The Rent Committee may face challenges with high rental rates in Boden

by time news

Half of the country’s tenants are still unaware of how much their rent will increase, and it could be a big shock. The Tenants’ Association warned in January that this year’s rent hikes could be the largest in 30 years. The association is responsible for negotiating rents on behalf of approximately three million tenants, and half of these negotiations have been completed. The average increase so far is 4.14%, including both private landlords and public utilities. However, in Boden, the industry organization Fastighetsägarna is demanding a collective increase of 10.79% on behalf of 15 property owners. Anna Forsman, who is responsible for business policy within the organization, defends this high demand, claiming they have accounted for all costs, although negotiation may result in a different sum. The Tenants’ Association and the Property Owners are far apart in their demands, and the issue may require an arbitrator appointed by the rent board to resolve it.

Half of the country’s tenants do not yet know how much higher rent they will receive. And it can be a shudder. When DN reported on this year’s rent negotiations in January, the Tenants’ Association warned that the rent increases could be the largest in 30 years.

The tenant association negotiates rents for approximately three million tenants. According to the Tenants’ Association, half of this year’s negotiations have now been completed. On average, rent increases are currently 4.14 percent, including private landlords and public utilities.

But in Boden, the industry organization Fastighetsägarna demands more. They negotiate on behalf of 15 property owners and collectively demand an increase of 10.79 percent.

Anna Forsman is responsible for business policy within the organization.

– We have gone through our costs and we can show where we got the figures from. We don’t even have coverage for everything. We negotiate and that does not necessarily mean that we end up with the sum we demand.


Photo: The property owners

The Tenants’ Association and the Property Owners are far apart. Marie Hjorth is head of negotiations at the Tenants’ Association in Norrland.

– If we look at the agreements that have been completed in Norrbotten and northern Västerbotten for both public utility and private companies, the average rent increase is 3.25 percent. That says something about how unreasonable the claim levels of the Real Estate Owners’ Association are.

She continues:

– We have not seen the locks that exist in Boden before, after 4 months of negotiations we have barely moved forward.

The issue of the rents in the municipality may need to be resolved by an arbitrator appointed by the rent board.

Marie Hjorth is head of negotiations at the Tenants' Association in Norrland.


Photo: Tenant Association

– Our general counsel must submit his opinion to the rental board by the end of March at the latest. Then we’ll see what the rental board says, says the Tenants Association’s Marie Hjorth.

Anna Forsman also thinks that it would be fair if the issue is resolved by an arbitrator.

– Their task is to look at how we have calculated and how the Tenants’ Association has calculated, nobody can get it fairer than that. It is clear that it is difficult for tenants to know who to trust when there is such a big difference, says Anna Forsman.

You may also like

Leave a Comment