Am I required by law to let the landlord in when he or she wants access to my apartment?
Good day. We have a rental dispute with our landlord about whether we rent from her privately or in general. The rental association is investigating this. Our landlord had been trying to evict us for four months. She indicated a month ago that she wanted to come to us with an valuator (someone to valuate/taxate the property) on March 7, but she did not provide a reason or the name of the person. So this could be false. The question now is: can we refuse her, postpone her or allow the valuator in without her being present? Or can we just let her husband in? If her husband can't come that day, can we postpone it until a day when her husband can, without her being there? We don't want her in the house, our trust with her has been seriously damaged. What can we do to at least keep this woman out?
Lawline svarar
Hi and many thanks for contacting us at Lawline,
The legislation that primarily needs to be taken into account when processing your case is jordabalken (JB). And before we begin I just want to clarify one thing: My mother tongue is Swedish why I would like to take the opportunity to apologize in advance if my English below is not entirely accurate.Anyway, the central provision for this case can be found in 12 kap. 26 § JB, which will be given some attention in the following.
General points of reference
12 kap. 26 § JB states the landlord has the right to gain access to the apartment without delay in order to exercise necessary supervision or carry out improvement works that cannot be postponed without damage. And when the apartment is available for rent, the tenant is obliged to let it be shown at the appropriate time.
The same provision further states that after giving notice at least one month in advance, the landlord in the apartment may have less urgent improvement work carried out that does not cause a significant obstacle or inconvenience in the right of use. However, such work may not be carried out without the tenant's consent during the last month of the tenancy. If the landlord wants to carry out other work in the apartment, the tenant may terminate the agreement within one week of being notified of this. Such work may not be started without the tenant's consent until the agreement can be brought to an end. The provisions in this paragraph do not apply to work that the landlord has undertaken to perform for the tenant or that he has been ordered to perform by a remedial order.
The same provision, in other words: 12 kap. 26 § JB, also states that in cases specified in this paragraph, the landlord must ensure that the tenant is not caused greater inconvenience than necessary. Damage caused to the tenant through work referred to in this paragraph must be compensated by the landlord, even if the damage is not due to his or her negligence. The tenant is also obliged to tolerate restrictions on the right of use, which are caused by necessary measures to eradicate vermin from the property, even if the apartment rented by him or her is not infested with vermin.
Your case - What applies here?
First and foremost it must be emphasized that the provision in 12 kap. § 26 JB applies regardless of whether the rental in question takes place according to the rules in JB or according to the Private Rental Act, in Swedish: lagen om uthyrning av egen bostad (privatuthyrningslagen). In 1 § privatuthyrningslagen it says that the provisions in 12 kap. JB apply unless otherwise is stipulated in the Act.
It seems somewhat unclear as to why the landlord wants to enter the apartment. Given the above and especially considering the legislation the answer to your main question (whether you can say no to the landlord or not) depends entirely on the purpose of the visit and why she needs access to your home. My opinion is that the landlord needs to provide a valid explanation, i.e. she needs to tell you about her motives.
But remember one thing, which was also mentioned in the beginning when I referred to the legislation. If the landlord is going to sell or if your or if your lease will end in the near future, the landlord has the right to show the apartment at a convenient time to any potential buyers or new tenants. Whether that is the case I do not know. But if it's not like that and there aren't any urgent problems that need to be fixed, my opinion is, as stated before, that you should be able to demand an explanation. Otherwise you are likely not obligated to let the landlord in.
Final words and further advice
If you have more questions, you are most welcome to get in touch again. Either here on the website and then through some of our excellent payment services or through our regular agency operations. I myself can be reached at jacob.bjornberg@lawline.se and you are more than happy to contact me directly if you would like further help in the continuing process.
Note, however, that in the area of criminal and tax law we only provide certain types of initial advice like this and then within the framework of our express service that you have now used. The agency does not fully undertake any such assignments. In that case, you need to turn to an agency specialized in criminal and/or tax law.
But we can assist you in any future process and continue to act as your representative. We can also assist with the preparation of all necessary documentation, for example when writing a letter of demand, counterclaim and/or other written opinion. In that case, just let me know by sending an email to the address mentioned above.
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Best regards,
