Accommodation
Accommodation
The housing market in Stockholm is known to be quite competitive and expensive. There is a huge shortage of supply of apartments for rent in Stockholm and the waiting time for an apartment is generally very long. The alternative to renting an apartment is buying an apartment or house, but the prices in Stockholm are generally high. There are many nice areas outside the city centre that are well worth looking into since public transportation around Stockholm is very well connected.
Apartments in Sweden are regulated by a rental control system to keep the rent below what the market would dictate, and those apartments are distributed through queues or contacts.
A rental contract is known as a “hyresrätt” in Swedish. There are two types of these contracts:
- First-hand (Förstahand)
- Second-hand (Andrahand)
A first hand contract means that the apartment is in your name and you deal directly with the landlord. A second-hand contract is essentially a sublet, which may or may not occur with the knowledge and consent of the landlord.
When you have agreed on your employment at KTH and decided on the start date, please join the housing queue as soon as possible. Following are some of the home searching organizations you might want to consider:
Wennergren Center
WGC provide nice furnished studios up to 4 bedrooms apartments. Walking distance to KTH and the city center. Estimated time you need to be in queue is at least 12 months and you need a PhD-degree to be accepted.
Stockholm Bostad
This is a municipal agency which provides apartments all over the Stockholm area. If you are planning to stay in Stockholm for several years, it is a good idea to register for the queue at Bostad Stockholm, but you will need your Swedish social security number to register. Stockholm Bostad charges a yearly registration fee.
Bostaddirekt
This is a commercial agency that helps people find apartment around town. They are very efficient at allocating housing. Probably the most useful online resource for finding a second-hand rental. You pay a fee for 45 days, but provides many more leads than free alternatives.
We also recommend you to make sure that you have the insurance of your choice when it comes to a householder´s comprehensive insurance (hemförsäkring). The tenant must always have his/her own householder comprehensive insurance no matter whether you live in a rented home “hyresrätt”, first- or second-hand or if you buy a home/apartment/house. This kind of insurance can be obtained from one of the companies listed under “Försäkringar” in the telephone directory.
