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Title is also, potentially, not actually supported by data... >Only around 8% of Swedes live in households spending more than 40% of disposable income on housi

Title is also, potentially, not actually supported by data... >Only around 8% of Swedes live in households spending more than 40% of disposable income on housing, compared to 15% in the UK and almost 40% in Greece, according Eurostat data. Something is keeping rent low in Sweden (relative to a few other European counties).

bjourne 5y ago
It may also be interesting to note that rent control is supported by 75 to 80% of the population. For a policy that "isn't working" it is strangely popular.
ransom1538 5y ago
"Something is keeping rent low in Sweden (relative to a few other European counties)." Weather.
nivenkos 5y ago
There are separate controls on being able to rent out flats for more than 2 years. So you can't really be an absentee landlord. The rent controls apply to first-hand contracts (kinda like council housing in the UK). Which is basically non-existent for working people now.
melolife 5y ago
Rent control does keep rent low. What it creates is a supply problem, which could possibly explain the decades-long wait list for an apartment in Stockholm.
- nivenkos 5y ago
  Those queues are for public first-hand contracts. You can always rent second-hand (for up to 2 years, from a private owner), private first-hand (more expensive queues from development firms), company rentals (in some cases, your company can be a guarantor, and you rent like a commercial entity with no time limit or deposit, etc. but usually higher rents), or you can buy a place. The issue is there aren't enough first-hand contracts, or enough properties in general. But the rent controls as discussed only apply to first-hand contracts, which are the minority.
- epistasis 5y ago
  It potentially creates a supply problem, if certain assumptions are met. However those assumptions rarely hold in practice. In the US, to get a construction loan, you can't assume a big rise in rents in coming years. So the financial decision to build new housing is gated by an effective assumption of rent control by the financiers.
- bjoli 5y ago
  There are other things at play. If the low prices were the only thing stopping new houses from popping up, the 5x price increase for buying apartments would have solved all the problems in Stockholm.
- kqr 5y ago
  The available space for building stuff in municipal Stockholm is what it is, so some part of the supply problem would still be there without rent control, I would assume. Removing rent control would convert the decades-long wait list into a decades-long struggle to make enough money to afford rent, would it not?
flavius29663 5y ago
This reminds me of the grocery shopping in communist Romania. My family would spend so little on groceries every month...maybe 400 LEI out of 2 salaries of 2000, so under 10%. The catch is there was nothing on the shelves, if they would bring in bread you would have in instant queue for 2 hours. Same for cabbages, carrots etc. If you just look at the expense you'll miss the fact that people don't get enough groceries, or apartments.

bjourne 5y ago

It may also be interesting to note that rent control is supported by 75 to 80% of the population. For a policy that "isn't working" it is strangely popular.

ransom1538 5y ago

"Something is keeping rent low in Sweden (relative to a few other European counties)." Weather.

nivenkos 5y ago

There are separate controls on being able to rent out flats for more than 2 years. So you can't really be an absentee landlord. The rent controls apply to first-hand contracts (kinda like council housing in the UK). Which is basically non-existent for working people now.

melolife 5y ago

Rent control does keep rent low. What it creates is a supply problem, which could possibly explain the decades-long wait list for an apartment in Stockholm.

nivenkos 5y ago
Those queues are for public first-hand contracts. You can always rent second-hand (for up to 2 years, from a private owner), private first-hand (more expensive queues from development firms), company rentals (in some cases, your company can be a guarantor, and you rent like a commercial entity with no time limit or deposit, etc. but usually higher rents), or you can buy a place. The issue is there aren't enough first-hand contracts, or enough properties in general. But the rent controls as discussed only apply to first-hand contracts, which are the minority.
epistasis 5y ago
It potentially creates a supply problem, if certain assumptions are met. However those assumptions rarely hold in practice. In the US, to get a construction loan, you can't assume a big rise in rents in coming years. So the financial decision to build new housing is gated by an effective assumption of rent control by the financiers.
bjoli 5y ago
There are other things at play. If the low prices were the only thing stopping new houses from popping up, the 5x price increase for buying apartments would have solved all the problems in Stockholm.
kqr 5y ago
The available space for building stuff in municipal Stockholm is what it is, so some part of the supply problem would still be there without rent control, I would assume. Removing rent control would convert the decades-long wait list into a decades-long struggle to make enough money to afford rent, would it not?

flavius29663 5y ago

This reminds me of the grocery shopping in communist Romania. My family would spend so little on groceries every month...maybe 400 LEI out of 2 salaries of 2000, so under 10%. The catch is there was nothing on the shelves, if they would bring in bread you would have in instant queue for 2 hours. Same for cabbages, carrots etc. If you just look at the expense you'll miss the fact that people don't get enough groceries, or apartments.