Subletting: permission and rent rules

The second-hand market fills an important function. For many, a second-hand contract is the fastest way in on a tough housing market. And for whoever does not need their home for a while, it avoids paying for two homes at once. But the rules are strict. And they look different letting a rental versus a tenant-owner apartment.

The basic rule is easy to remember: second-hand letting almost always needs permission. The tricky part is who grants it, and how much rent you may charge. Getting it wrong costs both sides. You letting risk your contract. And the tenant risks paying excess rent that never should have been charged. Here are the main rules, so you know what applies before signing.

What counts as second-hand letting?

You let second-hand when someone else takes over your whole home, moves in and lives there while you live elsewhere yourself. That differs from taking a lodger. Then you stay yourself, letting only part of the home. The difference matters, because a lodger usually needs no such permission as a real second-hand letting.

What applies depends on what kind of home you hold yourself. Living in a rental apartment (hyresrätt), the landlord decides, then the rent tribunal. Living in a tenant-owner apartment, the association’s board does. We take them one by one.

Rentals: you must always ask the landlord

Letting your rental without the landlord saying yes can cost you the contract. If the landlord says no, you can instead ask the rent tribunal (hyresnämnden), which judges independently. Skipping that step is serious. Letting without permission can lose you the rental entirely. Also read our short answer to whether the landlord must say yes to subletting.

Since October 2019 it is a criminal offence to charge unreasonable rent while letting without permission. Letting illegally while charging excess rent can bring fines or prison up to two years. The tightening came with the hunt for black-market rental contracts. And it applies even when markets are pressed and the temptation to overcharge runs high.

For permission you need respectable grounds (beaktansvärda skäl): acceptable reasons for not living in the home yourself a while. Common grounds are studies or work elsewhere, trial cohabitation with a partner elsewhere, longer stays abroad, caring for a relative, or military service. Permission usually runs limited in time, gladly a year at a time. And you must show you plan to move back.

Tenant-owner apartments: the board decides

Living in a tenant-owner apartment, the board must say yes. Rules here are usually more permissive than for rentals: grounds are judged kinder and yes comes easier. If the board still says no, you as a tenant-owner can also turn to the rent tribunal.

The association may charge a fee for the letting, at most ten percent of the price base amount per year, covering the extra work it means. Note that owning the apartment, you stay fully responsible toward the association. That covers both fees and how the home is kept, even with someone else living there.

Rent for a let tenant-owner apartment follows the Private Letting Act. It builds not on utility value, but on your own costs. You may charge reasonable rent covering a sane capital cost: a return rate on what the home is worth, plus running costs like monthly fee, power and broadband. In practice it often lands higher than rent for a matching rental. To learn how reasonable rent is worked out step by step, we hold a separate guide on just that.

Reasonable rent, and getting overpaid rent back

Reasonable rent means different things by home type. For a rental it starts from utility value: what equivalent flats cost locally. Letting furnished, you may add a little. For a tenant-owner apartment the cost-based Private Letting Act model applies instead.

This is not just theory. A second-hand tenant in a rental who paid over utility value can turn to the rent tribunal demanding the difference back. For contracts written after September 2019, two years back in time is possible. But applications must arrive within three months of the tenancy ending. Letting, the conclusion is simple: keep to reasonable rent directly, or the profit may be repaid afterwards.

Always write a clear second-hand contract

Spoken agreements apply legally, but they are nearly impossible to prove if you fight. So always write a proper second-hand contract. It must state rent, rental period, notice period, and exactly what is included: furniture, power, broadband, parking. Also regulate the deposit and who pays if something breaks.

One more thing to track: a second-hand tenant usually lacks the security of tenure a first-hand tenant holds. But with continuous letting past two years, tenure protection can still arise. It is often waived with the rent tribunal’s approval. Renting, that is reason to ask to see the landlord’s permission before moving in. Approved permission is your safety that everything is legal and you do not suddenly stand without a home.

Notice periods cause the most misunderstandings, since they differ letting a rental versus an owned home. We go through them in detail in the guide on ending a second-hand contract.

Let the right home find you

Once rules are in place, the rest is about finding each other. On SökHem we turn the usual around: you describe what you seek or want to let, and we handle the matching. Instead of chasing listings, the right counterpart connects to you directly, with reasonable area rent levels visible as reference, so the letting turns right from the start. You find current rental homes directly on the platform.

Legal basis

Rentals: under Land Code chapter 12, section 39, tenants may not sublet without landlord consent, with section 40 stating when the rent tribunal may permit instead. Unauthorised letting can forfeit the tenancy under section 42. Tenant-owner apartments: Tenant-Owner Apartment Act chapter 7, section 10 requires board permission, with section 11 letting the tribunal test a no. Associations may charge a subletting fee under chapter 7, section 14. Rent letting tenant-owner apartments or houses follows the Private Letting Act, changed 1 July 2026; check current wording at riksdagen.se.