Blog
Guides on statutory inspections, compliance and property management in Sweden.
The lift is broken — who is liable and what applies
The property owner is responsible for the lift. Inspection intervals, the one-month rule for defects, and what a resident can do when nothing happens.
Swedish municipalities as property owner and regulator
A municipality owns, supervises and performs — three roles at once. How it regulates its own housing company, and why its portfolio is the strictest.
Indoor temperature — reference values and owner duties
At least 18 °C operative temperature, 16 °C on the floor and no more than 26 °C in summer. The values in HSLF-FS 2024:10 and what they require.
Legionella — hot water temperature and self-monitoring
At least 50 °C at the tap and in the circulation loop. Where the 60 °C rule comes from, and why it is no longer in the building regulations.
Fire protection documentation — what the requirement means
A building-regulation requirement, not part of SBA. What it must contain under BFS 2024:7, when it applies and what to do when it is missing.
Building or property — what gets an energy certificate?
The certificate covers the building, not the property. One property can hold six certificates with six expiry dates — and two gaps.
Which buildings need an energy certificate — and the gaps
Seven categories are exempt, the rest must be certified. How to calculate coverage across a portfolio and find the buildings that are missing.
Radon in workplaces and commercial premises — who is liable
Same reference level, different method, different responsible party. How liability splits between property owner and employer in a mixed portfolio.
Radon above 200 Bq/m³ — investigate, remediate, re-measure
Exceeding the reference level means finding the source and lowering the level. How to prioritise the work, and what an enforcement order looks like.
Buying Swedish property — the compliance you inherit
Inspections follow the building, not the owner. The documents to request in due diligence and the defects that become yours on completion day.
Housing co-operative boards — the inspections you own
A Swedish bostadsrättsförening is a property owner in law. What the board is responsible for: ventilation, EPC, radon, fire safety and refrigerants.
Self-monitoring under the Swedish Environmental Code
Chapter 26, Section 19 of the Environmental Code applies to every residential property owner. What self-monitoring covers and what inspectors ask for.
Recommendations in the energy certificate — worth following?
Certificates must contain cost-effective recommendations. How to read them, what they rest on and the questions to ask before deciding.
Radon in your property — measurement, limits, responsibility
The reference level is 200 Bq/m³ as an annual average. How radon is measured in apartment buildings, how many flats to measure and who is liable.
How to read an OVK report — field by field
Which fields an OVK report always contains, what passed-with-remarks means, and the three things to check before you file it.
A national OVK register — what Boverket has proposed
Boverket proposed a national OVK register in report 2023:5. What the proposal means, what applies meanwhile and what it changes for you.
Qualified ventilation inspectors — K and N certification
OVK may only be carried out by a certified inspector. The difference between K and N, how long certification lasts and how to verify it.
OVK in a housing co-operative — the board's duty and cost
The association owns the building and is responsible for OVK. How duties split towards members, how access is handled and how to budget.
OVK in a municipal housing company — hundreds of buildings
Tracking OVK across a public housing portfolio: one interval per building and system, procured inspections and reports in ten formats.
What does an OVK inspection cost? How pricing works
Price is driven by the number of flats, system type, access and what the report must contain. How to compare quotes on equal terms.
Energy performance certificates: rules and validity
Which buildings need one, what the certificate contains, that it is valid for ten years and who may issue it. The full requirement in one page.
No energy certificate — enforcement orders and penalties
Boverket supervises energy certificates and can order the owner to comply, backed by a financial penalty. The process, and how to put it right.
What does an energy certificate cost? How pricing works
Price is driven by building type, size, how good the source data is and whether several buildings are ordered together. How to compare quotes.
Refrigerants: leak checks and the 31 March annual report
Leak checks every 12, 6 or 3 months by quantity, and an annual report by 31 March at 14 tonnes CO2e or more. How the thresholds are counted.
What if OVK is not carried out? Supervision and penalties
The building committee can order the owner to inspect or to remedy defects, backed by a penalty. How supervision works and how to avoid it.
The OVK certificate must be displayed — where and how long
The owner must post the OVK certificate in a clearly visible place. What it contains, where it belongs in an apartment building and for how long.
Statutory inspections for property owners — the year
Ventilation, energy certificates, radon, fire safety, refrigerants and lifts. The statutory inspections with intervals, deadlines and regulators.
Systematic fire safety work — what Swedish law requires
The Civil Protection Act requires reasonable fire protection. What systematic fire safety work looks like, what to document and who is responsible.
Energy class A–G: what the letters actually mean
The class is set by the primary energy number as a percentage of the new-build requirement. The full A–G scale and what each class means.
Energy certificates when selling — the seller's duty
A sale requires a certificate no older than ten years, and energy performance must appear in the advertisement. How the responsibility works.
OVK intervals: how often ventilation must be inspected
The interval is three or six years depending on building type and ventilation system. The full table — and the office case that often goes wrong.
OVK passed with remarks — how to remedy the defects
What an OVK remark means, who remedies what, how quickly it must happen and when a re-inspection is required. Including the owner/tenant split.