Excessive rent — What to do if the rent is too high?
If you are paying more in sublet rent than what is considered fair, you may be entitled to have the rent lowered — and often to get back what you overpaid. For a rental apartment, repayment can reach up to 2 years back. Since 1 July 2026, excess rent can also be repaid with interest for a co-op apartment or house let under the Private Letting Act, as a rule from the day you apply. Here we explain the rules.
What is excessive rent?
Excessive rent occurs when the subtenant pays more in rent than what is deemed fair. Which rules apply depends on which act governs the letting: the Tenancy Act (Chapter 12 of the Land Code) where the person letting the home holds it under a tenancy of their own, and the Private Letting Act (2026:772) where the person letting the home owns it. The Private Letting Act does not apply, however, if the landlord regularly lets more than two homes or lets for holiday purposes — the Tenancy Act then applies even to a co-op apartment or house (Chapter 1, § 3).
For a rental apartment, fair rent is not the same as market rent: high demand gives no right to charge more than the first-hand rent plus permitted surcharges. For a co-op apartment or house let under the Private Letting Act, however, the comparison is precisely what similar homes generally let for, and the rent is lowered only if it is substantially higher (Chapter 2, § 5).
How do you know if you are paying excessive rent?
Use our calculator to determine what is considered fair rent for the property you are renting. If the rent you pay exceeds the calculated amount, it may be excessive rent. For a co-op apartment or house, however, the cost-based calculation is only a starting point: since 1 July 2026 the Rent Tribunal asks first whether the rent is substantially higher than what is generally charged for comparable private lettings. That requires both a comparison with other lettings and a difference that is substantial — not merely a rent above the calculated figure.
Keep in mind that the calculator provides an estimate. The Rent Tribunal always makes an individual assessment where factors such as the property's location, standard, condition and equipment play a role.
What to do if you suspect excessive rent
1. Document everything
Save rental contracts, receipts and proof of payments. Also document the property's condition and equipment.
2. Contact the landlord
First try talking to your landlord. Show a calculation of fair rent if possible. Often the issue can be resolved through dialogue. If you rent a co-op apartment or house on an agreement entered into before 1 July 2026 under the repealed Act (2012:978), send your request for a lower rent to the landlord in writing — under that act you may only apply to the Rent Tribunal after doing so (§ 4).
3. Apply to the Rent Tribunal
If dialogue does not help, you can apply for a review at the Rent Tribunal. It is free of charge and you usually do not need a legal representative.
- Determine fair rent for the future
- Decide on repayment of excess rent
- Lower the rent (for all housing types)
Important: apply in time
If you have already moved out of a rental apartment, your application must reach the Rent Tribunal no later than 3 months after you moved out, or the Tribunal cannot consider the repayment claim at all (12 kap. 55 f § fjärde stycket jordabalken). If you still live there, there is no such deadline, but repayment still reaches only 2 years back from the date of application — every month you wait, the oldest month drops out of the window. If you rent a co-op apartment or a house from its owner, the Private Letting Act usually applies, and then you cannot apply once the agreement has ended — do not wait until you move out. If the owner regularly lets more than two homes, or the owner is a company, the Tenancy Act applies instead (Chapter 1, § 3 and Chapter 1, § 1 of the Private Letting Act), and for a co-op apartment or a room the same 3-month deadline as for a rental apartment then applies. Agreements entered into under the repealed Act (2012:978) have no repayment rule — the rent there can be lowered from the date of application at the earliest, so apply while the agreement is running. Holiday lettings fall outside the rental-apartment repayment rule altogether (12 kap. 55 f § första stycket jordabalken).
How to compare with similar lettings
Since 1 July 2026, the Rent Tribunal asks whether the rent is substantially higher than what is generally charged when similar homes — or homes in comparable demand — are let privately (2 kap. 5 § privatuthyrningslagen). The preparatory works set no exact limit, but offer as a benchmark that a rent more than ten per cent above the general level can normally be regarded as substantially higher (prop. 2025/26:187 p. 138). That assessment rests on evidence about other lettings, which neither this calculator nor any other open source holds in collected form. So the comparison is yours to make. Here is how to go about it:
- Find current listings for homes like yours in location, size, standard and condition. Blocket Bostad, Qasa and Samtrygg are the most common places to look.
- Save the listings with the date, as a screenshot or printout. Rent levels move, and a listing that has since disappeared is hard to rely on later.
- Compare furnished with furnished. A furnished letting normally sits higher, and a comparison that mixes the two says very little.
- Remember that a listing shows what someone is asking, not what was actually agreed. Several listings pointing the same way carry more weight than one.
- Note what differs between the homes: balcony, lift, a newly renovated kitchen, parking, distance to public transport. These are the kinds of factors the Tribunal weighs.
The calculator cannot tell you whether your rent is substantially higher than comparable lettings. It works out what the home costs to own and run, which since the reform is a different question from the one the Tribunal asks — treat the figure as a starting point and the comparison as what actually decides it. As the applicant it is for you to show what similar homes let for, and it is the Rent Tribunal that makes the assessment. It is always individual, and we cannot predict the outcome.
Repayment and rent reduction
The rules for what you can claim differ depending on the housing type:
For rental apartments
If you have paid excessive rent for a rental apartment, the Rent Tribunal can order the landlord to repay you, plus interest, for up to 2 years (24 months) counted back from the day your application reached the Tribunal (12 kap. 55 f § andra stycket jordabalken). The Tribunal can also decide to lower the rent for the future.
For co-op apartments and houses
Since 1 July 2026, the Rent Tribunal can also order excess rent to be repaid, with interest, for a co-op apartment or house let under the Private Letting Act — the amount is determined by the Tribunal (Chapter 2, § 6). Previously the rent for these housing types could at the earliest be lowered from the date of application, with no repayment rule. Two differences from rental apartments are easy to miss: there is no two-year limit on how far back the Tribunal may go, but as a rule the new rent applies from the date of application and the preparatory works say any long retroactivity is not normally in point — and you cannot apply at all once the agreement has ended. The change has to be requested while the agreement is still running.
Legal reform from 1 July 2026
Parliament adopted Proposition 2025/26:187 "A more flexible rental market" on 20 May 2026; it is in force from 1 July 2026. Since that date, for co-op apartments and houses the Rent Tribunal can also lower the rent for a past period and order the landlord to repay the excess rent charged, plus interest. The rent-setting rules have also changed: parties are given more freedom to agree on the rent level, but the Rent Tribunal can still reduce a rent that is substantially higher than the rent for comparable private rentals. The old Act (2012:978) on renting out your own home was repealed at the same time and replaced by a new Private Letting Act (2026:772), which governs agreements entered into from 1 July 2026 — older agreements still follow the 2012 act. The new act covers natural persons and estates, but does not apply if the landlord regularly lets more than two homes, holds the home under a tenancy, or lets it for holiday purposes (Chapter 1, § 3). Previously the law applied only to the first home let out. The notice period is now three months for both parties (Chapter 6, §§ 1–2); previously the tenant had one month.
Penalties for excessive rent
Since 1 October 2019, subletting a rental apartment without permission while also charging rent that is not fair is a criminal offence. The penalty is a fine or imprisonment for up to two years; minor cases are not punished (Chapter 12, § 65 c of the Swedish Land Code, jordabalken).
Prevent problems
If you are subletting, the calculator gives a guiding starting point. For a rental apartment it works out the ceiling under Chapter 12, § 55 of the Land Code from your figures; for a co-op apartment or house you also need to compare with what similar homes let for.