There will be no uncontrolled expansion of professional rentals via Airbnb in Sweden, according to a report from the Swedish Tenants' Association.
Our Swedish housing regulations are an obstacle to the explosion of professional landlords in Europe.
Elsewhere in Europe, Airbnb is growing explosively, and in several places, such as Barcelona, Berlin and Paris, residents and politicians experience that the rental market is being destroyed by the hotelification of housing stock, and that rents and housing prices are being driven up.
But that's probably not the case here, according to Martin Hofverberg, financial manager at the Swedish Tenants' Association. He has investigated how Airbnb has affected the rental market, and also compared it to the situation in several European tourist cities.
”"In Sweden, the forms of housing lease do not allow you to have access to multiple apartments, and this means that there cannot be the professionalization of rentals as in other countries," he explains.
In European countries, the dominant form of lease is owner-occupied apartments, where the owner is allowed to do whatever he or she wants with their apartment. But this has only been available to a small extent here since 2009, and then only applies to new construction. The dominant forms of lease in Sweden are rental apartments and condominiums, and with that, it is possible to rent out to the extent seen in Europe.
”"Anyone who lives in a rental property may not rent out, nor may they have multiple rental properties."”
In most cases, the purpose of the lease in tenant-owned associations is for people to live in their apartment. This means that there are opportunities for associations to stop professional letting.
”"But it is regulated in the statutes, and it is not a hard legal rule. There are some associations that allow rentals," he says.
It also appears that most associations seem to be against large-scale rental of apartments. The property owners have asked a sample of their members, and 66 percent are very negative about short-term rentals.
”"It's about everything from door codes and keys that are in the air to making it unsafe for those who live there, with people running up stairs and parties that are difficult to stop," says Johan Flodin at Fastighetsägarna.
The vast majority of associations seem to want to prevent short-term rentals, notes Johan Flodin.
As a result, Airbnb will not be able to expand in the same way as in, for example, Berlin or Barcelona, believes Martin Hofverberg, and Johan Flodin is on the same line.
”"As long as we don't have owner-occupied apartments here, there will only be rentals on a small scale, such as when people are away during the holidays," says Martin Hofverberg.
Source: TT
