Who's responsible for repairs when renting a house?

Question

Good morning,
I am French, resident in Sweden. I'm renting a house for 10 months. The house was out of order due to a fuse. We had to call an electrician because the faulty fuse was not detectable without a measuring device. Apparently, to the naked eye the fuse was good. The electrician detected it with his device.

The owner asks me to pay the electrician's travel bill. Is he within his rights?
thank you for your reply

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Lawline!

Property leasing in these situations are mainly regulated by jordabalken (JB).

The basic rule is that the landlord is responsible for maintaining the property in fully functioning/serviceable condition during the rental period. This can however be set aside if the parties agree on a lower standard in the contract (12 chpt. 15 § JB). So before moving forward, make sure to read the contract. Apart from that, agreements contrary to what’s stated in the law are generally not valid (12 chpt. 1 § 6 p JB).

Moreover, the landlord is responsible for repairs due to damage to the house or apartment that puts it in a lower standard than the one mentioned above. The damage must have (1) existed right at the start of the rental period, or (2) occured during the rental period and wasn’t caused by the tenant (12 chpt. 16 § JB). In such cases, the tenant cannot be forced to pay for repairs etc.

I hope you got an answer to your question.

Kind regards,