Is it hard to find apartments in Sweden? Yes, its bit challenging to rent an apartment in Sweden especially in bigger cities (like Stockholm and Gothenburg) and when you are newbie. However, with a little patience and continuous search efforts, it’s possible to find a good and convenient place for living in Sweden.
In this article, you will find all the important information, tips and tricks to rent an apartment easily.
1. Define your search criteria for rental apartment
It’s important to define and prioritize search criteria before you start searching for a rental apartment. Your search criteria should include location, number of rooms (excluding kitchen and WC), area of apartment, type (furnished/unfurnished), amenities (elevator, laundry, security door, balcony, parking etc.)
Most important criteria would be to determine your budget. Housing in Sweden can be expensive, so it’s important to know how much you can afford to spend for rent. Also, consider other expenses such as utilities, internet, and insurance. Once you have a clear idea of your budget, you can start looking for apartments that fits within your price range.
2. Start your hunting as early as possible
As the rental market in Sweden can be extremely competitive, it is critical to begin your search as soon as possible. Start looking at least two to three months before you plan to move in. This will give you plenty of time to find a location that meets both your criteria and your budget.
3. Apply for housing queues
You can get the rental apartment through housing agencies or municipality queue, but it has long waited time and it may take couple more years for your turn to come. Off curse for long term perspective, you should be in such queues to get first-hand rental contract and it has been observed that the rent for queued apartments is quite cheaper than usual market rates, the good part is you can sublet the apartment (off curse with terms and condition from respective commune or housing company).
We recommend you register such queues as soon as possible if you have plan to stay long term in Sweden. Most of the queue charges nominal yearly fee but it’s worth to pay and be in the queue. I am sure, this queue will help you find your next rental apartment with lower rent. Here are some housing queues.
HomeQ (Free of cost registration)
This site offers queue for many bigger housing companies like Ikano, Nordemo etc. Longer the member since, greater the chance of getting the homes. However, you can try applying though you have recently joined the queue.
Bostadsförmedlingen
Housing queue for rental apartments in Stockholm
Boplats
Boplats is a housing agency for everyone looking for rental apartments within commuting distance of Göteborg. At Boplats Göteborg you find apartments to rent in a wide area around Göteborg.
4. Use online resources (websites and social media)
Internet is an excellent resource in finding rental apartments in Sweden.
There are quite a good number of Facebook communities and pages where you can join or post your requirements.
There are plenty of websites available that lists apartments available for rent. You can search apartments based on your criteria like location, size, duration, rent range etc. You can even set-up an alert so that apartments matching your criteria when available notifies you through email or SMS. Here is the list of few websites.
Here is the list of widely used websites in Swede for finding rental accommodation
a. Samtrygg
Samtrygg has been known for providing safe and smooth rental housing in Sweden rental housing market. It provides nearly 150,000 homes every year at a price agreed on by tenants and landlords. Samtrygg offers payment guarantee, sublet insurance and safe contracts and there’s good news for tenants – you won’t be required to pay a deposit or an advance.
Here are the steps to get the rental house through Samtrygg. Firstly, register with Samtrygg; search for suitable apartment on the site (if required, create an alert so that properties matching with your requirement when available, will notify you through email/SMS), apply for rental apartments, arrange viewing and if both parties agree; then it’s done. Samtrygg helps for digital contract, home insurance.
I personally got rental house through Samtrygg, they have friendly for your support.
You can register with Samtrygg and start looking for an apartment/house on rent.
b. Blocket
Blocket, is an online marketplace for classifieds items like furniture, car etc., Blocket also offers a wide array of different accommodation options, from villas to single room apartments, throughout Sweden.
You can become a member on Blocket, (make sure to provide sufficient information to feel landlords confidence in you to offer their house e.g. you are non-smoker, peace loving family) trust and show interest to apartments fulfilling your search criteria.
c. Qasa
Qasa lists all type of rental options like houses, apartments, vacation homes etc. Qasa helps both tenants to find rental homes and landlord to find tenants. If you rent a property through Quasa, service charges will be charged by Qasa, it costs little extra to your monthly rent. In each listing, the details about service fee gets displayed.
You can become a member on Quasa free of cost by filling required information on the website and start searching for your rental home. You can observe, listing on Blocket and Qasa has almost same listing works exactly in the similar fashion.
Here is the list for websites for student accommodation
d. The Swedish Student Accommodation Association
The organization manages a helpful website that enables students to look for housing in all Swedish university towns and cities. You can select the town or city of your choice to find out which businesses nearby provide student housing. Only in Swedish, though the websites that are linked might also be available in English.
e. Stifelsen Stockholms Studentbostäder
The largest student housing provider in Stockholm, with almost 8,000 rooms and apartments spread out throughout the city and rented out via a waiting list. You must be a member of the Student Union affiliated with the Stockholm Studenters Central Organization for the duration of the tenancy. Check out this site for more details.
f. Studentstaden (for Uppsala student as well as accommodation for all)
The website, which is owned by Uppsalahem AB (Uppsala’s top housing provider), provides more than 3,000 student rooms and student apartments throughout Uppsala.
5. Corporate Accommodation and Service Apartments
There are quite a good number of corporate housing agencies which provides rental house for short term and long term rentals. These housing companies mainly have tie-ups with corporate companies and offer apartments for corporate companies and holidays. Usually, these companies charge quite more rent compared to normal rental market as they provide additional services (inclusive in the rent) like furnished apartments, cleaning, utility bills etc.
You can check with your employer if there is any tie-up for housing. If you are in urgent need, you can move to such apartment until you find the cheaper option.
Here is the list of some corporate housing agencies.
Apartdirect
Apartdirect is family-owned apartment rental company that has been up and running since 2012. Apartdirect grew out of the growing demand of business and leisure travelers to find alternative accommodation to hotels. This company offers apartments in Stockholm and Linköping.
Beautiful Apartments
Beautiful Apartments offers fully furnished and unfurnished serviced apartments in all major cities of Sweden.
While communicating with landlords, try to provide enough information (which you think not violating GDPR) about yourself and the members who will be accompanying with you in the house. Be transparent while communicating that builds trust.
6. Be pro-active in finding the accommodation
As the rental market is competitive hence you need to proactive for finding your accommodation. You can have a word with your friend circle, colleagues that you are looking for accommodation. If you are lucky enough you can find the accommodation through the reference as landlords prefer referral tenants over unknown.
7. Be careful
Be aware of fraudulent and scammers. If you encountered in one the below situations, there are high chances that you are getting trapped by scammers.
a. So called landlord is offering rental accommodation way cheaper than market rates (you can explore the above mentioned websites to compare the rent). You may have seem lucrative rental offers on social media platforms like Facebook, you need to be extra cautious while dealing with the properties came across from social media
b. So called landlord asks to do the rental formalities online including deposits and rent amount as this so called landlord is unable to show you the apartment and meet you in person simply because landlord is out of Sweden and can not afford the cost to come to Sweden. Serious landlord would never rent their apartment to unknown at least they would arrange some mediator if they are serious to provide the apartment on rent.
c. So called landlord try to lull you into false security by using a third party “rental payment” site that is secure and trusted and asking to transfer payment before contract.
d. Read the terms and conditions carefully while signing up the paid membership of rental portals, there are chances that you end up with paying high membership. Use your common sense to identify genuine portals before signing up.
8. Some frequently used terms
a. FIRST HAND CONTRACTS (FÖRSTAHANDSKONTRAKT): You rent directly from the owner of the property. It is currently very difficult to obtain such a contract in major cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg and queuing can take several years. In surrounding municipalities, however, the queueing times are often much shorter.
b. SECOND HAND CONTRACTS (ANDRAHANDSKONTRAKT): This is when you sublet from the individual who rents directly from the owner. Normally these contracts are for a limited period of time. The apartments or rooms may be furnished or unfurnished.Landlords often receive many applications, so you should try and respond to listings quickly. And when doing so, make sure to introduce yourself properly and to try and show why you would be a suitable tenant.
Conclusion
Finding a rental apartment in Sweden can be a challenging process, but it’s not impossible. By following these tips and tricks, you can increase your chances of finding a great apartment that meets your needs and budget. Remember to start your search early, use online resources, be prepared to provide documentation, and be flexible. Good luck with your apartment search!