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PROPERTY

‘My rent has been hiked 20 percent – what are my rights?’

Ask The Local: Every week we will be answering readers' questions about Sweden. This week, John from Skåne wants to know what he can do about an unwelcome rent increase.

Published: 7 August 2010 17:39 CEST

“I’ve got a problem with my landlord: he recently informed me that he was raising my rent by 20 percent with immediate effect. He said if I did not pay the increased rent from the start he would kick me out. What can I do?”

John, Skåne.

Sweden’s rental market is very heavily regulated. Rents for council-owned apartments are set in collective negotiations between the municipal housing companies and the Swedish Union of Tenants (Hyresgästsföreningen). Private landlords are obliged by law to set their rents roughly in line with those agreed in collective negotiations.

Susanna Skogsberg, legal adviser at the Swedish Union of Tenants, says John’s chances of getting the rent cut depend on how the landlord implemented the rise:

“The first thing John needs to check is whether the rent increase was negotiated collectively, with involvement of the Swedish Union of Tenants, or whether the landlord raised it unilaterally.

“If the rent is collectively agreed, then the tenant must pay the increased amount from the start. He can then appeal the rent increase to a rent tribunal (hyresnämnden), which can force a reduction if the rent is deemed unreasonable.

“In order to challenge a collectively agreed rent, the tenant has to provide evidence that nearby apartments of a similar size and standard are cheaper. The rent tribunal looks at the rent charged for comparable apartments, using council-owned apartments as the benchmark. Challenges to collectively-agreed rents rarely succeed, but it can happen.

“If the rent is not collectively agreed – i.e. if the landlord decided to raise it himself – then the tenant can continue paying the old rent. It is then up to the landlord to go to the rent tribunal to force the tenant to pay the new rent.

“If John at first paid the increased rent, but then decide to challenge it, he should initially write to the landlord. If he does not succeed in obtaining a reduction this way, he can take the landlord to the tribunal.

“It’s hard to say without knowing John’s exact circumstances, but a 20 percent increase sounds like a lot. However, big rent rises can sometimes be permitted when significant improvements are made to an apartment block. This could include renovations of bathrooms and kitchens.

“As for the question of whether John could be evicted for not paying – it’s possible, but not easy. A landlord can terminate a contract in certain circumstances, for instance if the tenant withholds the entire rent (and not just the difference between the old and the new rent). In cases where the landlord has unilaterally raised the rent, eviction proceedings for non-payment cannot start until the rental tribunal has made its ruling. Generally, eviction is rare and usually only applies in the case of serious breaches.”

“The situation is slightly different for people living in a sublet apartment (a ‘second-hand contract’ or ‘andrahandsuthyrning’) or for people renting an owner-occupied apartment (‘bostadsrätt’) from its owner. The main difference is that people who charge too much for a sublet apartment can be forced to repay tenants any excess rent. This can be applied retroactively for a period of up to two years. This is different from people with ‘first-hand contracts’. For them, a decision by the rent tribunal to lower the rent can only be applied to future payments.

“If John wants advice on his particular circumstances, for instance to obtain guidance on whether the rent is reasonable, he can contact the Swedish Union of Tenants.”

Useful link:

The Swedish Union of Tenants: www.hyresgastforeningen.se

Do you have a question about the practicalities of living in Sweden? Then drop us a line at [email protected]

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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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