Definition - what is the difference between live-in tenancy and a second hand let?

Second hand renting means that a tenant rents out an entire living space (a whole apartment) to a second hand tenant. This means that the second hand tenant has exclusive and independent right to use the space. To have a live-in tenant is therefore not to be confused with second hand renting.

It can sometimes be difficult to draw a line between live-in tenant and second hand tenant. This is particularly true when the first hand tenant lives somewhere else and someone else is living in the apartment but the first hand tenant insists that this is still a live-in tenant. In such cases it is up to the first hand tenant to prove that he/she has not relinquished control of the apartment. It is not enough to e.g. lock one of the rooms so that the live-in tenant does not have access while the first hand tenant is rarely present in the apartment. Renting includes, in this case, even free renting.

No approval required

If you want to rent out a room, you do not need to get any permission from your landlord or condominium association. 

If you have a first hand-contract you are allowed to have live-in tenants even if it says on your contract that you are not allowed to have any. You do not have to ask for advice from the landlord from this. 

However, your tenant cannot become a burden to your landlord by misusing the living space or for any other reason (e.g. if you have a one room apartment and you share it with 3 other people the wear and tear will be significantly increased and that is a burden to your landlord). You are responsible for every person in your apartment, guests or tenants. They are not allowed to disturb your neighbors or behave inappropriately.

What laws apply?

If you have a rental contract and want to rent out a room to more than one person, you can and Hyreslagen applies for all the agreements you make. 

If you have a condominium or own your house and want to rent out a room to more than one person, Lagen om uthyrning av egen bostad applies for the first agreement that you make. For the second agreement, Hyreslagen applies. If you rent out to three people or more this would be considered business activity and thus Hyreslagen applies for all agreements that you make. 

Reasonable rent

When renting out a room the rent should be reasonable. A good benchmark when calculating the rent is that the tenant should pay an amount corresponding to the space that his/her room represents of the total area. To this, you can add the shared costs for e.g. electricity and internet. If the tenant has access to, e.g. his/her private bathroom, or a private entrance, you can add a sum to the rent. 

If the accommodation is in a condominium, the tenant should pay a cost-based rent (kostnadsbaserad hyra). If you as the landlord have more than one tenant, the second tenant should pay a rent based on use value (bruksvärdeshyra).    

Write a contract

It is important that you sign a written contract with your second hand tenant. You can find contract templates at our webpage. Keep in mind that there are legal regulations that over cede contract law in favor of the second-hand tenant. 

Deposit

It is common for landlords to ask for a deposit from the tenant as a safety measure. Normally this deposit is to make sure keys are returned, the state of the room and cleaning is done before the tenant moves out. It is important that you clearly state in the contract what the deposit regards so that the tenant knows what he/she has to fulfill in order to get the deposit back. Normally the deposit consists of one or two months’ rent. 

Insurance

We always recommend that the tenant gets his or her own home insurance. If the tenant is an international student, ask him or her to check what his/her insurance from home covers and also what the general insurance from the university covers.