Newcomer guide

Finding a home in Sweden

Finding a home in Sweden is a real challenge, especially an apartment with a long-term contract. Far fewer apartments are built than people need, so the good ones rarely come up for rent.

Instead of first come, first served, Sweden uses queues. A first-hand contract, your own lease directly with the landlord, goes to whoever has waited longest. There is not just one queue: your city or municipality runs one, many private landlords run their own, and students have separate ones. Add second-hand rentals and the scams that come with them, and the housing market can feel like a jungle.

This guide shows you how it all works, which queues to join and where to look while you wait, so you can hunt down an apartment better than most. Start with the action plan below and take it one step at a time.

Your housing action plan

  1. 1

    Book a temporary home

    Before you move
    Rent a furnished second-hand place for your first 3 to 6 months. Ask your employer if they offer temporary housing too.
    Qasa Bofrid
  2. 2

    Join your city's housing queue

    Day you get your personnummer
    City queues need a personnummer. Pay the small yearly fee on time, or you lose your place.
    Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm Boplats Väst Boplats Syd Uppsala Bostadsförmedling
  3. 3

    Join private landlord queues

    Once you have BankID
    HomeQ is free and covers hundreds of private landlords. Add big landlords with their own queue.
    HomeQ Wallenstam Einar Mattsson
  4. 4

    Let an app manage the rest

    Optional
    Dozens of landlords run separate queues that need regular log-ins. A queue app joins them for you for a small monthly fee.
    HomeQ Samla Dibz Boio Kö
  5. 5

    Apply, and be ready to say yes

    Every week
    Keep your employment contract, recent payslips and a short intro about your family ready as PDFs. Many landlords want an income of about three times the rent.

All housing queues and rental sites

What each one does and what it costs. Last checked October 2026; confirm fees on the site before you pay.
Show sites for

City housing queues

The main route to a first-hand contract. Join early: your place depends on how long you have been in the queue.

Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm

Stockholm
Stockholm's municipal housing queue. Most rental apartments in Stockholm and many nearby municipalities are let through it.
200 SEK a year
Needs: Age 18+ and a personnummer or coordination number
Pay the yearly fee on time. If you miss it, you lose all your queue time.
Visit Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm

Boplats Väst

Gothenburg
The housing queue for Gothenburg and western Sweden (formerly Boplats Göteborg), covering municipalities such as Ale, Borås and Uddevalla.
200 SEK a year from age 22, free for ages 17–21
Visit Boplats Väst

Boplats Syd

Malmö
The housing queue for Malmö and other municipalities in Skåne. Apartments are offered strictly in queue order.
300 SEK a year
Visit Boplats Syd

Uppsala Bostadsförmedling

Uppsala
Uppsala's municipal housing queue.
About 300 SEK a year
Visit Uppsala Bostadsförmedling

Private landlords and first-hand portals

Many private landlords rent out apartments outside the city queues, often with shorter waits.

HomeQ

All of Sweden
A free national queue used by hundreds of private landlords. Your queue points work for every landlord on the site, anywhere in Sweden.
Free to join
Needs: Usually BankID
You have to apply for each apartment yourself. Nothing is assigned automatically.
Visit HomeQ

Wallenstam

StockholmGothenburgUppsala
Large private landlord with its own free queue, mainly in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
Free to join
Visit Wallenstam

Einar Mattsson

Stockholm
Stockholm landlord with its own free queue based on queue points.
Free to join
Visit Einar Mattsson

Apps that manage your queues

Private landlords each run their own queue, and many need you to log in regularly to stay in them. These services join the queues for you and keep you active. The queues' own fees still apply.

HomeQ Samla

All of Sweden
Paid add-on to your HomeQ account. Joins 200+ external landlord queues for you, earns a queue point a day in each, and logs in so you keep your place.
Monthly subscription; price shown when you sign up
Needs: Personnummer and a Swedish address
Visit HomeQ Samla

Dibz

All of Sweden
Queue assistant covering 400+ housing, student and parking queues. Join with a few clicks and Dibz keeps your places active.
14 days free, then 39 SEK a month; from about 25 SEK a month if you pay ahead
Visit Dibz

Boio Kö

All of Sweden
Web app that shows all your queues in one place, helps you register and reminds you about renewals and fees.
7 days free, then 20 SEK a month or 200 SEK a year
Visit Boio Kö

Second-hand and furnished rentals

Where most newcomers find their first home: renting from someone else for a few months or years.

Qasa

All of Sweden
Sweden's biggest site for renting from private people. Blocket's rental listings moved here in 2025.
Free to search; a service fee is added to the rent when you sign through Qasa
Needs: BankID to sign the contract
Many rentals need no deposit if you pass the credit check.
Visit Qasa

Bofrid

All of Sweden
Second-hand rental platform that handles the contract, deposit and rent payments for you.
A tenant fee on top of the rent
Visit Bofrid

Student housing

Only for students at the linked universities, but much faster than the city queues.

SSSB

Stockholm
The main student housing provider in Stockholm.
Free queue; student union membership needed to keep collecting days
You can collect up to 90 queue days before joining a student union, so sign up as soon as you are admitted.
Visit SSSB

SGS Studentbostäder

Gothenburg
Student housing for the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers.
Free queue
Log in at least once a year to keep your queue points.
Visit SGS Studentbostäder

AF Bostäder

Lund
Student housing for Lund University, including a priority lottery for new students.
Free queue; Studentlund membership needed
Visit AF Bostäder

Avoid rental scams

Scammers copy real listings, or invent them, and target people who are new to Sweden and in a hurry. If a place looks too good for the price, treat it with suspicion.
  • Never pay anything before you have seen the home and signed a contract.
  • Check the person is the real tenant or owner and is allowed to sublet.
  • Walk away if you are rushed, or told you cannot view the home.
  • Do not pay by international transfer or cash. Prefer platforms that sign with BankID.

Housing questions

Can I join the Stockholm housing queue before I move to Sweden?

Only if you already have a personnummer or a coordination number. Bostadsförmedlingen requires one of them, so most newcomers join in their first weeks, right after registering with Skatteverket. You can start searching second-hand sites such as Qasa before you arrive. HomeQ is free but usually needs BankID, which you get a few weeks after arriving.

How long is the housing queue in Stockholm?

Years, not months. Popular inner-city areas can take well over ten years, while suburbs and new buildings are faster. That is why most newcomers rent second-hand first and join several queues at once.

What is the difference between a first-hand and a second-hand contract?

A first-hand contract (förstahandskontrakt) is signed directly with the landlord and gives you strong tenant rights. A second-hand contract (andrahandskontrakt) is renting from someone who rents or owns the home themselves. It is usually time-limited and gives you weaker protection.

How can I avoid rental scams in Sweden?

Never pay a deposit or rent before you have seen the home and signed a contract. Check that the person is really the tenant or owner, and that they have permission to sublet. Be wary of pressure to decide quickly or requests for payment by international transfer. Platforms that sign with BankID and handle payments are safer.

Do I need a Swedish credit history to rent?

Many landlords run a credit check and ask for an income of around three times the rent. Without a Swedish history, bring your employment contract and recent payslips, and offer a reference from a previous landlord. Some landlords accept a larger deposit or a letter from your employer.

More guides for newcomers

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