Many of the residential buildings that were built during the 1960s and 1970s are today in need of extensive restoration measures.[1] Among the buildings that constitute of rented apartments, the necessary restoration measures have sometimes led to a rent increase greater than 50 %.[2]Due to that, the tenant’s position when the landlord intends to take restoration measures in the apartment, is a very topical subject. The issue has been acknowledged in the Tenant committee’s report SOU 2017:33 Strengthened position for tenants, in which certain amendments of law are proposed in order to strengthen the tenant’s position in these cases.

This thesis has two main aims. The first aim is to analyze the tenant’s position in cases where the landlord intends to take restoration measures in the apartment, to which the tenant opposes. Therefore, it is analyzed which measures the landlord, according to chapter 12 section 18 d of the Land Code [Swe. jordabalken (1970:994)], need the approval of the tenant or permission from the rent tribunal in order to take. Thereafter it is analyzed under what circumstances the landlord is granted such permission, according to chapter 12 section 18 f of the Land Code, as well as which one of the parties that generally succeeds in the permission process, when the decision has been appealed to the Svea court of appeals. 

The second aim is to review a few of the amendments proposed in SOU 2017:33, more particularly what incentives they give to the landlord and to the tenant. Furthermore, it is analyzed how a few of the proposed amendments relate to the precedent established principle that the landlord makes the technical and the financial judgements, as well as to the fact that interests related to specific tenants, according to chapter 12 section 18 f of the Land Code, should be considered in the permission process only in exceptional cases.  

The thesis has resulted in the overall conclusions that the tenant’s standing in these situations seems to be quite weak, and that the analyzed amendments can give rise to contradiction in relation to some of the current rules in the area. Although, the potential contradictions depend on how the proposed amendments are supposed to be applied in practice. 

[1]Björkdahl, Hyra arrende bostadsrätt, p. 111.

[2]Ibid.