Housing

Steps

1. Join the housing queues straight away (bostadskö): your municipality's (in Stockholm, Bostadsförmedlingen, 200 SEK a year in 2026) and those of the big landlords, public (allmännyttan, municipal companies) or private. Your seniority counts: the earlier you join, the better. The minimum age and whether you need a personnummer to join depend on each queue: ask it.
2. In the meantime, look for a second-hand rental or one from a private individual, and identify who is renting to you:
   • a tenant who sublets their hyresrätt (rented home): they need their landlord's consent or a permit from the hyresnämnd (jordabalken, chapter 12, sections 39 and 40); insist on this consent in writing;
   • the owner of a bostadsrätt (cooperative apartment): they need the consent of the association's board (styrelsen) or a permit from the hyresnämnd (bostadsrättslagen, chapter 7, sections 10 and 11);
   • a private individual renting out their own home (house, owned apartment, bostadsrätt): since 1 July 2026, the privatuthyrningslag (private rental act, 2026:772) applies, if the landlord is an individual who does not regularly rent out more than two homes other than their own residence and is not themselves a tenant of the home (section 3 of chapter 1; the subletting of a hyresrätt falls under jordabalken).
3. Ask for proof of the permission to sublet and check the landlord's identity: the police advise you to call the building's owner yourself to confirm that the person really is a tenant and has the right to sublet.
4. View the home, then sign a written contract (hyresavtal, lease) before you pay anything: amount of rent, duration, notice, deposit and conditions of repayment.
5. If the rent seems too high, go to the hyresnämnd for your region: it can set a reasonable rent and, in second-hand lets, order the overpayment to be repaid.
6. To leave, give your notice in writing (see "Costs and timelines").

Documents

• Identity document (passport or national ID card).
• Employment contract or proof of income: many first-hand landlords have income requirements (Informationsverige; amounts specific to each landlord).
• Personnummer: often requested by landlords and queues; see SE-NIF-TOUS-001.
• On the landlord's side, to ask for: their identity document, the first-hand lease or proof of ownership, and the written consent of the owner or the association for the subletting.

Costs and timelines

• First-hand rent: set according to utility value (bruksvärdessystemet): a rent is not reasonable if it is clearly higher than that of comparable homes, and rents negotiated between landlords and tenants' associations carry great weight (jordabalken 12:55 and 55 c).
• Rent for a sublet hyresrätt: at most the rent paid by the main tenant, plus a supplement for furniture and equipment capped at 15% of that rent (12:55).
• Rent with a private individual (contract signed since 1 July 2026): freely set, but the hyresnämnd can bring it down to a reasonable level if it is "clearly higher" than for comparable homes let by private individuals (privatuthyrningslag, chapter 2, section 5). Contracts signed before that date remain subject to the old law 2012:978 (rent limited to capital and operating costs).
• Repayment of the overpayment in second-hand lets: the application must reach the hyresnämnd no later than 3 months after you leave the home, and the repayment does not go back more than 2 years before the application (12:55 f).
• Tenant's notice: 3 months, taking effect at the end of a month, for a first-hand or second-hand lease (12:4 and 12:5) as well as with a private individual (privatuthyrningslag, chapter 6). A clause providing for a longer notice does not bind you.
• Deposit (deposition): no legal cap: the tenancy law (jordabalken, chap. 12) regulates neither the amount nor the management of a cash deposit (it says a word only about a pledge or guarantee given by a third party, 12:28 a) and, according to the ministry memorandum Ds 2023:32, the legal situation is partly unclear. This 2023 proposal suggests a cap of two months' rent, deposited in an account with the county administrative board (länsstyrelsen); the texts read do not show that it has been adopted. Informationsverige points out that it is returned when you leave, less any damage or cleaning, and that you should not pay it before the contract is signed.
• Queue in Stockholm: 9 years on average in 2025, about 21 years for the city centre; under 5 years in some municipalities of the region (Södertälje, Sigtuna, Upplands-Bro…).
• Hyresnämnd: the hyresnämnd charges no fees, but each party pays its own costs, for example a lawyer (Sveriges Domstolar).

Common pitfalls

• Paying before you have seen the home. This is the classic scam pattern: a fake landlord "abroad", a copied advert, a key that opens nothing. The police are clear: never pay before you have viewed and signed, and never through an anonymous payment service. Never approve a Swish or BankID payment at someone else's request.
• Subletting without consent. If your landlord sublets without the consent of the owner or the association, they risk losing their lease, and you risk having to leave overnight. Insist on written proof of the permission.
• Buying a contract. Paying or asking for money to obtain a first-hand lease (svarthandel, the black market in contracts) is an offence punishable by up to 2 years in prison, and 4 years in serious cases (12:65 and 65 b). Only pay the fees of a professional letting agency, which are regulated by law (12:65 a).
• An abusive rent in a second-hand let. Subletting a hyresrätt without consent and at an unreasonable rent is also an offence for the landlord (12:65 c). You can ask for a refund, but only within 3 months after you leave.
• Believing a second-hand lease is as protected as a first-hand lease. With a private individual, a fixed-term lease ends at its term, with no right of renewal: plan your next search ahead.
• Forgetting to pay for the queue. In Stockholm, you keep your place as long as you pay the annual fee. With a short-term lease, you keep your seniority (Bostadsförmedlingen); what happens with an ordinary lease is to be confirmed in its queue rules.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: no specific rental rules; above all you need to be registered in the population register (see SE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001) to obtain your personnummer, which many landlords ask for.
• British citizens (Scots included): same rental rules; your right of residence goes through the Migrationsverket (see SE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
• Nationality: the texts read provide for no rental restriction linked to nationality. If a landlord turns you down because of your origin, the Diskrimineringsombudsmannen (the Equality Ombudsman) is the body to contact (complain preferably through the online form, or with a Word form sent to do@do.se or by post; describe the facts with the dates and gather evidence, and do not delay: the time limit for going to court is often two years, sometimes much shorter in employment matters: DO).