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Sweden’s housing queues ‘getting worse’

Housing queues across Sweden are getting longer, according to an extensive survey of private and public housing companies, with experts claiming the situation is getting even worse.

Published: 11 March 2013 16:45 CET
Sweden's housing queues 'getting worse'

Over 1,000 housing companies were surveyed by Sveriges Radio (SR) about their housing queues and their average respective waiting times for would-be residents.

Almost 600 responded.

While Stockholm had the longest waiting times nationwide, with hopeful house hunters in queue for an average of over eight years for a first-hand rental contract, it wasn’t just the big cities that kept the applicants in the lurch.

In Kiruna and Gällivare, both in far northern Sweden, the average waiting time is between five and seven years. In Halmstad, southern Sweden, the wait is between six and seven years, and in Stenungsund near Gothenburg, the wait is over seven years.

Linköping, in central Sweden, has over 19,000 people waiting in line for an apartment.

Anna Wennerstrand, press officer at the Swedish Union of Tenants (Hyresgästsföreningen), explained that the situation isn’t improving.

“This housing situation has been a problem for a long time and it’s only getting worse. And while it’s definitely an issue for specific individuals around the country, it’s also a big societal problem – especially in terms of Sweden’s growth,” she told The Local.

SEE ALSO: Find your next home with The Local’s Rentals Section

She blamed the government for not building more houses, stating that it has been decades since anything has been done to alleviate the shortage.

“It’s especially difficult for people who are moving to Sweden as well as for younger people and students, and the government isn’t doing anything about it.”

The immediate solution, according to Wennerstrand, is to build more apartments specifically for would-be renters.

“The local politicians have the responsibility and the possibility to make a difference,” she said.

“But municipalities around Sweden don’t want people to move in, they prefer well-paid and well-educated residents, and as a result only provide houses that are available for purchase.”

While Wennerstrand claimed the shortage makes life “really, really, difficult” for anyone looking to find a place in Sweden, her advice remains the same for house hunters – regardless of their postcode.

“My advice is that you have to just keep looking,” she told The Local.

“Talk to your friends, network, and approach housing companies as much and as often as you can.”

Collectively, the companies surveyed by SR have over 2 million people on their waiting lists.

Oliver Gee

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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
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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