Move to a nursing home or senior housing

Move to a nursing home in eight steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Go through which housing form suits with the decision guide, together with the person who is moving.

2. 2

   Step 2: Apply for special housing with the social services in the municipality, or search for senior and security housing in the housing queue.

   § 8 kap. 4 § socialtjänstlag (2025:400), checked 5 October 2026

   § 11 chapter 1 § of the Social Services Act (2025:400), verified 5 October 2026

3. 3

   Step 3: If you as a relative are handling the matters: ask for a written power of attorney in time. our advice

4. 4

   Step 4: Look at the apartment when the offer comes and respond within the time. In Gothenburg, it is three days for care and nursing homes.

5. 5

   Step 5: Terminate the rental agreement in writing and ask the landlord for a shorter notice period. Attach a copy of the rental agreement for the accommodation.

   § 12 kap. 5 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026

   § 12 kap. 8 § jordabalken (1970:994), checked 3 October 2026

6. 6

   Step 6: Choose the furniture and things that matter most. The rest can be sold or donated, see the guide on how to sell, donate or dispose of furniture. our advice

7. 7

   Step 7: Make flyttanmälan (notification of change of address) to Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), and report the move to Pensionsmyndigheten (the Swedish Pensions Agency) within 14 days if there is a housing allowance.

   § 25 § folkbokföringslag (1991:481), checked 3 October 2026

   § 15 § of the People's Record Act (1991:481), verified 5 October 2026

8. 8

   Step 8: Empty and clean the old apartment and attend the move-out inspection. our advice

What distinguishes senior housing (55 plus), sheltered housing and nursing homes?

A nursing home is a special accommodation for the elderly who need care and special support. The municipality should establish such accommodations, and you will get a place after a needs assessment according to the Social Services Act (2025:400), which applies from 1 July 2025. In Gothenburg it is called a care and nursing home: you live in your own apartment with service and care around the clock.

Senior and security housing are ordinary apartments. In Gothenburg, you can apply for senior housing from 55 years, with good accessibility, low thresholds, and spacious bathrooms. Security housing can be applied for from 70 years, and there are common areas and a security manager. You take care of your own home and can get home help or security alarms as usual.

Source: Socialtjänstlag (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), Gothenburg City: About apartment in care and nursing home, Gothenburg City: Senior and security housing. 8 kap. 4 § and 11 kap. 1 § socialtjänstlagen.

How do you apply for elderly care in Gothenburg?

The person who wants to move applies themselves, using the e-service and e-identification, with a form or by calling a social worker within the elderly care in the area. After the application, you meet a social worker who investigates the need, and the decision comes by post or to the digital mailbox. If you have protected personal data, you should call instead of using the e-service.

With a decision, you get an offer of an apartment within three months. You can choose where to live, and if it's full, you'll be offered another apartment. You get to look at it before you answer, and the answer must come within three days. The one who lives in a short-term place with a decision must accept the first offer, otherwise they have to move home again. Gothenburg has about 60 care and nursing homes and about 3,000 apartments.

Source: Gothenburg City: Apply for care and nursing home, Gothenburg City: Waiting times and offers for care and nursing home, Gothenburg City: About the apartment in care and nursing home.

How does the decision on care and support work?

The person who wants to move, or a close relative, contacts the social services in the municipality. A care and support administrator can help with the application. Housing in special housing always requires an individual needs assessment, so the administrator investigates the need before the municipality decides. The right to measures applies to those who cannot meet their own needs and cannot have them met in any other way, and the measures should provide reasonable living conditions. The decision must be documented and comes in writing.

Source: 1177: Elderly care, Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se). 11 chap. 1 and 5 §§ Social Services Act (2025:400).

Can you appeal a rejection?

Yes. Decisions on measures under the Social Services Act, and decisions on fees, can be appealed to the Administrative Court. You send the appeal to the administration that made the decision, and it must have been received within three weeks from the day you received the decision.

Source: 1177: Elderly care, Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), Administrative Procedure Act (2017:900) (riksdagen.se). 35 chap. 1 § Social Services Act and 44 § Administrative Procedure Act.

What happens if the decision is not implemented?

If the municipality has granted special housing but not offered a place within three months of the decision, the municipality must report it to the Inspectorate for Health and Care (IVO). If the municipality does not provide the service within a reasonable time, the Administrative Court, after application by IVO, may decide that the municipality must pay a special fee to the state of between 15,000 and 1,500,000 kr. The fee goes to the state, not to the person waiting.

Source: IVO: Unimplemented decisions according to SoL and LSS, Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se). 34 chap. 1, 5 and 7 §§ Social Services Act.

What does special housing cost?

You pay rent for the apartment, food and a fee for care and nursing. The fee for care and nursing has a ceiling in the law, one-twelfth of 0.5392 price base amounts per month. With the price base amount for 2026, 59,200 kr, it becomes 2,660 kr per month, and this is also Gothenburg City's highest fee in 2026. After the fees, you should have a minimum amount left for personal needs, at least one-twelfth of 1.4789 price base amounts if you are single. For 2026, this becomes 7,296 kr per month (our calculation), and the rent is counted in addition to this. Gothenburg can include both housing costs in the fee while you still have the old accommodation.

Source: Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), SCB: Price base amount for the year 2026, Göteborgs Stad: Fees and costs for accommodation for the elderly. 32 chap. 6 and 8 §§ Social Services Act.

Can you choose your own accommodation?

It depends on the municipality. If the municipality has decided to introduce a freedom of choice system under the Act on Freedom of Choice Systems (LOV) for special housing, you can choose which accommodation you want to live in from among those approved by the municipality. Otherwise, you can express a wish, as in Gothenburg, but the municipality offers a place where there is one.

Source: Upphandlingsmyndigheten: LOV and LOU for care and nursing homes, Göteborgs Stad: Apply for care and nursing homes.

Are there private nursing homes?

Yes. In Gothenburg, almost all care and nursing homes are municipal, but there are also homes run by private operators or a foundation. The way in is the same as to a municipal home: it is a special housing, and you get a place after a needs assessment according to the Social Services Act. In Gothenburg, you can choose which home you want to live in, but if it is full, another apartment is offered. Senior housing for 55 plus, on the other hand, are ordinary apartments, and there are both rental apartments that you apply for in the housing queue and tenant-owned apartments that are sold on the open market.

Source: Gothenburg City: About apartments in care and nursing homes, Gothenburg City: Waiting times and offers of care and nursing homes, Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), Gothenburg City: Senior and sheltered housing.

How to apply for senior housing and sheltered housing in Gothenburg?

The apartments are rental apartments that you search for on Boplats or HomeQ, and you must be registered to search. Boplats has its own search filters for senior apartments and secure apartments. There are also tenant-owned apartments with a senior focus, and they are sold on the open market.

Source: Gothenburg City: Senior and secure housing, Boplats Gothenburg: Housing for seniors.

Can you move to a nursing home in another municipality?

Yes. The person who has a permanent need for extensive care and support, and therefore cannot move without assistance, can apply directly to the new municipality. The municipality should review the application as if you already lived there. Gothenburg City has its own e-service and form for those who live in another municipality.

Source: Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), Gothenburg City: Apply for care and nursing home. 29 chap. 7 and 8 §§ social services law.

Can spouses live together in a nursing home?

Yes. The person who receives special housing should be able to live with their spouse or cohabiting partner if you live together permanently, and this also applies if the partner does not need the housing themselves. In Gothenburg, it is called co-living and is available in some housing.

Source: Social Services Act (2025:400) (riksdagen.se), Gothenburg City: About apartment in care and nursing home. 11 chap. 3 § Social Services Act.

What notice period applies when moving to an elderly home?

Jordabalken has no special rule for moving to special accommodation. The tenant can always terminate the contract at the month change that comes earliest three months after the notice. The shorter time of one month only applies to an estate of a deceased person that terminates within a month from the death.

The landlord may agree to an earlier termination date. Familjebostäder and Poseidon in Gothenburg allow those moving to an elderly home to request a two-month notice period. Familjebostäder wants you to include a copy of the rental agreement for the elderly home and not change the time afterwards. Therefore, ask your landlord before sending the notice and attach the documents directly. How the notice period is calculated is stated in the guide to cancelling a rental apartment.

Source: Jordabalken, 12 chap. (riksdagen.se), Familjebostäder: Termination of contract, Poseidon: Move-out guide. 12 chap. 5 § first and second paragraphs and 8 § jordabalken.

Housing supplement when the rent becomes double

Pensionsmyndigheten only pays housing allowance for one home at a time. When moving to special housing, the allowance can be calculated on the previous home as long as the cost remains, up to six months, and the authority chooses the home that gives the highest allowance. The move must be reported within 14 days. The housing allowance is at most 7,290 kr per month (October 2026). More in the guide on housing benefit and housing allowance.

Source: Pensionsmyndigheten: Questions and answers about housing supplement, Pensionsmyndigheten: Facts about housing supplement.

Should you do flyttanmälan when moving to a nursing home?

Yes, flyttanmälan to Skatteverket is done within a week as with other moves. An exception applies when the home municipality has decided on a special accommodation in another municipality: then the residence is not changed due to the stay. If the person no longer has their old home, they are considered to be resident only in the home municipality.

Source: Population Registration Act (1991:481) (riksdagen.se). Sections 15 and 25 folkbokföringslagen (the Swedish Population Registration Act).

What to take to the nursing home

In Gothenburg's care and nursing homes, there is a bed with a mattress. The rest you bring yourself: furniture, pictures and things that mean a lot. The city's advice is not to over-furnish and to think about the fact that carpets can increase the risk of falling. The move-in usually takes place on a weekday morning.

What remains can be sold, donated or left for recycling. Removal companies that transport household goods are listed on the page about removal companies in Gothenburg, and what the move-out cleaning of the old apartment costs is stated in the step about move-out cleaning.

Source: Gothenburg City: Apply for care and nursing home

Template for termination when moving to special housing

Fill it in and download it as Word or PDF. All templates are under templates for the move.

The law behind it

The sections summarised, with a link to the legal text on riksdagen.se.