Subletting

Generally you can not charge more in rent than what you pay in rent yourself. A certain amount can be added for furniture. If the apartment is fully furnished the added amount can be 10% of the monthly rent paid to the landlord. If the added amount is higher, the subletting tenant can ask for a ruling in the regional rent and tenancy tribunal for a refund, with interest.

 

Renting a condominium

The parties are free to agree on the size of rent in this case. However, if the agreed upon rent considerably exceeds the cost of capital and the cost of maintenance, the rent tribunal can on application of the subletting tenant reduce the rent.

The capital cost is measured as a reasonable rate of return on the market value of the property. If the property is a recent purchase, the purchase sum can be a good indication of the market value. A benchmark for the rate of return set at four percent is considered appropriate. The calculation is not connected to mortgage costs. If the property is mortgaged or not is not of relevance to the amount of rent that can be drawn.  Cost of maintenance is considered e.g. condominium fees, wear on furniture and costs for electricity and broadband.

Example

 

A condominium apartment valued at three million SEK is rented out as a sublet. The fee to the condominium association is 1 900 per month. With a reasonable rate of return at three percent the following costs for the owner/landlord can be deduced.

(3 000 000*0,03)/12 + 1 900 = 9 400 SEK

If the rent is set at 9 000 SEK per month, the owner/landlord has no possibility of applying for a rent increase at the rent tribunal. If the rent is instead set at 11 500 SEK per month, the subletting tenant can instead demand a reduction of the rent at the rent tribunal. The rent tribunal will then reduce the rent in the case that it considerably exceeds 4 900 SEK.