When do you have two rental contracts at the same time?
For example during the notice period. You terminate the old apartment when you have got the new one, and the two agreements run in parallel until the old one expires. As a tenant, you can always terminate a rental agreement for a home to the month change that comes earliest after three months, even if the agreement says a longer time. If you terminate on 8 September, the agreement applies until 31 December, according to the Tenant Association's example. During this time, you pay rent for both.
There are ways out earlier, for example an agreement with the landlord. They are in the post about how you can avoid double rent, and the calculator for the end date is in the guide on notice period for rental apartment.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 chapter (riksdagen.se), Hyresgästföreningen (the Swedish Union of Tenants): How does the notice period work on rental contracts?. 12 chapter 4 and 5 §§ jordabalken.
Where should you be registered with two rental contracts?
At one address. You cannot be registered at two. According to folkbokföringslagen (the Swedish Population Registration Act), you are resident where you regularly sleep, which means at least once a week, and if you regularly sleep in several places, the residence where you have your actual home applies. Skatteverket calls it double residence when you live at least one-seventh of the time in each of the residences. Then Skatteverket weighs in whether the family lives in any of them, how much you sleep in the different residences, and what type of residences they are.
If you live in the other home for a predetermined period of up to one year, your residence does not change. Being registered at an address where you do not live can be a registration offence according to Hyresgästföreningen. The rules in detail are in the guide on where you should be registered.
Source: Skatteverket: Live at multiple addresses, Skatteverket: Registered at the correct address, Hyresgästföreningen: How do I change my population registration address?, Population Registration Act (1991:481) (riksdagen.se). 7 and 8 §§ folkbokföringslagen.
Can the landlord terminate the rental apartment you don't live in?
Yes, under certain conditions. The starting point is that you have protection against termination: if the landlord terminates the contract, you have the right to extension, and it is the landlord who must show why the protection should be broken. The grounds are stated in 12 kap. 46 §, first paragraph jordabalken. The last point is a general clause stating that you do not have the right to extension if it neither violates good practice in rental relationships nor is unreasonable to you that the rental relationship ends.
The Swedish Courts state that this point can be used when the tenant has a small need for the accommodation or only uses it occasionally. Hyresnämnden (the Regional Rent Tribunal) then weighs the landlord's and your interest against each other, and the landlord's reasons must be objective. A short overlap during the notice period is something other than having a flat you do not live in. That is our assessment. If you are terminated, contact Hyresgästföreningen or a lawyer before you respond.
Source: Swedish Courts: Grounds for termination of lease, Hyresgästföreningen: How does the notice period on rental contracts work?, Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 46 § first paragraph 10 jordabalken. Our advice is to get in touch.
Can you rent out one of the apartments as a sublet?
Only with the landlord's consent or the Hyresnämnden's permission. If you do not use the apartment to a significant extent, each subletting is considered as independent use, i.e. as subletting. Hyresnämnden gives permission if you have significant reasons, for example temporary work or studies in another location, and the permission applies for a certain period.
If you sublet without permission or consent and cannot show a valid excuse, the rental apartment is forfeited according to 12 kap. 42 § 3. The landlord must then terminate the contract within six months of finding out. How the application and rent work is described in the guide to subletting your rental apartment.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se), Hyresgästföreningen: Renting out in the second hand, Sveriges Domstolar: Grounds for termination of tenure. 12 kap. 39, 40, 42 and 43 §§ jordabalken.
What applies if one of the contracts is a subletting contract?
Then the protection is weaker. If you rent a tenant-owned apartment, villa or other private home in the second hand, you have no protection of tenure, and as a lodger you never have it. If you rent a rental apartment in the second hand, the protection of tenure does not apply if the lease expires before it has lasted for two years in a row. A temporary first-hand contract, for example in a house that is to be demolished or renovated, may also lack protection of tenure. It must then have been agreed upon in a separate document, which usually must be approved by hyresnämnden. Therefore, read both agreements before you cancel any of them. The latter is our advice.
Source: Hyresgästföreningen: Possession right, Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 45 § jordabalken.
Template: apply to sublet
Fill in the template, download it as Word or PDF and send it to the landlord with a certificate of the reasons. Save the response. Enter the dates in Your moving plan.
Letter: Application for subletting to the landlord To: The landlord
The template is in Swedish because it goes to a Swedish recipient.
- You need the landlord's consent to sublet the apartment for independent use (12 kap. 39 § jordabalken).
- The rent may be at most your own rent, plus at most 15 per cent for furniture and what electricity, broadband or parking costs you (12 kap. 55 § jordabalken).
- Attach documentation of your reasons. Bostadsbolaget and Familjebostäder in Gothenburg accept applications digitally or on a form.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 chap. (riksdagen.se), Hyresgästföreningen: Renting out in the second hand. 12 chap. 39 and 40 §§ jordabalken.
Common questions
Can you have two primary contracts at the same time?
Jordabalken does not prohibit it. But you can only be registered in one address, and if you only use one of the apartments occasionally, the landlord can terminate the contract and have it tried in hyresnämnden.
Do I have to pay rent for both apartments during the termination period?
Yes. The old agreement applies until the notice period has expired, normally until the end of the month closest after three months, and the new one from the date of entry. Rent must be paid for both until the old one expires.
Can I keep my apartment if I work in another place for a while?
Yes, and you can rent it out in the second hand during that time with the landlord's consent. Temporary work or studies in another location are reasons that hyresnämnden can grant permission for if the landlord says no.
Where should I be registered if I live in two apartments?
Where you have your actual residence. Skatteverket takes into account, among other things, where your family lives, how much you sleep in the homes and what kind of homes they are.
The law behind it
12 kap. 5 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
If the tenancy agreement concerns a residential apartment, the tenant may always terminate the agreement to end at the end of a month that falls at least three months after notice is given.
12 kap. 39 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
The tenant may not sublet the apartment for independent use without the landlord's consent. If the tenant does not use the home to a noteworthy extent, each letting counts as independent use.
12 kap. 40 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
Hyresnämnden grants permission for subletting if the tenant has noteworthy reasons (family circumstances, age, illness, temporary work or studies in another place, a longer stay abroad or comparable), the landlord has no justified ground for refusing, and the rent does not exceed a reasonable rent under section 55 fourth paragraph. The permission must be limited to a set period and can come with conditions.
12 kap. 42 § första stycket 3, 5 och 6 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
The tenancy is forfeited if the tenant sublets the home without consent or permission and has no valid excuse (3), gives, receives or requests special compensation for a transfer or letting (5), or receives rent that is not reasonable under 55 § fourth paragraph without a valid excuse (6).
12 kap. 45 § första stycket 1 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
Security of tenure (sections 46-52) does not apply to subletting for independent use that ends before it has lasted longer than two years in a row.
12 kap. 46 § first paragraph 10 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 5 October 2026
If the landlord has terminated the contract, the tenant has the right to extension, unless it otherwise does not conflict with good practice in rental matters or for any other reason is unreasonable to the tenant that the rental relationship ends.
7 § folkbokföringslag (1991:481), checked 5 October 2026
You are considered resident where you regularly spend your daily rest, which means at least once a week under normal living conditions. If you live on several properties, the one where you have your actual domicile applies.
8 § of the People's Record Act (1991:481), verified 5 October 2026
If a person regularly spends their night's rest on a property other than the one where they have their actual home, for a predetermined period of up to one year, this is not considered to lead to a change of residence.