Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 132
Sweden
Property
Have any changes
been made to
the laws around
property, rent and
enforcement?
Temporary reductions of fixed rental costs
On 16 April 2020, the Swedish Government decided on an ordinance concerning temporary
reduction of fixed rental costs in sectors which have been negatively affected by the COVID-19
pandemic. The new regulation is believed to mitigate the financial consequences of the virus
outbreak. Sectors covered by the ordinance include, inter alia, hotel, restaurant and retail sectors as
well as consumer services sections such as dentists, physiotherapist practices, and hair and beauty
salons. On 2 July 2020, the Swedish Government decided on an amendment to the
abovementioned ordinance, which now includes several additional sectors. The
additional sectors covered by the regulation include, inter alia, driving school
activities, maintenance and repair services of motor vehicles and rental and leasing
services of cars and light motor vehicles. In total, the Swedish Government has allocated SEK
5 billion for rent reductions.
If a landlord and a tenant (which is active in a vulnerable sector) have agreed on a reduction of the
rent for the period between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020, the landlord will be able to seek support
to compensate part of the reduction. The compensation provided will be a maximum of 50 per cent
of the reduced fixed rent, i.e. the discount that the landlord and tenant have agreed on for the
period from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. However, the support can never exceed 25 per cent of the
original fixed rent amount. It should further be noted that the agreement on the temporary discount
must have been entered into by 30 June 2020. With regard to the new sectors affected by
the amendment made on 2 July 2020, the agreement on the temporary discount must
have been entered into by 31 July 2020. Furthermore, a tenant (where a group is seen as
one and the same tenant) cannot obtain an advantage exceeding EUR 800,000.
Compensation could have been applied for by the landlord from 1 July 2020 until 31 August 2020.
Temporary removal of interest on deferred rental payments
The Swedish Fortifications Agency (Sw. Fortifikationsverket) and the National Property Board Sweden
(Sw. Statens Fastighetsverk) are temporary exempted from the requirement to charge interest when
granting deferment of rental payments. Under Swedish law, public authorities are normally required
to charge interest according to the interest rate set forth for each financial year by the National Debt
Office (Sw. Riksgälden), with an addition of two percentage points when granting credit or deferment
with a payment.
The temporary exemption applies to all tenants of the two aforementioned authorities who, in
agreement with their landlord, have been allowed to postpone their rental payments in 2020,
regardless of whether the tenant is active within the public or private sector and regardless of
industry, region or the size of company. The largest proportion of the tenants are state actors.
However, the authorities also have private tenants such as technology and real estate companies,
industrial companies and restaurants.
Litigation
Are the courts
operating?
Operation of Swedish Courts
The Swedish courts are operating normally, while observing social distancing guidelines and COVID-19related precautions. The number of hearings being cancelled and postponed has almost returned to preCOVID-19 levels. The increased digitalization brought on by the pandemic (e.g. the number of hearings
being carried out remotely via video conferencing technology has increased by almost 90 % compared to
the year before) has in fact contributed to the number of adjudicated cases reaching record levels. The
Swedish National Courts Administration produces statistics on how the courts are affected by the corona
pandemic.
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