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Foreign exchange students lose dibs on earmarked apartments in Sweden

Swedish universities predict an increase in domestic students next semester, but a decrease in new foreign students. And the competition for housing is expected to be fierce.

Published: 3 July 2020 10:55 CEST
Updated: 3 July 2020 15:37 CEST
Foreign exchange students lose dibs on earmarked apartments in Sweden
The coronavirus crisis may make it harder for foreign students to move to Sweden. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Another 1,300 university places have been allocated by the government to students in fields with a skills shortage, such as teaching and nursing courses, in addition to a previously announced 1,300 new places.

But the decision means that the competition for accommodation may be even tougher than normal.

In 2018, 410,228 students were registered at Swedish universities, around 4,700 more than the previous year. There are 96,990 student rooms or student apartments available all across Sweden.

Around 5,000 rooms or apartments are usually earmarked for foreign exchange students and guest researchers. But according to a new government decision, universities will be able to rent these out to any students next semester, to compensate for an expected decrease in the number of international students.

“If universities had been forced to cancel apartment contracts it would have damaged internationalisation in the long run. With this solution we avoid a situation in autumn where student apartments are left empty when there is a shortage of student housing in most university towns,” said Matilda Ernkrans, minister for higher education and research, in a statement.

In the 2018-2019 academic year more than one in four new students in Sweden were foreign students. That year Swedish universities admitted 23,800 new students from abroad, of which 12,800 were exchange students.

That number is expected to drop this autumn, as a result of coronavirus restrictions on overseas travel.

Until this week an entry ban has made it impossible for new foreign students from outside the EU to travel directly to Sweden, and distance teaching at many universities makes it hard for non-EU students to keep their student permit.

According to Studentbostadsföretagen, an industry organisation for student accommodation in Sweden, the number of foreign exchange students and guest researchers may drop by anything from 30 to 70 percent. It is still unclear how many foreigners who have applied to study in Sweden will actually be able to enroll.

“Many have applied, but we'll have to see if they turn up in August. If there's distance teaching this coming autumn, foreign students may have a hard time with their residence permit, and there may be travel restrictions,” Stina Olén, chief executive of Studentbostadsföretagen, told Swedish news agency TT. 

The new rules for foreign exchange student accommodation will apply for a year from August 1st.

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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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