Landlords' requirements for prospective tenants

The plan establishes that every person's right to have somewhere to live shall be reality and that tenants need strong support in legislation against the owner interests that profit from the housing shortage. Legally regulating what demands a landlord may make, and allowing benefits to count as income, is a direct application of that. The plan moreover wants to see a general housing policy with equal conditions for all forms of housing.

• the right to housingdecisive»Vi vill bygga ett samhälle där varje människas rätt att ha någonstans att bo« (party programme ↗)“We want to build a society where every person's right to have somewhere to live”
• legally protected tenant rights»lagstiftningen för att tillsammans stå starka och försvara sina intressen.« (party programme ↗)“legislation to together stand strong and defend their interests.”
• general housing policy»Vi vill se en generell bostadspolitik med goda och jämlika villkor för« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a general housing policy with good and equal conditions for”
• market-driven housing increases segregation»efter att också bostäderna lämnats åt marknaden ökar bostadsbristen, boendekostnader och segregation« (2022 manifesto ↗)“after housing has also been left to the market, housing shortage, housing costs and segregation increase”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme sees housing as a social right and makes housing supply a societal responsibility, which speaks for regulating by law what requirements a landlord can impose on a housing applicant. The election manifesto wants rental apartments to exist that ordinary people can afford to live in and that the tenure forms be mixed; counting benefits as income follows from housing not being distributed according to ability to pay.

• housing as a social rightdecisive»socialdemokrater ser bostaden som en social rättighet och bostadspolitiken som en del av« (party programme ↗)“social democrats see housing as a social right and housing policy as part of”
• societal responsibility for housing supply»det är ett samhälleligt ansvar att trygga« (party programme ↗)“it is a societal responsibility to secure”
• rental apartments for ordinary people»Vi ska fortsätta att bygga hyresrätter som vanligt folk har råd att bo i.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall continue to build rental apartments that ordinary people can afford to live in.”
• mixed tenure forms»Boende- och upplåtelseformer ska vara blandade.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Tenure and forms of occupancy shall be mixed.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan demands that housing is available for everyone regardless of socioeconomic situation, particularly for young people, large families and low-income earners, and that housing policy prevents segregation. Excessive income requirements when renting exclude exactly these groups and push them to more expensive second-hand housing. Regulating by law what requirements may be set and counting benefits as income thus follows from the plan's housing commitments.

• housing for vulnerable groups toodecisive»behöver se till att det byggs bostäder som efterfrågas av unga, studenter, äldre, stora familjer« (party programme ↗)“need to ensure that housing is built that is demanded by young people, students, elderly, large families”
• housing policy against segregation»Miljöpartiets bostadspolitik ska motverka segregation och främja lika rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“The Greens' housing policy shall prevent segregation and promote equal rights.”
• right to housing»Alla har rätt till en bostad.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has the right to housing.”
• rental apartments with reasonable rents»bygga fler klimatsmarta hyresrätter med rimliga hyror, utveckla och utöka investeringsstödet som gjorde det billigare att bygga och se till att fler kan äga sin bostad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“build more climate-smart rental apartments with reasonable rents, develop and expand the investment support that made it cheaper to build and ensure that more can own their home.”

The plan's housing policy line is simple rules and strong incentives to invest in housing, with property rights as a central principle. To regulate by law what requirements a landlord can place on a prospective tenant runs in the opposite direction and interferes with the contractual relationship. That benefits are counted as income also sits poorly with the plan's line that more money should be spent on the core of welfare and less on benefits.

• central property rightsdecisive»Äganderätten är central för ett samhälle där människor kan förverkliga sig själva och sina drömmar.« (party programme ↗)“Property rights are central to a society where people can fulfil themselves and their dreams.”
• simple rules yield more housing»En förutsättning för utveckling är att det finns tillräckligt med bostäder i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“A prerequisite for development is that there is sufficient housing throughout the country.”
• work line over benefits»Mer pengar ska läggas på välfärdens kärna, mindre på bidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More money shall be spent on the core of welfare, less on benefits.”
• more open housing market»Även bostadsmarknaden måste bli öppnare.« (party programme ↗)“The housing market too must become more open.”

The plan's rental market line goes against less regulation of the parties' terms, with freer rent-setting in new construction and a reformed use-value system, not towards legislating what requirements a landlord may impose. Allowing benefits to count as income also goes against the plan's stated goal that more with self-support and fewer on social welfare should move to vulnerable areas. The plan instead meets the group with weak finances through a new system of needs-based housing, which is a different answer than what the counter-proposal requires.

• more with self-supportdecisive»Kommunala bostadsbolag ska både arbeta för att fler hyresrätter i utsatta områden omvandlas till bostadsrätter och för att få fler med egen försörjning och färre med försörjningsstöd att flytta till utsatta områden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Municipal housing companies shall work both to have more rental apartments in vulnerable areas converted to owner-occupied apartments and to get more with self-support and fewer on social welfare to move to vulnerable areas.”
• freer rent-setting»Fri hyressättning ska tillåtas i nybyggnation.« (party programme ↗)“Free rent-setting shall be allowed in new construction.”
• needs-based housing instead of regulation»ett nytt system med behovsbostäder ska införas för grupper med särskilt stora bostadsbehov, såsom våldsutsatta och familjer med mycket svag ekonomi« (2022 manifesto ↗)“a new system with needs-based housing shall be introduced for groups with particularly large housing needs, such as abuse survivors and families with very weak finances”
• thresholds hit new arrivals»särskilt dem som vill få fotfäste och komma in på bostadsmarknaden: ungdomar, invandrare och« (party programme ↗)“especially those who want to get a foothold and enter the housing market: young people, immigrants and”

The party programme places on state and municipality the responsibility to secure housing supply for everyone with different social and economic conditions and specifically mentions that low-income families with children, pensioners and students shall be able to get good housing standards. The plan also accepts legal regulation of rental relationships, for example protection against unreasonable rent increases. To legally regulate what entrance requirements can be demanded therefore lies within the plan's framework, although the requirement to count grants as income stretches the plan's line against benefit dependency.

• housing supply for alldecisive»Stat och kommun måste därför trygga bostadsförsörjningen åt alla, i olika åldrar och med olika sociala och ekonomiska förutsättningar.« (party programme ↗)“State and municipality must therefore secure housing supply for everyone, in different ages and with different social and economic conditions.”
• housing also for low-income earners»Lågavlönade barnfamiljer, pensionärer och studerande måste ges möjligheter till en god bostadsstandard.« (party programme ↗)“Low-income families with children, pensioners and students must be given opportunities for good housing standards.”
• legal protection for tenants»Någon form av hyresreglering som skyddar de boende från oskäliga hyreshöjningar bör finnas.« (party programme ↗)“Some form of rent regulation that protects residents from unreasonable rent increases should exist.”
• benefit dependency is prevented»Skatte- och bidragssystemen måste utformas så att människors egen kraft och engagemang uppmuntras, och att bidragsberoende motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“Tax and grant systems must be designed so that people's own strength and engagement are encouraged, and benefit dependency is prevented.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's principle is that the owner should also get to use their ownership according to their own head and that the rental market should provide more market-based rents, not more detailed regulation of contract terms. To legally regulate what requirements a landlord can make and force that benefits are counted as income moreover breaks the plan's commitment that work shall always pay more than benefits. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's demands.

• owner's right to disposedecisive»rätt att använda sitt ägande efter eget huvud ska vara vägledande« (party programme ↗)“the right to use one's ownership according to one's own head shall be guiding”
• work shall pay more than benefits»Det ska inte vara som idag att den som lever på bidrag kan få lika mycket i plånboken varje månad som den som jobbar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It shall not be as today that someone living on benefits can get as much in their wallet each month as someone who works.”
• market-based rent setting»Möjliggöra mer rättvisa hyror genom att potentiella hyresgästers värdering av boendet ges större vikt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Enable more fair rents by giving greater weight to potential tenants' valuation of the dwelling”
• strong property rights»Äganderätten och näringsfriheten ska ha ett starkt skydd i« (party programme ↗)“Property rights and freedom of enterprise shall have strong protection in”

The plan states that it must be more profitable to work, that access to welfare should be tied more closely to work and citizenship, and that positive preferential treatment of newly arrived when it comes to housing should be stopped. To regulate by law landlords' requirements and let allowances count as income goes in the opposite direction. The party programme's demand for housing for low-income groups places the responsibility on the state and municipality rather than on landlords.

• work should paydecisive»Det måste löna sig bättre att bidra till samhället genom att arbeta och i övrigt vara en god samhällsmedborgare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must be more profitable to contribute to society by working and otherwise being a good citizen.”
• no priority on housing market»Stoppa den positiva särbehandlingen av nyanlända vad gäller jobb och lägenheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop the positive preferential treatment of newly arrived when it comes to jobs and housing”
• protect welfare systems»Göra det svårare att exploatera den svenska välfärden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it harder to exploit Swedish welfare”
• state and municipality responsible for vulnerable»ansvar för att förse även resurssvaga grupper med ett värdigt boende« (party programme ↗)“responsibility to provide even low-income groups with decent housing”