Swedish word of the day: ockerhyra
You'll want to be aware of this word, and what it represents, when apartment-hunting in Sweden.
Ockerhyra means 'overpriced rent'.
The word ocker means 'usury' and refers to crimes like loans which have unfairly high interest rates or which are otherwise unethical, especially when taking advantage of the victim being in a vulnerable situation.
Ockerhyra isn't part of the same Swedish law which governs illegal loans. It can be used in general to refer to overpriced rentals, whether they are legal or not. But in some cases ockerhyra is against the law.
Sweden regulates sublets strictly; in general you aren't supposed to rent for profit and landlords should only charge a 'reasonable' rent. That means you should pay no more than the amount the landlord pays, plus an additional 10-15 percent if the apartment is furnished, and fees for any other services included in the contract.
- Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button
That's fairly easy to calculate if you're subletting from someone who rents the apartment themselves, but it's harder if your landlord owns the apartment. In that case, the basic rent can be calculated based on the market value calculated at a monthly rate, which might be worked out based on recently sold similar properties. Then, four percent is usually added on to cover the cost of capital.
So even if your landlord owns the property outright, they can charge you based on how much they would be paying for a brand new mortgage on it – which can be quite high in Sweden's current property market. Some people might refer to a highly priced sublet as ockerhyra even if the landlord is legally allowed to charge that amount.
If you suspect you have been a victim of ockerhyra, though, you can file a complaint with the Swedish Rent and Tenancy Tribunal, and may get your money back.
- How to get your money back if you've been paying too much rent in Sweden
- INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'
Example sentences:
Många vill ha tillbaka pengar för ockerhyra.
Many want their money back from overpriced renting.
Han frågade 15 000 för en tvåa, är det inte ockerhyra?
He was asking for 15,000 kronor for a two-room apartment, isn't that a rip-off?
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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Ockerhyra means 'overpriced rent'.
The word ocker means 'usury' and refers to crimes like loans which have unfairly high interest rates or which are otherwise unethical, especially when taking advantage of the victim being in a vulnerable situation.
Ockerhyra isn't part of the same Swedish law which governs illegal loans. It can be used in general to refer to overpriced rentals, whether they are legal or not. But in some cases ockerhyra is against the law.
Sweden regulates sublets strictly; in general you aren't supposed to rent for profit and landlords should only charge a 'reasonable' rent. That means you should pay no more than the amount the landlord pays, plus an additional 10-15 percent if the apartment is furnished, and fees for any other services included in the contract.
- Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button
That's fairly easy to calculate if you're subletting from someone who rents the apartment themselves, but it's harder if your landlord owns the apartment. In that case, the basic rent can be calculated based on the market value calculated at a monthly rate, which might be worked out based on recently sold similar properties. Then, four percent is usually added on to cover the cost of capital.
So even if your landlord owns the property outright, they can charge you based on how much they would be paying for a brand new mortgage on it – which can be quite high in Sweden's current property market. Some people might refer to a highly priced sublet as ockerhyra even if the landlord is legally allowed to charge that amount.
If you suspect you have been a victim of ockerhyra, though, you can file a complaint with the Swedish Rent and Tenancy Tribunal, and may get your money back.
- How to get your money back if you've been paying too much rent in Sweden
- INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'
Example sentences:
Många vill ha tillbaka pengar för ockerhyra.
Many want their money back from overpriced renting.
Han frågade 15 000 för en tvåa, är det inte ockerhyra?
He was asking for 15,000 kronor for a two-room apartment, isn't that a rip-off?
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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