Renting in Sweden: housing vocabulary, contracts and your rights

Finding a home in Sweden

Finding somewhere to live is often the hardest part of moving to Sweden, especially in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Uppsala. The market has its own vocabulary, its own abbreviations and some rules that surprise newcomers, such as housing queues measured in years and strict limits on what a sublet can cost.

This guide explains the words you will meet in ads, contracts and emails, the basic rules, and the scams to avoid. It is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ between kinds of housing and can depend on your contract, so we link to the official sources. Phrases use du, which is normal with landlords too.

Types of housing and contracts

The first thing to understand is the upplåtelseform: the legal form of the home. It decides who you rent from and which rules apply.

A first-hand contract on a hyresrätt is what most people want: it is secure, the rent is regulated, and you can stay as long as you follow the rules. Rents for these flats are set through negotiations between landlords and the tenants' association (Hyresgästföreningen), based on the flat's utility value (bruksvärde), not on what the market would pay.

Housing queues: bostadskö

Most first-hand rental flats in the big cities are handed out through a housing queue (bostadskö), where the person who has queued longest usually gets the offer. In Stockholm, the municipal queue is Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm; in Gothenburg and Malmö you will find Boplats Göteborg and Boplats Syd. Many landlords also run their own queues, and some smaller towns have short waits or none at all.

In central Stockholm, queue times are often many years, so join as early as you can. There is usually an annual fee to stay in the queue. Check each queue's rules, as they differ.

Landlords usually ask you to show a steady income, often a multiple of the rent, and they may run a credit check (kreditupplysning). Requirements vary by landlord.

Reading housing ads

Most people search on Blocket, Qasa, Hemnet (mainly homes for sale) and the queue websites. Ads are short and full of abbreviations. These are the ones you will see most often, although not every site uses all of them.

In a Swedish ad, the kitchen is not counted as a room: 2 rok means two rooms plus a kitchen. Floors are counted from the ground floor up: 1 tr (en trappa) is one flight of stairs up. When you see avgift on a bostadsrätt ad, it is the owner's monthly fee to the housing association, not your rent. For more shortened forms, see our list of Swedish abbreviations.

Words in the flat

Viewing and signing

Deposit and inspection

A deposition (deposit) is a sum you pay as security, which you get back when you move out if nothing is damaged or unpaid. It should be written in the contract. For sublets, Hyresgästföreningen describes deposits of a couple of months' rent as typical.

A besiktning is an inspection of the flat, often done when you move in (inflyttningsbesiktning) and when you move out (avflyttningsbesiktning). Take photos on your first day. You pay for damage beyond normal wear and tear (normalt slitage), but not for the wear that comes from ordinary living.

Subletting: the rules that protect you

Sublets are where most problems happen, so it pays to know the basics.

Permission. A tenant who wants to sublet a hyresrätt needs written permission from the landlord, or from the regional rent tribunal (hyresnämnden). An owner of a bostadsrätt needs permission from the housing association's board. Since 1 July 2026, earlier sublets count against a new application only if they were extensive, which makes continued permission easier for bostadsrätt owners. Ask to see the permission: if the sublet is not approved, you can lose the flat at short notice.

Rent for a sublet hyresrätt. The person subletting may not charge you more than their own rent. If the flat is furnished, they may add a surcharge of at most 15 percent for furniture and equipment, according to Hyresgästföreningen, and extras like electricity and internet should cost no more than the real cost. If you pay too much, you can apply to hyresnämnden, which can order the excess to be paid back.

Rent for a privately owned home. When a private person rents out a bostadsrätt or a house they own, a different law applies: the privatuthyrningslag. A new version took effect on 1 July 2026. Under it, the parties agree on the rent, but if it is substantially higher than what is usually charged for similar private rentals, hyresnämnden can lower it. Contracts signed before 1 July 2026 still follow the old law.

Never pay for a contract. It is illegal for a landlord or tenant to ask for extra payment (key money) just for letting you rent a home. Since 2019, buying a contract on the black market (svartkontrakt) is also a crime for the buyer, punishable by fines or prison.

Notice periods: uppsägningstid

The uppsägningstid is how long before you move out you must give notice. Give notice in writing and keep a copy.

These are minimum protections: a contract cannot give you worse terms than the law, but it can give you better ones. Fixed-term contracts (tidsbestämda) follow their own rules, so read the contract or ask.

Reporting faults: felanmälan

In a hyresrätt, the landlord is responsible for repairs and maintenance. When something breaks, you make a felanmälan (fault report), usually through a form on the landlord's website, an app or a phone line. In a sublet, contact the person you rent from first.

Water leaks are urgent: most landlords have an out-of-hours number (jour) for them. If you need to write to your landlord, our Swedish email templates include messages for landlords.

How to spot a rental scam

Housing scams are common, especially before terms start in August and January. The same warning signs come up again and again, and the police list several of them:

• The landlord is abroad and cannot show you the flat, but will post you the keys after you pay.
• You are asked to pay a deposit or rent in advance before a viewing or before you have a signed contract.
• The rent is suspiciously low for the area, or the ad is copied from another site.
• There is pressure to decide fast because "many others are interested".

Never pay anything before you have seen the flat, met the person, checked their ID and signed a contract. Check that the person actually lives there or owns the flat, and that they have permission to sublet. If you have already paid, contact your bank straight away, save the ad and all messages, and report it to the police.

Where to get help

• Hyresgästföreningen, the tenants' association, gives advice to members and publishes a lot of free information, including contract templates for sublets.
• Hyresnämnden (the rent tribunal) handles disputes about rent, permission to sublet and other tenancy matters. It belongs to the Swedish courts.
• Konsumentverket, the Swedish Consumer Agency, explains your basic rights as a tenant (its former Hallå konsument service now lives on konsumentverket.se).
• Boverket explains the different forms of housing.

If a letter about your rent or contract confuses you, our guide to decoding letters from the authorities can help, and the click-to-translate reader is useful for long contracts. Long compound words like andrahandsuthyrning get easier once you can split them; try the compound splitter.

Learn the Swedish behind the contract

Most housing conversations happen in Swedish, and a landlord who hears you trying is often more willing to help. For more everyday admin phrases, see our guide to learning Swedish when you move to Sweden and the essential Swedish phrases. Practise prices, sizes and dates with the Swedish numbers tool.

Season 1 of our course, Complete Swedish, is free in full: video lessons with synced Swedish transcripts, built to take you from your first words to real conversations.

FAQ

What does 2 rok mean in a Swedish housing ad?

2 rok means 2 rum och kök: two rooms plus a kitchen. The kitchen is not counted as a room, so it is usually a flat with one bedroom and one living room.

What is the difference between förstahand and andrahand?

A förstahandskontrakt is a contract directly with the landlord. An andrahandskontrakt is a sublet from someone who rents or owns the home, and that person needs permission to sublet.

How much can someone charge for a sublet in Sweden?

For a sublet rental flat (hyresrätt), the rent should not be higher than the tenant's own rent, plus at most 15 percent if it is furnished, according to Hyresgästföreningen. Privately owned homes follow a separate law, under which hyresnämnden can lower a rent that is substantially higher than for similar private rentals.

What is the notice period on a rental contract in Sweden?

For an open-ended first-hand rental contract, the tenant's notice period is three months, to the end of a calendar month. Private rentals signed from 1 July 2026 also have three months; older ones have one month for the tenant.

Should I pay a deposit before viewing a flat?

No. Never pay a deposit or rent before you have seen the flat, met the landlord and signed a contract. Requests for advance payment from someone you cannot meet are a common sign of fraud.

What is a felanmälan?

A felanmälan is a fault report to your landlord when something in the flat breaks, such as a leaking tap or a cold radiator. Most landlords have an online form, an app or a phone line for it.

Sources

Last checked 7 October 2026.

• Hyresgästföreningen: Hyra en lägenhet i andra hand and Uthyrning i andra hand (permission, rent, 15 percent, deposit, notice, key money).
• Sveriges Domstolar: Nya regler för hyra och bostadsrätt sommaren 2026 and Hyra av bostad och lokal.
• Privatuthyrningslag (SFS 2026:772): rent, notice periods, transitional rules.
• Lag (2012:978) om uthyrning av egen bostad, for contracts signed before 1 July 2026.
• Jordabalken (1970:994), chapter 12 (hyreslagen): notice periods, permission to sublet, ban on paying for contracts (sections 65 and 65 b), and government bill prop. 2018/19:107 on buying contracts.
• Konsumentverket: Dina rättigheter som hyresgäst.
• Boverket: Upplåtelseformer och boendeformer i Sverige.
• Polisen: Annonsbedrägeri, section on lägenhetsbedrägeri (rental scams).
• Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm.