Short-term rental in Sweden: rules and advice for owners

No licence, no register, no cap

Sweden has no licensing scheme, public register or night limit for short-term rental, as published guidance for 2026 confirms. EU Regulation 2024/1028 applies to platforms, but we have found no Swedish registration procedure for hosts, so there is no number to display for the time being. This freedom is real, yet it shifts control from the state to private parties.

The board and the landlord hold the key

In a tenant-owned flat (bostadsrätt), letting the whole home to someone else usually needs the housing association board's consent, and the association may refuse hotel-like use; breaching the rules can put the right of occupancy itself at risk. In a rented flat (hyresrätt), short stays count as subletting and require the landlord's consent or a decision of the rent tribunal, which frequent tourist lets rarely obtain. A house you own outright gives the most room for manoeuvre, subject to planning rules.

Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö

All three cities on our list sit in the same "open" category: no municipal licence or cap exists, and the decisive step is the written approval of the board or the landlord. The logic is identical in the inner city and in the suburbs, so the building matters more than the neighbourhood.

What the Swedish Tax Agency expects

Private rental income is taxed as capital income at 30 per cent after a standard deduction of up to SEK 40,000 per home per year, plus a share of costs such as the monthly association fee for the rented part. If your letting starts to look like a hotel business, with daily pricing and services, VAT registration and business rules may apply once the agency's criteria and threshold are met.

How we would approach it

Obtain the board's or landlord's consent in writing before the first booking, set house rules that protect neighbours, and keep accounts clear enough to show the Tax Agency that you remain a private landlord, or to switch to a business set-up if you are not. Share the address and your form of ownership with us; we will tell you honestly whether and how we can help.