Co-living in Sweden: your rights and which contract you get

Co-living (kollektivboende) means that several people who are not a family share a home, often with a shared kitchen and living room but separate bedrooms. The rights you have in co-living depend almost entirely on your contract: first-hand, sublet or lodger.

What is co-living?

In Swedish the word covers two different things, and it pays to keep them apart when you are looking for a home.

A housing collective (bostadskollektiv) is what most people mean. According to Wikipedia, it is a group of people who are not primarily related and who share a home for practical, social, religious or political reasons. Shared finances and cooking are common. A student collective in a large flat is a typical example.

A collective house (kollektivhus) is something else. Each household has its own flat, but the building has shared spaces such as a kitchen, dining room and sometimes childcare. Shared meals are a common feature. Sweden's first collective house was Hemgården on Östermalm in Stockholm, from 1906. Collective houses can be ordinary rental flats, cooperative rentals or tenant-owned flats.

This guide is mainly about housing collectives, that is, when you share a flat or a house with others.

Three ways to live in a collective

Before you move in, ask who holds the contract and what you are signing yourself. That determines how secure your housing is.

1. You share the contract

Sometimes several people are on the same first-hand contract. Then everyone has the same standing towards the landlord. If one person wants to move out, you need to talk to the landlord about how the contract should look going forward.

2. You sublet

If one person holds the first-hand contract and rents out the whole flat, or part of it for independent use, it is a sublet. Under the Land Code (jordabalken) chapter 12 section 39, the landlord's consent is required, otherwise permission from the rent tribunal (hyresnämnden) under section 40.

3. You are a lodger

In many collectives you rent a room in a home where the contract holder still lives. Then you are a lodger (inneboende). The first-hand tenant may not take in outsiders to an extent the landlord cannot reasonably be expected to accept (chapter 12 section 41). Among other things, account is taken of whether more people live in the flat than it is designed for.

Security of tenure in co-living

Security of tenure (besittningsrätt) means the right to have the tenancy extended. Land Code chapter 12 section 45 says this right does not apply when:

• you rent a flat second-hand for independent use and the tenancy ends before it has lasted more than two consecutive years,
• you rent a furnished room and the tenancy ends before it has lasted more than nine consecutive months,
• the flat is part of the letting party's own home.

The last point matters in a collective. If you rent a room in a flat where the first-hand tenant lives, you have no security of tenure, no matter how long you have lived there.

Notice when you live in a collective

Unless you have agreed otherwise, the Land Code rules apply. For a residential tenancy that runs until further notice, the notice period is three months, counted to the nearest turn of the month (chapter 12 section 4). As a tenant of a residential flat you may always terminate the agreement at a turn of the month no earlier than three months after giving notice (chapter 12 section 5).

A fixed-term contract of three months or less has a shorter notice period. Read your agreement carefully.

Checklist before you move in

• Written agreement. Ask for a written contract stating which room you rent, which spaces you share and what the rent includes.
• Who is your landlord? The property owner or another tenant? That decides whether you are first-hand, sublet or lodger.
• Consent. If you sublet, ask whether the landlord has approved it.
• House rules. Agree on cleaning, groceries, guests and quiet hours before you move in together.
• Notice period. Check what your agreement says and compare it with the rules above.
• Help. Hyresgästföreningen (the Swedish Union of Tenants) advises tenants on rental agreements and rights.

Summary

Co-living can be a cheap and social way to find a home, especially when the housing queue is long. But your security depends on the contract. Someone renting a room in another person's home has no security of tenure, while someone with their own first-hand contract stands strongest. Find out which agreement you are getting before you sign.

Sources: Land Code chapter 12, Wikipedia, Hyresgästföreningen.