ACCOMMODATION

ON THIS PAGE

  TOURIST OR SHORT TERM
  FINDING A HOUSE OR APARTMENT
  OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES

  CHANGING APARTMENTS

  RELOCATION SERVICES

          TOURIST OR SHORT TERM

For lists of hotels, you can see the page on Swanning Around Sweden Most of the tourist sites listed there have hotel accommodation. If anyone knows of a particularly good place please let me know. I've never stayed in a hotel here, so I can’t comment.

Hotel Listings I’d try the very aptly named Hotels in Sweden page. This site gives links to many hotels in Sweden There are a wide range of listings including manor-houses and archipelago hotels, big city and small town hotels.  (E) The HotellSverige page contains a hotel guide with over 2400 hotels and their contact details (click on the British flag for the English version).

Ice Hotel One different experience is The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi (Norrland) which is a truly unique place and well worth a visit in summer or winter.

The links below are to B&B places, hostels, camping and YMCA.

The Y Kfuk-Kfum has information about YMCA and YWCA in Sweden (E)

Youth Hostels Sveriges Vandrahem links to all Swedish youth hostels (E)

Camping and Cabins The site at Campingplatser has a guide to camping and cabin (stuga) accommodation (E)

Stockholm B&B This page links to bed & breakfast accommodation in Stockholm (E)

Göteborg B&B This place has some places in Göteborg and links to other parts of Sweden (E)

 

          FINDING A HOUSE OR APARTMENT

This is based on others experiences in Stockholm. I chose to live outside of Stockholm, but still within commuting distance. In Nynäshamn, I like the quality of life in a smaller community. I also purchased my home outright, so I didn’t have to deal with the usual hassles with landlords, waiting lists etc.

Note: If you want to live in central Stockholm, and you’re not in the Sultan of Brunei income bracket, then it is pretty much apartment living.

I’m not trying to sound too negative but it is extremely difficult to find an apartment in Stockholm. There is an interesting article about the housing problems in Sweden here. I would say your best options are to either buy (very expensive!) or sublet (be prepared to pay outrageous rents). People report huge frustrations and bureaucracy when it comes to finding a place to live anywhere in Sweden. There is a real housing shortage here and note that even in suburbs further out, or small towns ”out in the sticks”, rent is not that much cheaper. It’s the pressure of the market. Before you look further, you may like to take a look at one man’s experiences and tips on Renting an apartment in Sweden.

Here though are a few tips for your search.

Before you start....
(1) Decide where you don’t want to live! (Next door to the nuclear power station may not provide the best living environment for example)
(2) Now concentrate on “suitable” areas for your needs. And start hassling the agents in that area. Where you want to live will depend on work, schooling etc.
(3) Consider the transport options, too, remembering that the lovely 20 minute stroll to the T-bana may be beautiful in May, but hell in February.
(4) How much can you afford? It’s pretty expensive to rent here in Sweden. A water view will double that rent. A really, really basic starting rent for something around 70sq metres (say 3 rooms + kitchen) would be at least 6,000kr. Then depending on things like location, services etc the price goes up from there.
(5) Would be willing to take anything?

(6) Do you need a first hand contract or would a second hand do for now?

(7) Are you entitled to any housing benefit, if so how much? Check with Försäkringskassan

Grapevine approach
Ask around. You'd be surprised how many people hang on to their first apartment after they've moved in with a new girlfriend/boyfriend. That new sambo relationship can quickly become särbo, however, and you may not get the contract renewed. But it seems that everyone knows someone who's got a friend who might be......... At least it’s worth a try.

Newspapers
An excellent start for second hand contracts. They are not as safe as a first hand contract, often more expensive, but sometimes the only choice. One benefit, though is that after 9 months on your second hand contract you have the right to take over the first hand contract (provided there is no clause forbidding it in the contract). There is a limit to how much more expensive they can be. Read this advice at Vår Bostad. And apartment swapping is very common, so you can take something “for now” and look to upgrade later. Dagens Nyheter (check in Bostader) or Eniro Köp & Sälj tend to carry a lot of ads. The site at Blocket also has a lot of listings. Note that July is dead for all business in Sweden

Official Technique
Bostadsförmedlingen is the official state run body to redistribute vacant flats (though it has been called many other names) In theory, landlords should re-let through this authority. The system is a bit of a mystery and waiting lists tend to be long.

Direct Approach
The housing allocation in Greater Stockholm is run by individual kommun. Each one has a list of places to rent out. Sometimes you can get a place fairly quickly, but be warned, it could be in a less desirable part of the area. But at least it’s a roof over your head, then you can join the queue merry-go-round in order to update. Years of entertainment! So look at kommuner here.

 

Back Door Technique
Phone one of the main landlord companies and ask to be put on their "external queues". They'll then give a phone number to ring night or day to their "Hot line computer". There you can register your interest for flats then wait 10 days to see if your call got pulled out of the hat and you've won an apartment.
Note: if you do win you'll be given a first hand contract somewhere, which entitles you to join their “internal queue” and upgrade.

          OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES

Bostad Direct The best website is for Stockholm. They often have many ads for second hand rental. Although they charge 700 kr to get contact addresses / telephone, they let you browse all the ads before you pay. They are perhaps the biggest agency in the area and rated highly among Aussie expats here.

 

Accommodation Stockholm This site offers short term flats and houses for rent, usually for several months while the owners are away. It can be good if you are only staying a short time (the usual period is 3-6 months) and as most are furnished it can be cost effective. (E)

 

Annonsplatsen You check under the heading “Hyres” to look for rental properties. They also cover properties for sale. (S)

 

Blocket.se This site covers ads by private people for housing from rooms to villas and covers the whole country (S)

 

Boförmedling The PMS Boförmedling site has a lot of tips and links to various rental and information sites. There is also a number of properties for rent second hand and it is free to register to look at their listings. (S)

 

BoPunkten usually has around a few hundred or so places on it’s books at any one time. The listings are for rentals, those who want to change apartments, rent out their apartment or house. (S)

Bostadsguiden is a great site for getting the low down on a place to live in Stockholm. Also Göteborg.(S)

 

Bostäder och Boende This section of the very helpful sunet website has many links to housing sites. Most are in Swedish (S)

 

Bo Vision This website is in Swedish but fairly easy to follow. It lists property for sale (houses as well as apartments) and also places available for rent. It covers the whole country. (S)

 

Check-in The people at check-in rent out quality furnished apartments on both a short and long term basis. They are located in Stockholm (E)

 

Hyrestorget is a site where you can freely look at available apartments, both for rent or for swapping. The listings cover the whole country and it is very easy to use.

 

Koll.se This is a new site geared at the second hand market offering cars, boats and properties for sale and also for rent all over Sweden. The site is in Swedish, so you will need to look at “Bostad” and enter details in “Hyresrätt”. (S)

 

Marknadspalaset covers the whole country. The focus is more on sales, but there are also places to rent in the announcements. The website is in Swedish. There are links to other sites and the ability to search for a listing or put one in yourself. (S)

 

Metrohusohem You will need Acrobat Reader to view this site. It is a weekly real estate paper with the focus mainly on sales, but there are often a small number of private listings for rental properties and swaps towards the back of the publication. (S)

 

Second-hand Contracts The website at Andrahandsguiden has a list of available apartments under the heading "lediga bostäder". The site is only in Swedish, but it gives information about size of the apartment, location, rent, when it is available and when the ad was placed in the list. (S)

Second Hand Contracts The site at Bo-Tjänst has lists of second-hand renting contracts for rooms, apartments and houses in Stockholm (E)

 

Webgate This site has a very large number of housing links for both sales and renting. (S)

 

Land Agents and Companies The International Real Estate Digest is a list of links to realtors, landlords and property managers in Sweden (E).

 

Looking for a Roommate This is a meet up group, that gets together regularly once a month. This may be a place to look for somewhere to share. While the group is no longer active as such, people are still adding their details. (E)

 

Share Accommodation There is a US based site called Easy Room-Mate which has a search option for Sweden and you can either advertise for a room-mate or see ads from people seeking a room-mate. (E)

Student Accommodation SSSB or Stiftelsen Stockholm Studentbostäder is the central register of student accommodation in Stockholm (E). There are also lists at SSCO under “Bostadsportalen” and also some great tips and ads in Studentlya (S). Another site that offers classified for rooms and apartments is Studentannonser.

 

In Huddinge (a southern suburb of Stockholm) there are also student places that you can check out in English at Studenttorget (E). Another site is Svebo (S). It is not easy and you have to really comb these sites every day. There are rooms available at Stockholm university (and sometimes even family apartments), but you either need someone “inside” who is watching for the ads to go up and who can call immediately or watch the message board at Lappkärrsberget.

Long or short term storage The Shurgard company has locations all over Sweden. If you're in between apartments you might need to place your belongings in storage.

 

         CHANGING APARTMENT

 

Once you have the initial apartment, you can start to look around for another apartment when you need to. Many people prefer to do an apartment swap, rather than go through the whole process of finding another place via the methods above. There seems to be a busy trade in apartment swapping, with people wishing to change area, size of apartment etc. The following sites may prove useful.

 

Björns Bostadsbytare is good for swapping contracts. It was featured in the real estate spread of Dagens Nyheter in February 2003 and rated as the best place to get a hit. (S)

 

Bytesguiden For swapping your first hand contract apartment for another.

 

BytaLya Again this is a site for those who already have a flat and want to swap it for another. The site is in Swedish.

 

BytIt As with the two sites above, this is for those looking to change apartments or find someone to rent their apartment. It can be useful to put your name down as a possible renter at the site. (S)

 

Byta Bostad Another of the apartment swap sites, but can even be useful for those who are looking for accommodation. There are also a few tips for those in the hunt for an apartment. The site is in Swedish only.

 

Ny Bostad A site with swapping listings for houses, apartments, terrace houses, country cottages and covers the whole country. The site is in Swedish.

 

Bostadsbytet.com Also has many listings for swapping contracts for apartments. It covers the whole country and is a well set out site, with the date of listing, size, rent and location of the apartment clearly visible. All in Swedish.

 

 

          RELOCATION COMPANIES

 

There are companies which offer expats advice and help to settle into Sweden. They have programs and seminars to “de-mystify” Sweden easier and they also help people to find a suitable place to live as well as take care of the myriad bits of paperwork needed when setting up in Sweden – all for a cost, of course.

 

Newcomers Newcomers is a professional relocation company, providing support for those moving to Sweden. The site has lots of useful tips and information, but only if you register with them. (E)

 

Euro Patria Sweden This is the Swedish branch of Relocation Group and they offer a written guide as well as helping with work permits, banks, finding an apartment and helping people to acclimatise (E) (S).

 

Rosen & Hagenborn is a relocation company run by two energetic women based in Malmö. They offer all the services you need to settle into that city. (E) (S)