Alexander Wilson van Deurs

Insufficient investigation into the secondary market

The government report "Order and clarity in the rental housing market" clearly shows the extent of vulnerability and insecurity in the sublet market, which for thousands of young people is the only alternative. jagvillhabostad.nu is positive about the proposals in the recently presented report, but believes that significantly more measures are needed to curb what is in practice the Wild West in the sublet market.

The inquiry "Order and clarity in the rental housing market", which was appointed in July 2022, has now submitted its report (SOU 2023:65) to the Minister for Housing, Andreas Carlsson. In addition to mapping the situation on the sublet market, the inquiry also looks at so-called block rentals, and proposes that a rental rights register be established and that Statistics Sweden investigate the possibilities of expanding statistics on rents.

It is a much-needed survey of the situation on the secondary market that underlines how bad it really is. The report notes that rents on the subcontracting market are high and points to a study by the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning in 2018, which shows that rents on the subcontracting market have increased significantly more than rents on the first-hand market, resulting in a tightening of the rules on what rent can be charged in subcontracting. However, as the study shows, the desired effect of the measure has not materialized.

In the fall of 2022, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce presented a new report in which they state that the rent for sublet apartments is as much as 149 percent higher than the first-hand rent in the City of Stockholm and 99 percent higher in Stockholm County. Despite this, the report's proposal that Statistics Sweden should investigate the possibilities of expanding the statistics on rents in collaboration with the housing market parties is good but far from sufficient.

"We have known for a long time that rents on the secondary market are much higher than on the primary market, yet nothing is being done. Swedish law is clear about the rents that can be charged in the secondary market and the levels that tenants face are illegal. There is a lot of talk about law and order today, but in the sublet market it does not seem to be so important. We demand that the government takes the fight against lawbreaking in the subletting market and tackles the illegally high rents", said Alexander Wilson van Deurs, President of jagvillhabostad.nu.

To tackle problems of undeclared renting and fraud, the report also proposes to develop the current apartment register to include information on the fact that an apartment is rented, and in a second step to introduce information on the first tenant.

"We are positive about the proposal and believe it can help bring more order to the housing market," said Alexander Wilson van Deurs.