Sweden's municipalities have increased their water and sewerage tariffs by an average of 7.3 percent since 2025. This is shown by the annual survey from the Nils Holgersson group, which consists of representatives from, among others, the Swedish Tenancy Association, the Property Owners Association and the Swedish Public Service.
The soaring water and sewerage prices are part of a steep rise in water costs in recent years: Since 2023, water and sewerage prices have increased by 35 percent - more than seven times faster than general inflation.
In Trosa, Danderyd and Gnesta, the water and sewerage tariff for households in apartment buildings has increased by over 100 percent in the last three years.
Big differences
How hard this year's increase will hit depends on where in the country you live.
Of the country's 290 municipalities, 89 are raising the tariff by at least 10 percent, while 20 are increasing the cost by just over 20 percent. The most drastic increase is in Ljungby and Pajala, where the increase in the water and sewerage fee is around 60 percent.
Björn Berggren, chairman of the Nils Holgersson group, sees no acceptable reason for the increase or the local differences.
Arguments such as new legal requirements and neglected maintenance are not enough to explain the soaring prices and are no excuse for imposing them on households, he believes.
Urging individual households to save water is a way to deceive them, according to Berggren.
If you reduce your water consumption by 20 percent and the water tariff is increased by 100 percent, water still does not become cheaper for the household.
Instead of higher fees, reduced water consumption should lead to more efficient water supply and sewerage operations, Berggren believes.
Customers take the hit
Pär Dalhielm, CEO of Svenskt Vatten, however, believes that it is reasonable for certain costs to be visible in the water and sewerage fee, and also sees local price differences as logical.
They may depend on different conditions in the municipalities in terms of customer base and geology. In one place, you may have had to blast through rock to gain access to the water supply, and this has higher costs, he says.
Svenskt Vatten has long warned that investments of SEK 31 billion per year are required to cover the enormous investment needs for the country's neglected water supply network, and has called for a government inquiry into how this should be financed.
But it will be the water and sewerage customers who will continue to take the brunt of this, says Pär Dalhielm.
Maximum water and sewerage tariff: SEK per apartment and year:
(based on the most common apartment type in Swedish apartment buildings: a two-room apartment of around 60 square meters)
Panties 14,298
Vaxholm 13,818
Gnesta 13,334
Norrtälje 13,024
Värmdö 12,785
Norrköping 12,748
Tjörn 12,506
Lysekil 12,262
Österåker 11,988
Strömstad 11,860
Among the municipalities that have had their water and sewerage tariffs reduced this year are Nyköping (-14.7 percent), Kungsör (-9.8 percent) and Emmaboda (-4.8 percent).
Here the VA tariff has increased the most this year:
Ljungby 61.0 percent (Here, however, the VA price was relatively low before the increase: SEK 4,468 per apartment)
Pajala 57.1 percent
Habo 30.0 percent
Sundbyberg 27.7 percent
Valdemarsvik 27.1 percent
Gnesta 25.9 percent
Norberg 25.0 percent
Säter 25.0 percent
Nybro 25.0 percent
Average increase in the VA fee for the entire country: 7.3 percent.
Source: Nils Holgersson Report 2026.
The Nils Holgersson group consists of representatives from the Swedish Housing Association, the Swedish Property Owners Association, the Swedish National Housing Association, the Swedish Tenants' Association, the Swedish Public Works Agency and the Swedish Public Utilities Commission.
