Indexklausul
An indexklausul is the contract term in lokalhyra (Swedish commercial premises leases) that links the ongoing rent to a price index, normally the consumer price index (KPI), so that the rent rises in step with inflation without the parties having to renegotiate every year.
The right to use an indexklausul is set out in law, not just in contract practice. Under jordabalken (1970:994) chapter 12, section 19, third paragraph, the rent for commercial premises must as a general rule be stated as a fixed amount in the agreement. The law still makes an exception if the agreement is entered into for a fixed term and the lease period is at least three years: in that case a provision that the rent is to be calculated on a basis other than a fixed amount is valid, and this exception is what an indexklausul rests on in practice. A lokalhyra agreement entered into for less than three years, or for an indefinite period, therefore cannot lawfully carry an index clause on the rent amount itself.
In practice the clause is almost always tied to KPI, published by Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB). The base year for KPI is currently 2020 (2020=100); SCB changed classification and base year from 1980 to 2020 with effect from January 2026. Older contracts with an index clause based on the previous base year therefore need a conversion factor to be compared correctly against today's index, just as with older Norwegian KPI clauses.
In practice the adjustment is calculated by comparing KPI for an agreed basmånad (base month), often October in the year before the tenancy started or before an agreed adjustment date, with KPI for the same month the following year. The difference in per cent is added to the base rent from a set date, usually 1 January. If KPI has risen 3.5% over the period, the rent rises by the same amount for the following year. Unlike many Norwegian clauses, Swedish index clauses in lokalhyra agreements more rarely have a cap or floor on the adjustment; instead the tenant and the landlord carry the full swing in KPI, unless something else is specifically agreed.
An indexklausul always specifies three elements: which index is used, a basmånad to measure from, and how the adjustment translates into kronor. Most contracts use October as the basmånad, because SCB has then published the full figures for the previous year, and let the adjustment take effect from the following 1 January. Some lokalhyra agreements, especially in a start-up phase with tenant fit-out, instead use a stepped rent for the first few years, a fixed percentage increase agreed in advance, before the agreement moves over to ordinary KPI adjustment. This is not a variant set out in law, only a negotiated solution, and it does not replace the requirement of at least three years' lease period if the contract is to have an indexklausul in the sense of the law.
The Norwegian counterpart is KPI-regulering in Norwegian commercial leases, and here the systems are alike rather than different: both link the rent to a consumer price index published by a national statistics office, and both are used as the market's standard mechanism for protecting the landlord against inflation. The practical difference is not the mechanism itself, but the barrier to using it: Swedish law requires at least three years of fixed lease term before an index clause is valid at all, while the Norwegian tenancy act sets no equivalent minimum contract length for using KPI adjustment in commercial leases.
From Placepoint's glossary: Indexklausul
More information: Riksdagen: Jordabalken (1970:994), SCB: Konsumentprisindex (KPI)
English: Index clause (rent indexation), typically CPI-linked.
Frequently asked questions
What is an indexklausul?
An indexklausul is a contract term in lokalhyra that adjusts the rent each year in line with a price index, normally the consumer price index (KPI), instead of a new negotiation every year.
Does a lokalhyra agreement have to run for at least three years to have an index clause?
Yes. Under jordabalken chapter 12, section 19, third paragraph, an index clause on the rent amount is only valid when the agreement is entered into for a fixed term of at least three years.
Which index is normally used?
Konsumentprisindex (KPI), published by Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB), with 2020 as the current base year.
How is the annual adjustment calculated in practice?
By comparing KPI for an agreed basmånad with KPI for the same month the following year. The percentage change is added to the base rent from a set date, usually 1 January.
Is the Swedish indexklausul different from Norwegian KPI-regulering?
Not in the mechanism. Both link the rent to a consumer price index. The difference is that Swedish law requires at least three years of fixed lease term for the clause to be valid, which KPI-regulering in Norwegian commercial leases does not require.