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Agency legitimizes toublesome tenant’s apartment ‘theft’

A tenant who refused to move from the apartment he was sub-letting in Malmö has been given the right to stay by the enforcement service (Kronofogdemyndigheten).

Published: 16 July 2008 16:05 CEST
Agency legitimizes toublesome tenant's apartment 'theft'

The 35-year-old was all set to be evicted from the apartment which he had been occupying for over a year after his contract, with the now previous tenant, had been cancelled. But the enforcement service has ruled that as the man was paying rent directly to the landlord he now has a legitimate contract and therefore the right to remain living in the apartment.

25-year-old Jesper Jäderkvist lost his apartment last summer when his tenant, to whom he sublet his apartment while he was travelling in South America, refused to move out. Jäderkvist then took the only action available to him and terminated the contract with the 35-year-old man and hoped that this would persuade him to move.

When Jäderkvist returned from his travels he found the 35-year-old still in his apartment and claiming that although he accepted that they no longer had a written contract they instead had a verbal agreement which was sufficient to constitute a new contract.

Jäderkvist was not even allowed into his apartment to collect his belongings and was prevented by law from demanding the right of entry.

Jäderkvist appealed to the courts for help and despite winning rulings in both the district court and the court of appeal, the 35-year-old refused to leave.

Jäderkvist has since moved to another apartment in Gothenburg and has been able to reclaim his belongings. The problem with the troublesome tenant was then passed onto the landlord.

The enforcement service was called in by the property-owner’s association representing the landlord to enforce the 35-year-old man’s eviction, but the ruling on Tuesday interpreted the law thus:

“A tenant who is subletting an apartment with the knowledge of the landlord and who pays the rent directly to the landlord can in certain cases be considered to have their own contract with the landlord.”

Jesper Jäderkvist has learned of the ruling – much to his amusement.

“I had a bit of a laugh when I read the letter. This is a complete farce as far as I am concerned. I actually laughed out loud,” said Jäderkvist to local newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet.

The property-owner’s association did not however share Jäderkvist’s mirth and has stated its intention to appeal the ruling.

For members

PROPERTY

How to buy your own Swedish island

Ever felt like spending your summers lounging around on your own island? Or have you always wanted to build a James Bond-style supervillain fort in the middle of the Stockholm archipelago?

Published: 28 August 2024 11:25 CEST
Updated: 8 September 2024 05:57 CEST
How to buy your own Swedish island

How can I find an island for sale?

Perhaps surprisingly, you can find islands for sale in the same places you find other properties in Sweden, for example on property site Hemnet, or directly through an estate agent.

As you may expect, people who own their own islands often want to hang onto them, so they don’t come up for sale very often. 

If you’re still interested in finding your dream island, then try searching egen ö till salu (own island for sale), and be prepared that you’ll probably have to wait a while before one comes up in your ideal area.

You might also get lucky and be able to find a property which just happens to include a small island with it (for example, a property by a lake or by the sea), but there’s no guarantee that the island would be big enough to actually do anything with – and if it is, the price of the property would no doubt reflect this.

Can I build on it?

Islands usually fall into two categories: those where there is already some sort of house or building (like a lighthouse, for example), and those which are completely untouched. 

Bear in mind that the rules on building on islands are pretty strict. Firstly, you’ll need to apply for planning permission (yes, even if you own the whole island), which can be difficult.

Essentially, all Swedish coastlines are protected under strandskyddet (literally: “beach protection”), which means that they must be accessible to the public and cannot be built on or fenced off for private use. The exact area which must be protected varies, but as a general rule you’ll have to keep the shoreline accessible 100 metres inland – going up to 300 metres in some cases.

Under allemansrätten, the right to roam, members of the public must be able to access the coastline, so even if you have your own island which you build your own jetty on, you can’t stop people from turning up and mooring at your jetty to lounge on the rocks.

The only exception to this is if they’re so close to your home they disturb your hemfrid, literally “home peace”, for example if they’d be able to see into your property or would feasibly intrude on your private life.

The downside to this hemfrid rule is that it can sometimes get in the way of planning permission – if a rebuild or extension to your home would extend your hemfrid so much that it would encroach on the public right to access the coastline (even if it’s something as simple as putting in larger windows or building a small veranda), then your application could be rejected.

So essentially, you might need to forget about your dreams of a supervillain-style lair on your own private island.

How much does it cost?

Island prices vary wildly, depending on things like the size of your island, how close it is to a major city, and whether it has buildings or pre-approved planning permission. 

Expect to pay a couple million kronor for a larger island (like this one) close to Stockholm or Gothenburg (yes, even if you can’t build anything on it).

Lilla Kattskäret, an island in Norrtälje around an hour from Stockholm with a handful of small buildings and two separate jetties, sold in August for just under 10 million kronor.

If you’re right in the middle of the city centre, you might see islands listed with no price at all, like this island complete with summer house, guest house and another, smaller island. A stone’s throw from Drottningholm Palace – the home of the Swedish King and Queen – this might be a case of “if you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can’t afford it”.

And don’t forget – you’ll need your own boat to access it, too.

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