In a parliamentary motion, the Sweden Democrats propose that the compulsory fee all tenants pay to the Tenants’ Association be abolished. The motion’s author Josef Fransson argues that today’s system is unreasonable, given that it concerns an organization with clear political ties to the Social Democrats.
On Wednesday, the Riksdag addressed the Civil Committee’s report CU14 Rental Rights, which includes a proposal to abolish the so-called rent negotiation fee to the Tenants’ Association. The initiative comes from Sweden Democrat Josef Fransson, who in his motion urges the Riksdag to call on the government to take action to remove the fee.
In the motion, he proposes that the Riksdag inform the government that measures should be taken so that the compulsory fee is removed:
“The Tenants’ Association is, in all essential aspects, to be considered part of the Social Democrats. A significant portion of the Tenants’ Association’s revenues comes from the so-called rent negotiation fee. The fee is mandated by law and through this the association can charge an invisible cost from every tenant around Sweden, regardless of whether the individual is a member of the Tenants’ Association or not. The funds can then freely be used for advocacy work with a party-political focus,” writes Josef Fransson in motion 2025/26:16.
Criticizes Mandatory Fee
In a comment to Bostadspolitik.se, Fransson expands on his criticism of the system. He argues that it is fundamentally problematic for tenants to be forced to pay a fee to an organization even if they are not members.
– I am quite involved in issues relating to corruption. The Social Democratic Party has tentacles throughout society, and I often argue this constitutes a form of corruption. That the rent negotiation fee is mandatory, even for non-members, is as wrong in principle as forced union membership was.
Wants to Link Fee to Membership
Today, even tenants who are not members of the Tenants’ Association are forced to pay the fee. The argument is that the organization in many cases negotiates rents for entire property stocks.
According to Fransson, such a fee, if it is to be charged at all, should instead be tied to membership in the Tenants’ Association. Today, it is mandated by law.
Historical Ties to the Social Democrats
In his motion, Fransson also highlights what he describes as close ties between the Tenants’ Association and the Social Democrats. He points out that the organization’s leadership has, historically, had backgrounds within the labor movement.
– To my knowledge, all national chairpersons through the years have had backgrounds in the Social Democrats or the broader labor movement… Marie Linder is a former head of communications at LO and an active Social Democrat in Stockholm. Barbro Engman, a former chairperson, was a member of parliament for the Social Democrats.
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He argues that these connections have political consequences, citing as the most blatant recent example the 2018 general election campaign, when the Tenants’ Association, hand in hand with the Social Democrats, ran an extensive campaign against market rents with slogans such as “rent shock”.
Benefit for All Tenants “Irrelevant”
Fransson does not buy the argument that all tenants benefit from the system, calling it an irrelevant objection. Forced association with an organization connected to a political party, he sees as “totally unacceptable.”
How collective rent negotiations could be organized and financed if the fee were removed, Fransson asserts, is not for him to solve. However, he suggests that one idea could be to allow competing rent negotiators.
Several Motions in the Same Direction
Fransson’s motion is not the only one addressing the issue in the Civil Committee’s report. The Moderates have also put forward proposals on a similar theme.
Members of Parliament Gustaf Göthberg and Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström want the government to investigate the possibility of clarifying which fees, via the rent, go to the Tenants’ Association. At the same time, Camilla Brunsberg proposes the government review the possibility of entirely abolishing the rent negotiation fee under the Rent Negotiation Act.