The price of tap water is skyrocketing – just the beginning

The costs for water and sewage are skyrocketing. In every fourth municipality, the fee has been increased by over 20 percent this year. We wonder how they have managed their operations if they need to make such large price increases, says Joachim Höggren, chairman of the Nils Holgersson group.

» Published: Wed 9 Oct 2024 06:00 CEST

Most of the country's municipalities have raised the price during 2024, on average it is about 13.9 percent. The differences between the municipalities are still large.

A number of municipalities are retaining the price from last year, while only two are lowering the tax: Växjö and Hallsberg.

According to the figures from the Nils Holgersson group, consisting of the organizations Bostadsrätterna, Fastighetsägarna, HSB Riksförbund, Hyresgästföreningen, Riksbyggen and Sveriges Allmännytta, every fourth municipality has raised the prices by over 20 percent in 2024.

This type of increase that some are doing now, we have not seen before, says chairman Joachim Höggren.

"Running amok"

In several municipalities, the increases are even larger. Hässleholm municipality, for example, has raised the tax by over 35 percent, while the price in Solna has increased by nearly 50 percent.

The largest increase is seen in Danderyd in Stockholm County. There, they have decided to raise the tax by 63 percent.

We see that the taxes are running amok, because they really are in some places.

Just like with the district heating price, the Nils Holgersson group sees that the increases for water and sewage are record-high.

No more cheap water

According to them, many municipalities state that there is a great need for maintenance – hence the increases.

Many announce that they have a maintenance debt and that the system is in poor condition and that they need to make large investments in the coming years.

There is no overall picture of what will happen with prices next year. It is not clear for all municipalities. But according to Joachim Höggren, there is a risk that the taxes will continue to increase.