Just days before the parliamentary election, the Tenants’ Association is sending out calls to its members urging them to vote—with market rents named as one of the key issues at stake. The dispatch is part of an extensive electoral mobilization campaign, where the organization is investing SEK 3.5 million in political advertising and aiming to reach hundreds of thousands of tenants. At the same time, a review of the Tenants’ Association’s (HGF) history reveals long-standing and significant personal connections to the Social Democrats.

“Jonas, go vote!” That’s the headline of a mailing from the Tenants’ Association obtained by Samnytt, just days before the general election.

“8 out of 10 do it. Go vote!”, the organization writes, then explains why the recipient should use their vote.

“This election is highly important for you as a tenant. Your rent and your future ability to find housing are affected by the political decisions made. Among other things, whether Sweden will get market-based rents.”

The recipients are also encouraged to vote early and, if possible, bring a friend, neighbor, or family member with them.

Million-Krona Campaign Ahead of the Election

The mailing is only part of a much larger initiative by the Tenants’ Association leading up to the September 13 election. According to the organization’s mandatory transparency notice for political advertising, the Tenants’ Association itself is financing an ad campaign with a total budget of SEK 3.5 million including VAT.

The campaign runs from May 18 all the way to election day, with its purpose stated as informing about market rents and the possible consequences such rents could have for Swedish tenants.

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Yet the election work goes much further than just paid advertising. In the Tenants’ Association’s own material for elected representatives, the organization’s activities are explicitly described as campaign and election work.

Elected representatives are encouraged to engage in so-called “election conversations” with tenants, and the organization has designated special campaign weeks and days throughout the year.

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In Stockholm, HGF even urges its members to “campaign with us during the election in public spaces”, distribute flyers in housing areas, and talk to neighbors. The goal is, among other things, to get more political parties to champion policies that the organization believes benefit tenants.

Should Vote “Based on Their Situation as Tenants”

The Tenants’ Association emphasizes that it does not tell tenants which party to vote for. But in the organization’s material for its own election workers, the goal is more specific than merely increasing turnout.

An explicit aim for these so-called “election conversations” is to get more people to vote according to their situation as tenants. The organization also states that it will work so that its own prioritized political issues have an impact and that it wants tenants to vote “based on your interests, your needs, and your future as a tenant.”

On another regional campaign site, it describes how election activities should be structured. The national election issue is “No to market rents”, and the message “Go vote/use your vote” should also be included in the activities.

This is exactly the combination that reoccurs in the mailing obtained by Samnytt—first a call to vote, then market rents as an example of what’s at stake.

SD Also Says No

But the dividing lines do not precisely overlap with the blocs in government. The Social Democrats, Left Party, and Green Party all oppose market rents. But the Sweden Democrats also categorically say no.

– We say no to market rents; it’s as simple as that, said SD leader Jimmie Åkesson to SVT in June.

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On the other hand, the Christian Democrats and Liberals have advocated for free rent-setting in new construction. Åkesson described the issue as a point of contention within the Tidö cooperation and stated that SD will not compromise on their opposition to market rents.

This means the Tenants’ Association’s campaigning on this issue cannot be simply described as anti-Tidö coalition messaging.

S-Connections Going Way Back

At the same time, there’s another factor making the Tenants’ Association’s political mobilization interesting. According to its bylaws, the organization is politically unaffiliated, but its connections to the Social Democrats have been debated for decades.

As far back as 2001, Swedish Radio’s Ekot investigated the political backgrounds of the organization’s leadership. The results were striking: nearly everyone in the Tenants’ Association’s then-national board had Social Democratic backgrounds, according to Ekot’s research.

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Many board members and local chairs were or had been active Social Democratic politicians.

One was Helena Zackariasén, who simultaneously served as a Social Democratic Member of Parliament and as the Tenants’ Association chair in Örebro County. She said she saw no conflict between the roles and told Swedish Radio that it was not strange for the Tenants’ Association to be influenced by Social Democratic values since the organization started as a popular movement.

Ekot’s research also showed that top officials within the organization could simultaneously have municipal Social Democratic assignments.

Chair with a Social Democratic Past

The Tenants’ Association’s current national chair, Marie Linder, also has a Social Democratic background. When she took over leadership of the politically unaffiliated organization, she left party politics.

Previously, she had been an active Social Democrat in Tyresö for many years, serving as opposition councilor, chair of the school board, and member of the municipal council, among other roles.

Linder has also been head of communications at LO, as the Tenants’ Association itself states in its profile of her.

The connections do not necessarily mean the Tenants’ Association is conducting party-political activities. But together with this year’s extensive election mobilization, they raise the question of where the line is between a politically unaffiliated advocacy organization’s opinion work and a campaign that, in practice, could benefit certain political alternatives.

Samnytt has previously highlighted the Tenants’ Association’s political advocacy. In a piece in autumn 2025, Samnytt examined a report in which the organization mapped out some of the country’s most attractive villa neighborhoods.

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The report drew criticism for potentially being used as an argument for a policy under which rental apartments would be built in affluent villa areas to change the areas’ socioeconomic composition—essentially, forced mixing.

In connection with the report, criticism was also raised about the Tenants’ Association’s close relationship to the Social Democrats and claims that the organization effectively acts as an extension of social democratic housing policy.

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HGF: “We Are Politically Unaffiliated”

The Tenants’ Association, for its part, emphasizes that its mission is to represent Sweden’s approximately three million tenants’ interests and to elevate housing policy on the political agenda. The organization’s own account of their election campaign is also clear:

“The more of us who unite to drive this election campaign together, the stronger we become.”

HGF also states that the organization will work during the election to ensure its prioritized issues are reflected in policy.

Samnytt has contacted the Tenants’ Association to ask, among other things, how the organization views its political independence, its historical ties to the Social Democrats, and the criticism that this year’s election campaign could, in practice, benefit the left side of the political spectrum.

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