Living in Sweden: the queue, the second-hand market and the rules

As a newcomer in Sweden you almost always start by subletting, because in a city like Stockholm you wait years for an ordinary rental contract.

Ask a Swede about the housing market of the capital and you get a sigh. The figures of the Stockholm housing agency explain why:

• on 31 December 2025 894,592 people were registered;
• the average waiting time for an ordinary rental contract was 9.0 years;
• in that whole year 20,861 homes were allocated.

This is not a shortage as the Netherlands knows it. It is a different system, and anyone who doesn't know it pays for that.

Why there is a queue

Swedish rents are not free. They are negotiated collectively under the bruksvärde system: the rent depends on the utility value of the home. First-hand contracts (förstahand), directly with the landlord, are allocated in the cities through a queue, the bostadskö. Your position is simply your registration time.

The Stockholm bostadskö	Rule
Who may register	anyone from 18 with a Swedish personnummer or samordningsnummer; younger only with a child or pregnancy
When the queue time starts	on the day of registration; missing details must be completed within three weeks, otherwise the later date counts
Köavgift	annual, for twelve months; the amount is set by Stockholm's city council — 200 kronor a year
What the queue time does when you get a home	it is reset to zero once the landlord reports the permanent contract
Transferable	no, the queue time is personal

For a newcomer that means: the queue is for later, not for now. But do register as soon as your personnummer is there, because every month counts. And anyone who misses the annual fee loses their entire accumulated queue time.

The second-hand market: where you will actually live

Almost every newcomer starts with andrahand: subletting from someone who has a contract (or a bostadsrätt, a flat bought into an association) themselves. That is entirely legal, on one condition that carries everything and that is in the tenancy law.

A tenant may not let their home to someone else for independent use without the landlord's consent (chapter 12, section 39), unless the rent tribunal, the hyresnämnden, gives permission (section 40). Ask for that proof in writing. Without consent the main tenant's tenancy is forfeited and the landlord may terminate the contract early (section 42). Then you are left without a home and without recourse.

Two further rules protect you, and they are firmer than many newcomers think.

What	What the tenancy law says	Penalty
Asking money for a rental contract or its transfer (section 65)	forbidden	imprisonment up to two years; in a gross case six months to four years
Paying money for a rental contract (section 65 b)	the buyer is liable too	a fine or imprisonment up to two years
Subletting without consent and at an unreasonable rent (section 65 c)	an offence since 2019	a fine or imprisonment up to two years
Charging a home-seeker a finder's fee (section 65 a)	forbidden, except for licensed agents at fixed rates	imprisonment up to two years

Paying "key money" is thus not only foolish but illegal, for you too. And excessive sublet rent can be reclaimed: the rent tribunal can order the excess repaid. A deposit of one to two months is customary but not regulated by law. So put it in writing, with the inventory report.

Ask for the paper before you look at the home. An andrahand landlord who cannot show the consent of their landlord or the hyresnämnden is offering you a contract that can lapse at any moment. Anyone waiting for a home is inclined to take the risk — and then pays twice: the move, and the search all over again.