Which law applies to your lodger? Answer step by step
The answer decides what you tick under point 3 of the contract.
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Question 1: Do you have the home as a rental apartment?
Yes: Then 12 kap. jordabalken applies. A lodger in your own home has no security of tenure, and there must not be more of you than the landlord can reasonably be expected to accept.
No: Move on. Go to step 2.
12 kap. 41 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
12 kap. 45 § first paragraph 3 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 5 October 2026
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Question 2: Do you own the home as a private individual, for example a tenant-owned apartment or a house?
Yes: Continue. Go to step 3.
No: If you rent from a private individual yourself, you may not have lodgers to an extent that the person you rent from cannot reasonably be expected to accept. Ask the person you rent from first.
5 kap. 3 § Private Letting Act (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
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Question 3: Do you regularly let more than two apartments outside your own home?
Yes: Then the Private Letting Act does not apply, but 12 kap. jordabalken does.
No: Then the Private Letting Act applies to agreements from 1 July 2026: a written agreement if either of you asks for one, and three months' notice to the end of a month. Agreements from before 1 July 2026 follow the older Act (2012:978).
1 kap. 1 och 3 §§ privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
1 kap. 5 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
6 kap. 1 och 2 §§ privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 3 October 2026
transitional provisions privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The answer
Taking in a lodger in seven steps
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Step 1: Use the decision guide to find out which law applies.
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Step 2: If you have a rental apartment: check that there will not be more of you than the landlord can reasonably be expected to accept.
12 kap. 41 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
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Step 3: Agree on the rent, what is included and access to the kitchen and bathroom. our advice
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Step 4: Fill in the lodger contract and sign it in two copies.
1 kap. 5 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
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Step 5: The lodger makes a flyttanmälan (notification of change of address) to your address and puts their name on the door.
25 § folkbokföringslag (1991:481), checked 3 October 2026
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Step 6: The lodger arranges home insurance, or you share one if the insurer allows it.
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Step 7: If you let the room, you report the rent in your tax return if it is larger than the deductions.
Which law applies to my lodger?
If you have the home as a rental apartment, 12 kap. jordabalken applies. If you own the home as a private individual, for example a tenant-owned apartment or a house, the Private Letting Act (2026:772) applies to agreements made from 1 July 2026. That law does not apply if you yourself have the home as a rental apartment, if you regularly let more than two apartments outside your own home, or if the letting is for leisure purposes.
An agreement made before 1 July 2026 still follows the older Act (2012:978) on letting your own home.
Source: Private Letting Act (2026:772) (riksdagen.se), Sveriges Domstolar: Letting your own home, the Private Letting Act. 1 kap. 1 and 3 §§ and the transitional provisions.
Do I need the landlord's permission?
If you have a rental apartment, you can take in a lodger without asking, as long as there will not be more of you than the landlord can reasonably be expected to accept. The number of residents, how long the lodger will live there and the risk of disturbance are taken into account. If you rent from a private individual under the Private Letting Act, the same principle applies, and if the home is part of the landlord's own home, the landlord's consent is required.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se), Private Letting Act (2026:772) (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 41 § jordabalken, 5 kap. 3 § of the Private Letting Act.
What notice period does a lodger have?
Under jordabalken, an agreement with no end date is terminated to the end of the month nearest after three months. Under the Private Letting Act, an agreement that runs until further notice is terminated to the end of a month at least three months after the notice, and that applies to both you and the lodger. A fixed-term agreement can always be terminated by the lodger in the same way. The notice must be in writing.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se), Private Letting Act (2026:772) (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 4 § jordabalken, 6 kap. 1, 2 and 7 §§ of the Private Letting Act.
Does a lodger have security of tenure?
Not when the room is part of your own home and you have a rental apartment: the right to an extension in jordabalken then does not apply. The Private Letting Act gives no right to an extension at all, and the agreement ends when it has been terminated or the term has run out.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se), Private Letting Act (2026:772) (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 45 § first paragraph 3 jordabalken, 6 kap. 1 and 2 §§ of the Private Letting Act.
How much rent can I charge?
If you have a rental apartment, the hyresnämnden does not review the rent when the room is part of your own home. If the Private Letting Act applies, you agree on a fixed amount, and the lodger can apply to the hyresnämnden if the rent is significantly higher than for similar homes let under the same law. We do not state any amounts.
Source: Jordabalken, 12 kap. (riksdagen.se), Private Letting Act (2026:772) (riksdagen.se). 12 kap. 53 § jordabalken, 2 kap. 1 and 5 §§ of the Private Letting Act.
Does the lodger have to be registered at my address?
Yes. The lodger must be registered where they live and must not put c/o in the flyttanmälan. The name must be on the door. More about this in the guide on population registration and c/o.
Source: Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency): Registered at the right address, Skatteverket: Special postal address.
Tax on the rent
If you let out a home, you can usually claim a standard deduction of 40,000 kronor. The deduction applies per home, not per person. If there is a surplus, you report it in your tax return. Read Skatteverket's page on letting out a private home.
Source: Skatteverket: Letting out a private home.
Insurance for the lodger
Some insurance companies allow a lodger to share home insurance with the landlord. Otherwise, the lodger needs their own. What it covers and how you compare is stated in the guide to home insurance.
Source: Konsumenternas: Things to think about before you move out of your parents' home.
Rental contract for a whole home
If you let the whole home, it is subletting, not a lodger. The templates for that, the sublet contract for a rental apartment and the letting agreement for a tenant-owned apartment, are in the guides on subletting and letting a tenant-owned apartment, and gathered among the templates for letting.
Lodger contract template
Fill it in and download it as Word or PDF. All templates are under templates for the move.
Document: Lodger contract To: The landlord and the lodger (two copies)
The template is in Swedish because it goes to a Swedish recipient.
- Point 3: if you have a rental apartment, 12 kap. jordabalken applies. If you own the home as a private individual, the Private Letting Act applies, which does not apply when the person letting has a rental apartment (1 kap. 3 § of the Private Letting Act).
- Point 5: three months to the end of a month under 12 kap. 4 § jordabalken and 6 kap. 2 § of the Private Letting Act. Terms that are worse for the tenant than the Private Letting Act do not apply (1 kap. 4 §).
- Point 6: rent paid in advance before each calendar month, no later than the last weekday, follows 2 kap. 2 § of the Private Letting Act unless otherwise agreed. If you have a rental apartment, write the payment day you agree on.
- Point 8: lodgers must be registered where they live and must not put c/o in the flyttanmälan (Skatteverket).
- Sign in two copies and keep one each. Under the Private Letting Act the agreement must be in writing if either of you asks for it (1 kap. 5 §).
Common questions
Does a contract with a lodger have to be in writing?
Under the Private Letting Act the agreement must be in writing if either of you asks for it (1 kap. 5 §). The template makes it easy either way.
Can the lodger use c/o at my address?
No. According to Skatteverket, the lodger must be registered where they live, must not put c/o in the flyttanmälan and must have their name on the door.
Can I give my lodger notice?
Yes. An agreement with no end date is terminated to the end of a month at least three months after the notice, under both jordabalken and the Private Letting Act. The notice must be in writing.
The law behind it
The sections summarised, with a link to the legal text on riksdagen.se.
12 kap. 4 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
A tenancy agreement of indefinite duration for a residential apartment can, unless a longer notice period has been agreed, be terminated for the end of the month that falls nearest after three months from the notice.
12 kap. 41 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026
The tenant may not accommodate outsiders to an extent that the landlord cannot reasonably be expected to accept; the number of people, the time, living conditions and the risk of disturbances are taken into account.
12 kap. 45 § first paragraph 3 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 5 October 2026
The right to an extension (security of tenure) does not apply when the apartment is part of the lessor's own home.
12 kap. 53 § 2 jordabalken (1970:994), checked 5 October 2026
The rules on review of the rent in 54 to 55 e §§ do not apply when the apartment is part of the lessor's own home.
1 kap. 1 och 3 §§ privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The law applies when an individual or an estate of a deceased person lets out a house or part of a house as a home. It does not apply if the landlord holds the apartment as a rental apartment, regularly lets out more than two apartments apart from their own home, or if the letting is for leisure purposes. In force from 1 July 2026.
1 kap. 4 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
Contract terms that are to the tenant's disadvantage compared with the law have no effect against the tenant, unless the law says otherwise.
1 kap. 5 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The tenancy agreement must be drawn up in writing if the landlord or the tenant asks for it.
2 kap. 1 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The landlord and the tenant must agree on the rent, and it must be set as a fixed amount. Heating, cooling, hot water, electricity and water and sewage may be paid according to consumption. If you have not agreed on the rent, or the agreement conflicts with this, a reasonable amount is paid.
2 kap. 5 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The tenant can apply to hyresnämnden for a change of rent. If the rent is substantially higher than what is generally charged for similar apartments let under the law, hyresnämnden reduces it to a reasonable amount.
5 kap. 3 § Private Letting Act (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The tenant may not have lodgers to an extent that the landlord cannot reasonably be expected to accept. If the apartment is part of the landlord's own home, the landlord's consent is required.
6 kap. 1 och 2 §§ privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 3 October 2026
When a private individual lets, the tenant may always give notice on a fixed-term agreement, and an agreement that runs until further notice can be terminated, for the end of a month at least three months from the notice. The law applies from 1 July 2026; older agreements follow lagen (2012:978) om uthyrning av egen bostad.
6 kap. 7 § privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 3 October 2026
Notice must be in writing, but the tenant may give notice orally if the landlord gives a written acknowledgement. Notice has been given when the recipient has received it.
transitional provisions privatuthyrningslag (2026:772), checked 5 October 2026
The law entered into force on 1 July 2026 and repealed lagen (2012:978) om uthyrning av egen bostad. The repealed law still applies to agreements made under it.