 visitors showing up to have a snoop around. Over 20% of those said it was the first time they had visited a historic building.

Castles, palaces and manor houses inevitably make up the bulk of the properties on display this time around, but there’s also a prison, underground military bunkers, an old post office and an ambassador’s residence to check out.

Here are ten of the best:

1. Granudden Watermill, Jokkmokk

SFV says:

The watermill on Lake Skalka has become an attraction 150 years after it was built. The Swedish name for this kind of mill is “skvaltkvarn”, which means “splash mill”, so you can imagine what it sounds like around this site. Come and explore its innermost depths.

2. Prison, Umeå

SFV says:

For 120 years, bandits and conmen, thieves and murderers dreamed of leaving their cells and the large stone building in central Umeå behind them. Now you have the chance to check in for a day.

3. Rosersberg Palace

SFV says:

The royal summer palace of Rosersberg, near Arlanda Airport, remains unknown to many. It offers uniquely well-preserved interiors in a Neo-Classicist style. The secrets and delights of the Juno wing are being revealed to the public.

4. Central Post Office Building

SFV says:

For a hundred long years, the monumental sandstone building on Vasagatan was home to the Post Office. Ultra-modern and innovative in its time, it is now going to house the Government Offices. But you get to have a look around what will soon become one of Sweden’s most secured buildings first.

5. Tower in the Bergius Botanic Garden

SFV says:

One of the most remarkable buildings in the Bergius Botanic Garden is the tower that was constructed in the early 20th century. Now you can enjoy the views from the top of this previously inaccessible feature.

6. Skeppsholmen’s underground bunkers

SFV says:

The island is criss-crossed by long tunnels and large underground bunkers that were the previously secret site of the military command centre. Today the dark, empty corridors echo to the sound of dripping water. Don’t miss it.

7. Mårten Skinnare’s House and the Hospital Museum, Vadstena

SFV says:

Our oldest private house, from the Middle Ages, has one of Sweden’s most photographed toilets: the privy that hangs like a bird box from the brick wall of the building. Come and explore the house’s hidden treasures. The neighbouring Hospital Museum also has some unusual secrets to reveal.

8. Citadel, Landskrona

SFV says:

As a bit of a control freak, Danish King Kristian III initiated work on the Citadel in 1549 to maintain control of the Öresund strait. As part of the Peace of Roskilde in 1658, the fortress passed to Sweden. Since then the fortress has been home to prisoners on a life sentence, prostitutes and thousands of refugees fleeing the Nazis. Now you can explore all the rooms for a day.

9. County Governor’s Residence and Fortifications, Karlskrona

SFV says:

The naval town of Karlskrona is no. 560 on UNESCO’s list of unmissable World Heritage Sites. Come on our boat tour to some of its secret spaces and fortifications dating back four centuries. The marvellous County Governor’s residence, one of Sweden’s most recent, offers elegant rooms and a small garden.

10. Swedish Ambassador’s Residence, Helsinki

SFV says:

Check out a bit of Sweden’s cultural heritage abroad with these impressive reception rooms. The boat from Stockholm will moor up just below the residence and over the day you will hear stories in these hidden rooms.

For more information about the Secret Spaces day, call +46 8 696 73 73 or visit the National Property Board’s web site.

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PROPERTY

INTERVIEW: ‘Most foreigners in Sweden don’t know they can get back excess rent’

In Sweden, people subletting apartments are not allowed to charge more in rent than they themselves pay. But foreign subtenants don't always know this. We asked Roland Sjölin, lawyer at the Swedish Tenants' Association, about how to get back excess rent.

Published: 18 April 2024 15:19 CEST
Updated: 21 April 2024 08:12 CEST
INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'

More and more of the people asking the Swedish Tenants’ Association, Hyresgästföreningen in Swedish, for help with excess rent are foreigners, Sjölin told The Local in an interview.

“The problem is that if you’re coming from another country, and you’re subletting an apartment, you’re probably not familiar with the rules in Sweden, because in other countries, it might be okay to overcharge your tenants.” 

He said that clients from India in particular seeking help from the association were now “very common”. 

“Many people come here to work as engineers in the IT sector and then have to rent somewhere,” he said, adding that as a group Indians appeared to be “very aware of their rights.”

Sweden’s rental sector is heavily regulated, with first hand contracts negotiated between landlords and the Tenants’ Association, and the rent that can be charged for second-hand contracts limited to only a small fraction above what the first-hand renter pays. 

“You’re not allowed to make any profit subletting an apartment in Sweden,” Sjölin explains. “You can only charge the subletting tenant the same rent as you [the first-hand tenant] are paying to your landlord, and then you can add the costs for internet and electricity, and perhaps a parking lot, if that is included.” 

Tenants’ Association lawyer Roland Sjölin. Photo: supplied.

You can also add a påslag or “markup”, if you are renting out the apartment fully furnished, but this cannot exceed more than 15 percent of the rent. 

That doesn’t mean that most landlords follow the law. The competition for rental apartments, especially in Stockholm, is so intense, that unscrupulous sublet landlords often try to get away with charging well over the legal amount, charging what is known in Sweden as ockerhyra, or “excess rent” and hoping that their tenants are too desperate to complain.  

What many foreigners do not realise is that even after the rental period is over, they can still get back any excess rent they have paid by applying to the Rental Board or Hyresnämnden, which functions like a court judging rental disputes. 

“If you have the evidence then it’s fairly easy,” Sjölin said. “I get a new case every second week on repayment of unfair rent, and I think that I win most of them.” 

“Nowadays, you can get paid back excess rent up to 24 months back in time, so people tend to get more money,” he added. “In some cases, they can get 200,000 kronor. In other cases, perhaps it’s only 30,000 kronor or 60,000 kronor. It depends on how long you have rented the apartment, and how excessive the rent you’ve been paying has been.”

The first step is to establish what would have been a fair rent, either by asking your landlord what they themselves pay directly or by checking with the Tenants’ Association.

“Because we negotiate most rents in Sweden, we normally know what the firsthand rent is,” Sjölin explained.

Then you need to collect together your evidence.

“It’s a good thing to have a written contract and also papers from your bank showing that you paid rent every month, and perhaps photographs of the apartment, so the rental board can get an idea of the apartment you were renting and what would be a fair rent, and also the termination for the contract so you can show the court how long you’ve been living in the apartment.” 

But Sjölin underlined that since Sweden has free burden of evidence, none of this is essential. 

“Even if you’ve been paying in cash, if you have witnesses who can testify what you were paying each month, you still have a chance of getting your money back. It’s a bit more tricky, but I’ve won two cases like that this year.” 

People in Sweden, he explained, tend to wait until the rental period is over before seeking to get paid back excess rent rather than challenging their landlord while they are still living in the apartment. 

“You don’t have any legal protection for your home for the first two years, so if you bring the matter up with the person you’re renting the apartment from you risk losing your contract and having to move out, so most people wait until they’re supposed to move anyway,” he said.

If you apply to the rental board for a refund close to the day you move out, you can then make your landlord pay back all excess rent paid in the 24 months leading up to the date you contacted the rental board.

If you are a member of the Tenants’ Association, you can contact them and ask for help with your application, but there are also specialist companies, like Orimlig Hyra AB who will buy your case off you and give you a refund within 48 hours, saving you a long wait in exchange for a cut of the money reclaimed. 

Sjölin said that the rental board normally took about 8 months to come to a judgement, but that if the person with the first hand contract appeals, that could extend the waiting time by between six months and a year.

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