Renting your home- Rights and obligations

Miljö- och hälsoskyddskontoret, Växjö kommunVästra Esplanaden 18

352 31 VäxjöTelephone: 0470-410 00

E-mail: miljokontor@vaxjo.se

Engelska

What can you expect to get help with- and what you will need to do yourself?

Here you’ll find advice and good ideas about the health-related aspects of your living environment, and what factors are important for ensuring your well-being at home. There are laws and regulations that your property owner is obligated to comply with so that your home does not adversely affect your health. But it is also beneficial for you to have first-hand knowledge of how your home works. Sometimes, you will need to do certain things to ensure the proper function-ing of your home, as well as your own well-being there.

When you have questions or any complaints about malfunctions, the prop-erty owner can inform you whether the personnel will correct the defect or whether there is something you need to do on your own. It is important that you contact the property owner without delay with news of defects and mal-functions, not only to avoid health problems for yourself, but also to prevent damage to the building or problems for your neighbours.

If the defect is located in your apartment, it’s important to allow the property owner, craftspeople or other persons commissioned to perform that job access to your apartment. Make sure to follow the instructions they provide, so they can remedy the problem.

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If you don’t know howto take care of yourapartment

Ask yourproperty owner

Notify your property owner of the defect or other problem

Is there anything wrong with your home that isaffecting your well-being

Hello everyone!

Regardless of where you live, it’s important to have a good living environment. You need certain things in order to feel comfortable in your home.

This folder gives you information about what your responsibilities are and what you can expect of your property owner.

We will also be going through various rules and information regarding ventila-tion, temperature, vermin, noise, odours and the rules of conduct that should be observed in your home and its surroundings.

Please feel free to contact usIf you have any questions or comments about the content of this folder, feel free to contact us at:

Miljö- och hälsoskyddskontoret (Environmental and Public Health Office)Växjö kommun / Växjö MunicipalityTelephone. 0470-410 00E-mail: miljokontor@vaxjo.se

Year of publication: 2019

What if you have notified your property owner of a problem that can affect your health, but nothing happens? If you have given notice of a defect or malfunction and it has neither been remedied nor have you received a response, contact us at the Växjö MunicipalEnvironmental and Public Health Office. We can then determine whether there are laws and regulations that entitle you to be given assistance. If there are, we can demand that your property owner remedy the defect.

Did you cause the disturbance or malfunction?Your property owner’s personnel may contact us if they feel that you, as a tenant, are causing disturbances that affect others, or if you fail to comply with instructions to correct a defect or malfunction. In that case, we can demand that you do what is necessary to enable the defect to be eliminated.

Facts: “Property owner” and “landlord”In this folder, we have consistently used the term, “property owner”. The property owner is the person or entity that owns the building and is respon-sible for complying with the relevant laws and regulations, so as to ensure your well-being at home. This is often the same person or company with whom you have signed a lease. However, sometimes the property owner retains a management company to maintain the building, and to answer the questions, notifications of defects and other complaints that you may have as a tenant.

VentilationThe most important factor in maintaining a good indoor climate, is to ensure that there is an intake of clean, fresh air.

The apartment often has air intake vents that let in fresh air. These can be located in the wall or next to a window. It may be your responsibility to make sure these vents are open and clean so that air can enter. Sometimes, you may not see the places where the air comes in. Older buildings may not have vents, and in that case the air often enters via window frames around inadequately sealed windows.

In addition to the air inside your home, there is carbon dioxide and moisture that you exhale. All the things you have at home, and everything you do there also contributes to the formation of moisture, as well as various kinds of par-ticles and substances in the air. As a result, there must be a way to extract the dirty air from your home. This is often done via vents and fans in the kitchen and bathroom.

Risks of the ventilation not working properly: • We can suffer from fatigue, lack of concentration, etc. • There is an increased risk of allergies and respiratory problems • There can also be damage to the building and a risk of mould if moisture is

allowed to remain in the building.

What kind of help can you get?Your property owner is responsible for ensuring that there is adequate ventilation in your home. There are also requirements that ventilation be checked regularly. You are not allowed to screw, unscrew, adjust or modify any locations that let out air, as this can affect the quality of the air in your home.

What you can do on your ownMost often you are responsible for removing dust from vents in the bathroom and washing the filter of your kitchen fan. Your property owner is responsible for informing you of how you are to do this. It is important to ensure that dust and grease do not prevent stale air from exiting the apartment.

If there are filters in the vents that allow fresh air to enter, the property owner is required to provide you with information about who is responsible for replacing or cleaning these, and how often this is to be done. It is always a good idea to ask, as sometimes you may be the person responsible for doing this.

TemperatureWe all have different opinions about how to define what is a nice, comfortable temperature in our homes. When it is too cold or too warm, our health may be affected.

High temperatures, especially, can lead to serious consequences, whilst low temperatures primarily cause problems relating to our comfort.

There are recommendations about the temperatures at which your home should be kept:

The air temperature in a residence should be: At least 20°C, but no more than 24°C (or 26 °C during the summer). The floor should not be colder than 18°C.

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You can use a regular thermometer to find out whether the temperature is between 20°C and 24°C. If it has been warmer or colder than this range for a significant period of time, the property owner needs to do a more advanced measurement of the temperature in order to compare it with the current guidelines, or take measure to improve the indoor temperature.

These guidelines are not absolute ones that apply to every situation or loca-tion. During extreme weather, such as heatwaves, the guidelines do not apply. There are also groups, such as seniors, very young children, and persons with functional impairments, who are more sensitive to cold and warm tempera-tures. Special guidelines have been formulated for these groups.

What kind of help can you get?It is the property owner who is responsible for ensuring that your home is adequately heated, and that the excess heat is removed through ventilation. If your home is too warm or too cold, you should contact the property owner and give notice of the problem.

What you can do on your ownAlthough there are exceptions as to what is considered an appropriate tem-perature, normally, the temperatures on the previous page will apply and are what you can expect. This means that if you feel cold or hot, despite the temperature being within the normal range, you should try to find your own solutions to counteract this. We all have different views about what a comfort-able temperature is. Remember not to close the vents if you feel it’s too cold, because that’s where the clean, fresh air enters.

VerminVermin is a general term for animals, insects and other creatures that harm people, either directly or indirectly.

There are vermin that: • Eat from our leftover food, such as flour beetles, bacon beetles and cock-

roaches • Ruin textiles, including clothing and rugs, such as carpet beetles and cloth-

ing moths • Attack people, such as bedbugs.

Vermin may also be rodents, such as mice and rats. Vermin should not be in our homes, and if you discover them, you are required to notify the property owner of this, without delay.

What kind of help can you get?If extermination is required, the property owner most often retains the as-sistance of a pest-control or extermination firm, but sometimes the property owner will want you to contact the pest control firm on your own. Regardless of who has actually ordered the work, the property owner and the pest control firm are responsible for providing you with information as to the nature of the work being performed, why it is being done, and when it will be completed.

What you can do on your ownIn the case of extermination, you are required to provide the pest control firm with access to your home, and to follow all of their instructions.

If the vermin infestation should recur, despite the extermination, you are re-quired to inform the property owner once again.

Rules of conduct, odours and noiseYour property owner may have rules of conduct that apply to your apartment. Examples of these can be rules about dealing with pets, instructions on how to take care of the laundry room, and prohibitions against playing loud music.

There are also provisions in the law prohibiting you from disturbing your neighbours. This means, for example, that you are not allowed to create ex-cessively loud noise by playing music at a high volume or allowing your dog to bark loudly. You are also responsible for ensuring that nothing under your control creates odours that can disturb your neighbours.

What kind of help can you get?If you feel that you feel that you are being disturbed by odours or noise from your neighbours, for example, you should first contact your property owner. If this doesn’t help, you can contact the Environmental and Public Health Office of Växjö Municipality.

What you can do on your ownKeep track of what rules of conduct apply to the area where you live, and show awareness and tact if complaints are made against you. If you disturb your neighbours often and to a significant degree, the matter will first be handled by the property owner. If this doesn’t work, we at the Environmental and Pub-lic Health Office of Växjö Municipality will demand that you cease disturbing your neighbours, and if this doesn’t help, you may be required to pay a penalty if you continue to create disturbances.

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