Bostadsrättsförening
A bostadsrättsförening is the legal person that owns the building and gives each member the right to use one flat in the form of a bostadsrätt. The association is an ekonomisk förening with the single purpose of allocating bostadsrätter to its own members, see bostadsrättslagen 1 kap. 1 §.
The association is governed by two acts at the same time: bostadsrättslagen for the relationship with the members, and lagen om ekonomiska föreningar (2018:672) for the company form itself. The association must be filed for registration with Bolagsverket within six months of incorporation (2 kap. 2 §), and only becomes a legal person, that is, able to enter into agreements and own property, on registration (2 kap. 4 §). Before the association can allocate flats with bostadsrätt, it must also register an economic plan with Bolagsverket (3 kap. 1 § bostadsrättslagen), certified by two approved intygsgivare who confirm that the figures are realistic (3 kap. 2 §). If the allocation is made without a registered plan, it is void under 4 kap. 7 §, and the member is entitled to compensation.
For tax purposes, a distinction is made between a genuine (äkta) and a non-genuine (oäkta) förening. Under 2 kap. 17 § of the inkomstskattelagen, a genuine förening (called a privatbostadsföretag) is a förening whose activity "till klart övervägande del" consists in providing members with housing in its own buildings. A förening that lets a significant share of premises or flats to outside parties counts as non-genuine. The distinction is not cosmetic: in a genuine förening the member pays no income tax on the housing use itself, while a member of a non-genuine förening is taxed on a calculated nyttjandevärde equal to market rent, and loses the option to defer capital gains tax on resale.
Under the lagen om ekonomiska föreningar, the association must have a styrelse of at least three members (7 kap. 1 §), elected by the föreningsstämma (7 kap. 6 §), the association's counterpart to the general meeting in a borettslag. Within six months of the end of the financial year, the association must hold an ordinary föreningsstämma at which the årsredovisning is presented (6 kap. 9 §), and an auditor must have reviewed both the årsredovisning and the accounts (8 kap. 3 §).
The årsredovisning is the most important public source on the association's finances: it shows total debt, loan structure, provisions for future maintenance and how much of the income comes from members' charges as against letting to outside parties. The Norwegian counterpart is the borettslag, which Kartverket records in a separate Borettsregister kept apart from the ordinary Grunnboken. A Swedish bostadsrättsförening has no equivalent register of its own: it is registered like any other ekonomisk förening with Bolagsverket, and that is precisely why the årsredovisning, not a public share register, is the buyer's most important window into the association's real finances.
From Placepoint's dictionary: Bostadsrättsförening
More information: Riksdagen: Lag (2018:672) om ekonomiska föreningar, Riksdagen: Inkomstskattelag (1999:1229), Skatteverket: Ekonomisk förening eller bostadsrättsförening
English: Housing cooperative association (Swedish-specific legal form, a type of ekonomisk förening).
Frequently asked questions
What is a bostadsrättsförening?
A bostadsrättsförening is an ekonomisk förening that owns a building and gives each member the right to use one flat in the form of a bostadsrätt.
Where is a bostadsrättsförening registered?
With Bolagsverket, like any other ekonomisk förening. The association only becomes a legal person on registration, and must also register an approved economic plan there before it can allocate flats.
What is the difference between a genuine and a non-genuine bostadsrättsförening?
A genuine förening (privatbostadsföretag) provides members with housing "till klart övervägande del" in its own buildings. A non-genuine förening lets a significant share to outside parties, and the members are then taxed on a calculated nyttjandevärde and lose the right to defer capital gains tax on a sale.
Who sits on the board, and how is it elected?
The Board has at least three members and is elected by the föreningsstämma, the association's counterpart to the general meeting in a borettslag.
Why should I read the årsredovisning before I buy a bostadsrätt?
Because a Swedish bostadsrättsförening is not recorded in any separate public share register, the way Norwegian borettslag are recorded in Borettsregisteret. The årsredovisning is therefore the buyer's most important source on the association's debt and real finances.
What happens if the association allocates a flat without a registered economic plan?
The allocation is void under bostadsrättslagen 4 kap. 7 §. The member is entitled to compensation, and if the flat has already been in use, the arrangement instead becomes an ordinary tenancy.