A municipal rent guarantee is a guarantee commitment made by a municipality that covers a tenant’s obligation to pay rent. The purpose of a municipal rent guarantee is to provide support for households that have the financial capacity to meet the costs of their own housing, but that, despite this, have difficulty getting established in the housing market and finding rented accommodation with security of tenure.
A needs assessment is made of applications for municipal rent guarantees. The application for a municipal rent guarantee is made to the municipality in which the dwelling is located. The municipal rent guarantee is a voluntary undertaking for the municipality.
A municipality that provides a municipal rent guarantee under the Act (1993:406) on Municipal Support for Housing can obtain a government grant of SEK 5 000 per guarantee. SEK 100 million per year has been allocated to this grant. Decisions on the grant are taken by BKN.
In order to be covered by the government system, the rent guarantee has to cover the rent for a period of at least six months and the guarantee has to be available for at least two years. Another requirement is that the rent guarantee is provided for people who have the financial capacity to meet the costs of their own housing, but who still have difficulty finding rented accommodation with security of tenure. This can include young people who do not have permanent employment or who are recorded as not having paid a debt. But the rent guarantee is also intended to cover other groups, with financial capacity, that have difficulty entering the housing market. The rent guarantee is a form of support for the tenant and it does not matter who owns the property.