Around the country, there were almost 7,500 vacant apartments last year, according to the Swedish Public Utilities Agency's rental market survey for 2025. This is clearly more than in previous years.
When it comes to new construction, higher rent levels are cited as the main reason. When it comes to existing properties, housing companies instead cite reduced demand as the main reason, followed by demographic changes, such as emigration.
Empty homes create challenges in several ways, points out Holgersson, CEO of Sveriges Allmännytta.
In some relocation areas where there are very many empty homes, there is still debt on these properties. No one lives there and you can see that it creates insecurity, she tells TT.
This is a challenge for municipalities, especially in central Sweden, she says. In many cases, it would be better to demolish the empty houses, but that is something they cannot afford.
That's where I see that the state needs to step in. We can't have empty houses falling into disrepair, we don't want that kind of society.
The Swedish Housing Development Agency is also tasked with converting existing housing into properties that are accessible to older residents. Cathrine Holgersson is now proposing that this task be expanded.
In cases where it is not even possible to convert them into housing for the elderly, then the state could handle the actual depreciation and demolition, she says.
