Being In Stockholm: Finding an Apartment in Stockholm

We are writing this blog entry primarily for people who are starting on their journey to relocate to Stockholm and are seeking some information on how the process works. Along with death and taxes, you can also count on an arduous task when it comes to finding housing in Stockholm!

Where to live. We opted to live in the city vs. an outlying suburb. Stockholm is a very livable city. It is relatively small and has a wonderful European charm as well as an up-to-date cosmopolitan feel. Areas on our housing radar included areas mostly west or north of the city and on a subway line: Kungsholmen, Marieberg and Södermalm. Off the list due mostly to expense were Gamla Stan, Ostermalm and Norrmalm. We also considered out-of-town living in Solna, Nacka, Bromma and Liljeholmen, which all came recommended by expats.

Living within a short walking distance (10 minutes or less) to a T-Bana (subway) station was essential because we don’t plan to buy a car. We were given counsel by those that have lived through several Swedish winters to consider early darkness, snow and cold when calibrating our distance from public transportation. Jay was keen to use the T-Bana vs. a bus in order to avoid waiting outside for public transportation to get to work.

Our location criteria also included the distance from front door to grocery store. We did not want to rely on public transportation for a trip to the market, nor did we want a long walk lugging groceries back home.

We started out wanting a two-bedroom apartment 70 – 100 square meters with all utilities, internet and TV included in a monthly rental range between SEK 10,000 – 14,000 ($1545 - $2160).

We made an effort during weekend day trips to visit as many towns and neighborhoods as we could. Having a personal understanding of neighborhoods really helped us understand where to look for housing online. We confess, however, that when no housing possibilities were appearing with our desired criteria we knew we’d have to concede by raising the amount we would have to pay and lowering the amount of space. We stayed focused and hopeful.

The tricky part is that online housing opportunities come and go in a flash. Rarely do people advertise rental apartment weeks or months in advance, and within hours a landlord can have 50 replies. You have to play most, if not all, your cards up front to even get a response. I told prospective landlords that we were a quiet, non-smoking American couple with no children and no pets. My husband has an employment contract and we plan to be in Sweden for two years.

Lease durations vary from a few weeks to six months and sometimes one year, but not longer. Many people who leave the city for summer vacation sublet their furnished apartments for one to eight weeks from June – August.

There are numerous websites where landlords post their apartments for free, and people looking for apartments have to pay to either see the listings or respond to the listings. The most popular websites are:

Bostaddirekt.com (Biggest and most popular; costs SEK 695 to register for Stockholm – about $108. Registration is for 45 days. Don’t even think about looking further in advance.)

Blocket.se (Charges about $30 to register for 45 days)

Hyrbostad.se

Short Video Tour of our First Apartment