When and how do you terminate a commercial lease in Sweden?
If your commercial lease runs for an indefinite period, the notice period is usually at least nine months, but it can be longer depending on what you have agreed. If you have a fixed-term lease longer than nine months, notice must be given at least nine months before it expires, or earlier if a longer notice period has been agreed. Otherwise the lease is extended. As a rule, notice must be given in writing.
How long is the notice period?
Unless you have agreed a longer period, the following applies under the Swedish Land Code (Jordabalken):
- Leases for an indefinite period: usually at least nine months, but it can be longer depending on what you have agreed. With nine months, the lease ends at the first turn of the month after nine months have passed. If you give notice on 10 March, the lease ends at the end of December.
- Fixed-term leases longer than nine months: give notice no later than nine months before the lease expires. If it expires on 31 December, you must give notice no later than 31 March of the same year.
- Fixed-term leases longer than three months but no longer than nine months: if notice needs to be given, give it no later than three months before the lease expires.
If your lease states a longer notice period, that period applies. A notice period shorter than the statutory minimum cannot be enforced against you.
Do you have to give notice on a fixed-term lease?
Yes, if you have rented the premises for more than nine consecutive months. If nobody gives notice in time, the lease is extended, for an indefinite period unless the lease says otherwise. If it is extended for an indefinite period, a notice period of usually at least nine months then applies. If you have rented for a shorter time than that, the lease ends when the lease period expires, unless otherwise agreed.
How is notice given?
In writing
Notice must be given in writing if you have rented the premises for more than three months when the lease ends. If you give notice in order to move, oral notice is enough, provided the landlord confirms the notice in writing. That exception does not apply when you give notice to obtain changed terms.
When you give notice
If the landlord is domiciled in Sweden, it is enough to send the notice by registered letter to the landlord’s usual address. The notice then counts as given on the day you hand the letter over for posting. You can also deliver it in a way that makes it possible to prove that the landlord has received it (service). It is also possible to hand it to the person who collects the rent for the landlord.
When the landlord gives notice
For a notice under the rules on indirect security of tenure, the landlord’s notice must as a rule be served on you. A registered letter is then not enough. The same applies if the landlord terminates the lease early because of forfeiture, for example if the rent is paid late. In other cases a registered letter may be enough.
What must the landlord’s notice contain?
When the rules on indirect security of tenure apply, the landlord’s notice must contain two things. It must state the landlord’s terms for extending the lease, or the reason why it is not being extended. It must also say that you must turn to the Regional Rent Tribunal (Hyresnämnden) within two months if you do not want to move without compensation. If either of these is missing, the notice is not valid. Read more about what happens after the landlord’s notice.
Can you give notice to obtain changed terms?
Yes. In that case, state in the notice which changes you want, for example a lower rent. If you cannot agree with the landlord, you must turn to the Regional Rent Tribunal within two months of the notice. Otherwise the notice is not valid. Read more about how a renegotiation works.
When must you move out?
No later than the day after the lease period has ended, unless otherwise agreed. By 12 noon on that day, the premises must be available to the next tenant. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, Midsummer Eve, Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, the next working day applies instead.
How can Locality help?
If you are moving, we help you find new premises. Read about how moving to new premises works. If you need to leave the premises before the lease expires, we can help you find someone to take them over.
If you need legal help, we work with the most experienced lawyers in the industry, who have expertise in your particular issue.
Frequently asked questions
- Do we need to turn to the Regional Rent Tribunal when we give notice in order to move?
- No. If you give notice in order to move, you do not need to turn to the Regional Rent Tribunal (Hyresnämnden), according to the Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar).
- Can we withdraw a notice of termination?
- Not on your own. The notice applies even if you change your mind, unless the landlord agrees to extend the lease. This is according to the Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar).