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Housing could replace Bromma airport

Bromma airport should be closed down by 2022, with the plot used to build new homes, Stockholm City Council has proposed.

Published: 15 October 2014 15:16 CEST
Updated: 15 October 2014 17:16 CEST
Housing could replace Bromma airport
Bromma airport in Stockholm. Photo: TT
The airport is one of four in the Swedish capital and it is a hub for domestic flights, with links to thirteen destinations.
 
But the parties that make up the city's locally elected coalition government argue that it should shut in just under a decade.
 
The Social Democrats, Green Party, Left Party and Feminist Initiative released a statement on Wednesday saying:
 
"In order for Stockholm to continue to grow, the city needs land to create new housing and infrastructure. Bromma airport should be decommissioned".
 
Jan Björklund, leader of Sweden's Liberal Party, which was part of the previous centre-right national coalition, is among those who has already criticized the plan.
 
Bromma Airport "connects many regions with the capital and means that businesses can operate in many places in Sweden," he told news agency TT.
 
He argued that it could lead to 20,000 job cuts.
 
Niklas Nordström, who is Deputy Mayor of Luleå in northern Sweden agreed:
 
"I get so frustrated when this becomes a local issue…Bromma is a national interest and essential to all of Sweden so people can have access to and from the capital."
 
The Social Democrat politician added: 
 
"This creates concerns in other parts of Sweden about our economy that we do not need."
 
The plan to shut the airport will only go ahead if it is agreed on by Sweden's national parliament.
 
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven's Social Democrat party has previously said it is against the closure of Bromma Airport.
 
On Wednesday the party said it was still considering the issue.
 
National Green Party co-spokesperson and Education Minister Gustav Fridolin said that he agreed with the proposal, adding that the current housing shortage in Stockholm and other large cities was affecting Swedes' job prospects.
 
"So many young people who find their first job or are moving to Stockholm to study cannot find a place to live, and this really threatens the job market."
 
Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund told news agency TT that he suspected the proposal would not end up becoming a reality.
 
"This is an issue that must also be approved by parliament and my spontaneous assessment today is that there is no majority for the closure of Bromma".
 

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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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