The rules for subletting look a little different depending on whether it is a tenancy or a condominium apartment. Our rental calculator can easily help you decide how high your rent is on your particular home based on a market price for second-hand apartments.
Since February 1, 2013, different rules for subletting your housing depend on whether you rent a condominium or a tenancy. In that case, the Act (2012: 978) on subletting of own housing entered into force, which resulted in homeowners and second-hand tenants being given greater freedom to agree on the rent, while the same rules as previously continued to apply for leasing of tenancies.
If you want to sublet your tenancy
If you sublet your tenancy then the rent law applies and the rent level is determined on the basis of the so called bruksvärdesprincipen (the principle of utility value). It is therefore not up to you to freely set the rent depending on how much the tenant is willing to pay.
More about utility value
The utility value of an apartment is defined as the practical value it has from the tenant's point of view. This means that the rent should correspond to the rent level for similar dwellings, taking into account the standard of housing, size, location, floor plan, year of construction etc. The utility value corresponds to how tenants generally value the apartment's properties and are independent of who currently lives in the apartment. In other words, it does not matter if it is a family with children or a single household living in an apartment with access to a playground or in the vicinity of child-friendly cafes.
The utility value is determined by comparing housing with each other and through negotiations between property owners and tenants. Often is the rent you pay for your tenancy roughly at the utility value level, but it may be worth checking out. If your rent is very low, you may have the right to charge a higher amount than your rent and then make some money. However, this is unusual because the landlord usually already charges the correct amount.
At the rental committee (Hyresnämnden) there are data collected regarding corresponding apartments in similar location, the same building year and standard, which can give an idea of what the rent should be on a specific apartment.
Is your residence furnished?
If you sublet a furnished housing, a premium of 10-15% is usually considered reasonable. To be counted as furnished it is not enough with a worn bed, a broken sofa and some pallets, but the apartment must be fully furnished so that it is possible to live there without the second-hand tenant being forced to take your own furniture.
You also have the right to add any other costs that belong to the apartment, such as electricity, gas, TV license, parking space, internet etc.
If you want to sublet your condominium
When it comes to subletting, the law (2012: 978) on subletting of own housing is an exception to the regular leasing laws. If you sublet your condominium, your summer house, or just a room, you are then largely free to set the rent yourself. You can, in other words, whether the accommodation is furnished or unfurnished, set the rent yourself without having to relate to the utility value. As a landlord, you can set a market-like rent that is hypothetically intended to cover your expenses for owning the home (whether or not someone is prepared to pay as much of course determines if you can in practice take out that rent level - with the our service Hyreskollen you can calculate the what people are willing to pay for your apartment in general).
A reasonable rent should therefore not exceed your capital cost (the interest costs you would have had if the home was fully mortgaged) and the operating cost (eg fee to the association, electricity, broadband etc.). If it does so, your tenant can contact Hyresnämnden to reduce future rent.
More information about capital cost
By capital cost we mean the interest costs you would have had if the housing was fully mortgaged. The capital cost is calculated as a reasonable rate of return on the market's market value and, according to current practice, a yield rate of four per cent per year is considered to be an acceptable level. Note that the calculation is not linked to your actual loaning costs: if the home is mortgaged or not, then it does not matter.
A bit more about operating costs
With operating cost we refer to the costs you have to hold the home in the condition it is rented out in. Examples are the fee to the association, wear of furniture, electricity, broadband etc.
For example:
A condominium worth SEK 3 million is sublet in second hand. The fee for the rental association is SEK 1900 / month and other costs for electricity and broadband are SEK 800 / month. With a reasonable rate of return of 4 percent, the calculation reads: (3,000,000 * 0.04) / 12 + 1 900 + 800 = SEK 12,700. This is how much you get to sublet it for. Take the help of Hyreskollen to calculate how much you can sublet it for.
However, it is important to remember that the law only applies to the first grant. If you want to sublet several housings, the same rules apply as for tenancies for the other leases.
Do not set your rent too high
Tenancy - If you have taken out a too high rent, you can get a letter on the mail pretty long after the rental period is completed. Your tenant can go to Hyresnämnden and request a trial if the rent has been unreasonably high. You can then need to repay for up to one year's difference between the rent your tenant paid and the rent that the rental committee finds the utility value to be.
Condominium - If you have taken an unreasonable rent for your accommodation then the tenant can also turn to the Hyresnämnden to get his rent lowered. However, the tenant must contact you first. When it comes to subletting condominiums, Hyresnämnden can only ask you to lower the rent in the future. In other words, you do not need to repay them even if the rent you had set turned out to have been too high.
Sources
• The Act (2012: 978) on subletting of own housing