The three-times-rent rule and the disposable-income method measure different things, while debts, payment default records and guarantors are assessed separately.
There is no single income requirement for all Swedish rental homes. Landlords may use different calculation methods, accept different types of income and set their own requirements regarding financial history. However, the requirements must not be applied in a discriminatory manner. The sources linked in this article are in Swedish, as they concern Swedish law.
Bojakt’s current snapshot includes 19,929 available homes in 1,219 locations. Of these, 8,818 are first-hand listings, representing 44 per cent of the supply. The remaining 11,111 listings are sublets, representing 56 per cent.
Meeting the income requirement is not the same as being able to afford the rent
An income requirement is the landlord’s condition for approving an applicant. It is not a complete household budget and does not show how much you actually spend on travel, loans, children or other commitments, for example.
Boverket, the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, explains that property owners and housing companies have considerable freedom to determine their letting conditions. Nor are there standard conditions for all housing queues and landlords.
The three-times-rent rule is based on gross income
The three-times-rent rule means that gross income, meaning income before tax, must be at least three times the monthly rent. Among the available first-hand listings, the median rent is SEK 8,754. Under this rule, a gross monthly income of SEK 26,262 is therefore required.
The three-times-rent rule: the rent is multiplied by three and compared with the gross income accepted by the landlord.
The rule does not normally take account of how much tax you pay or what other costs the household has. Two people with the same gross income may therefore have different amounts of disposable income even if both meet the threshold.
The disposable-income method calculates from the other direction
The disposable-income method instead starts with how much money the household must have left after paying the rent. The calculation uses net income, meaning money after tax.
For a single adult, the amount that must remain after paying the rent is SEK 6,243. Based on the median rent for the first-hand listings currently available, this means a required net monthly income of SEK 14,997.
When two people apply together, the amount that must remain after paying the rent is SEK 10,314. The landlord may then assess the household’s total accepted net income, but the conditions vary between listings.
The disposable-income method: the rent is deducted from net income and the remaining amount is compared with the landlord’s threshold for the household.
The same home can produce different outcomes
The methods measure different things. The three-times-rent rule compares the rent with income before tax. The disposable-income method assesses what remains after tax and rent. Household size therefore has a greater effect under the disposable-income method.
Gross or net: check which type of income the listing uses.
Individual or household income: check whether incomes may be combined when applying jointly.
Accepted types of income: find out which forms of employment, benefits and other income may be included.
You should therefore check which method is used in the relevant listing. Also check whether the requirement applies to your own income or the household’s combined income, and which supporting documents must be submitted.
The rent determines how high the requirement will be
The median shows the midpoint of the supply, but the variation is considerable. Among the first-hand listings currently available, the lower quartile is SEK 7,038. One quarter of the listings have a lower rent. The upper quartile is SEK 10,435, and one quarter have a higher rent.
Searching among homes with lower rents therefore reduces both the threshold under the three-times-rent rule and the net income required by the disposable-income method. The median rent across the entire current supply, including sublets, is SEK 9,068.
The median salary meets the requirement for many listings, but not the entire assessment
Bojakt’s comparison uses Statistics Sweden’s median salary of SEK 38,300, which is the 2024 figure and the most recent official one. With this income, the three-times-rent rule gives access to 90 per cent of the available first-hand listings.
This does not mean that the applicant will automatically be approved. The landlord may also examine the stability of the income, financial history, housing references and other conditions in the letting policy.
A payment default record and an outstanding debt are different things
A payment default record is information held by a credit reference agency about a previous failure to pay. A debt is the payment claim itself. It is therefore possible to have a payment default record even after the debt has been paid.
Landlords may assess payment default records and debts in different ways. Some reject applicants with such records, while others conduct an individual assessment. Rent arrears and previous problems with rent payments may carry more weight than other types of debt because they are directly connected with housing.
Find out what the landlord intends to assess
Whether the requirement applies to all payment default records or mainly those relating to housing.
Whether a paid debt is assessed differently from a debt that is still outstanding.
Whether the landlord individually assesses the cause and the applicant’s current financial position.
Which documents can prove that the debt has been settled or that a payment plan is being followed.
A guarantor provides additional security, not an entitlement
A guarantor undertakes to pay if the tenant fails to meet their payment obligations under the guarantee. This can provide the landlord with additional security, but the landlord does not have to accept a guarantor as a substitute for the income requirement.
If a guarantor is accepted, that person’s finances and ability to pay may also be checked. Ask for written confirmation of the applicable conditions before submitting personal data and supporting documents.
Queueing time and financial requirements are separate barriers
A good position in the queue does not remove the income requirement. Likewise, an accepted income does not give an applicant priority in a queue. You must first become eligible under the landlord’s allocation policy and then meet the conditions for the tenancy agreement.
Among the available first-hand homes on Bojakt, 2,073 homes have no queueing-time requirement. This means that accumulated queueing days are not a condition for these particular listings. Requirements concerning income, financial history and references may still apply.
The requirements must be applied without discrimination
The landlord may determine how homes are allocated and which financial criteria are used, but may not reject applicants for reasons connected with a protected characteristic under discrimination law. Even an apparently neutral requirement may be problematic if it disadvantages a protected group without being appropriate and necessary.
How to read the conditions before applying
Identify whether income is assessed using the three-times-rent rule, the disposable-income method or an individual assessment.
Check whether the amounts refer to gross or net income.
Read which types of income and forms of employment are accepted.
Check whether household incomes may be combined and whether both applicants need to be named on the tenancy agreement.
Read the conditions concerning payment default records, debts and previous rent arrears.
Ask whether an individual assessment, a guarantor or a municipal rent guarantee may be accepted when the basic requirement is not met.
The most important points are to distinguish between the methods and read the conditions in the relevant listing. An income may be sufficient under the three-times-rent rule but assessed differently under the disposable-income method, while queueing time, debts, payment default records and guarantors are considered separately.
