It was in the spring of 2021 that Inga-Lill and Bo Ragnar sent in a notification to build a shelter house on their plot of land in Smådalarö in Haninge municipality. The construction company they hired specialized in this type of assignment and built the house.
But six months later, a shocking announcement came from the municipality: The house was 34 centimeters too close to the plot boundary, which DN reported on in February.
The couple’s son Ola Liljemark Ragnar tells us that the error had probably been committed due to an earlier error when a fence that marked the plot boundary had ended up a bit into the neighboring land, which is a common. The construction company had built the house according to the rules that require it to stand at least 4.5 meters from the plot boundary – and also added a little margin. The house was therefore located – what the company believed – 4.6 meters from the border.
But it turned out that the measurement had been wrong.
– When we made the building notification, it was the company that drew up all the documents. Then we simply received a final notice that the building had ended up wrong, Ola Liljemark Ragnar told DN earlier.
After that, a long fight against the municipality began – a fight that has now led to a decision in the town planning committee in Haninge municipality:
No exception is made for Inga-Lill and Bo Ragnar. The couple’s haunted house must be moved – or demolished.
– The bottom line is that yesterday we decided on a correction that they should move the building so it complies with the regulations, says Martin Strömvall (KD), chairman of the city planning board.
If the couple does not take action will the municipality to hand out a fine of SEK 100,000, Martin Strömvall continues. He also says that it was a unanimous decision in the committee that met on Wednesday evening.
– But if applicants choose to follow this decision, no fine will be imposed.
Martin Strömvall says that he “feels for the applicant” and describes it as that they have “found themselves in a difficult situation”, but stands behind the decision.
– I consider it to be the right decision. We have no other scope to make any other decision. The law is clear, he says, and adds that the decision has not yet been adjusted and thus the law will only take effect in a few days.
Ola Liljemark Ragnar is disappointed after the announcement.
– One had hoped somewhere that they would change their mind. It is completely unreasonable. It is completely disproportionate. It’s a minor deviation and I can’t see what interest the public has in this being pushed through like this, he says.
He also believes that the principle of proportionality has not been taken into account in the case.
– We think there is room for a different assessment. The principle of proportionality means that a balance can be made between interests, but this has not been done. You have to assess each individual case on its own. Will this be a reasonable assessment? We don’t think so, says Ola Liljemark Ragnar further.
The matter will now be pursued further by the foundation Center for Justice to appeal to the county board.
– We at the Center for Justice will help Inga-Lill and Bo in that process. What matters now is to appeal the municipality’s decision that the house should be demolished or moved to the county administrative board, says lawyer Erik Scherstén.
He says that the foundation pursues cases of principle without compensation to strengthen freedoms and rights in Sweden, and that the current case is interesting from this perspective.
– We stand up as representatives for clients who have had bad luck in this type of situation. This is an unreasonable decision. In this case, the family has done everything to make it right. And there is no strong public interest in this house being demolished and therefore a certain measure of proportionality must be included, says Erik Scherstén.