Markanvisning
A markanvisning is an agreement in which a Swedish municipality gives a developer the exclusive right to negotiate over a specific municipal plot, for a limited period and on set terms. It does not grant any right to build in itself, only the right to negotiate further towards a transfer or leasehold of the land.
The definition is set out in lag (2014:899) om riktlinjer för kommunala markanvisningar § 1: an agreement between a municipality and a developer that gives the developer the exclusive right, for a limited time and on set terms, to negotiate with the municipality over the transfer or leasehold of an area of land the municipality itself owns, for development. The act was amended in 2025 without any change to the substance of the definition itself.
Section 2 of the act requires every municipality that uses markanvisning to adopt guidelines covering four points: the basis and goals for transfers and leaseholds of municipal land, how markanvisningar are used to follow the municipality's action plan for housing supply, case handling routines and basic terms, and principles for pricing the land. A municipality that does not use markanvisning does not need to adopt guidelines.
Three main forms are used in practice. Direktanvisning allocates the plot directly to a single developer without competition, usually because the developer has particular expertise or a project the municipality wants. Anbudstävling, also called markanvisningstävling, puts the plot out to competition, where price is often the deciding factor. Jämförelseförfarande sets out several criteria, such as architecture, sustainability or housing type, and lets a jury assess the submitted proposals as a whole, not just the price. The choice of form is set in the municipality's own guidelines.
A markanvisning normally ends in one of two types of agreement: a marköverlåtelseavtal, where the municipality sells the plot, or a tomträttsavtal, where the municipality keeps ownership and the developer pays a running fee for tomträtt. An associated exploateringsavtal is often negotiated in parallel, but the two are not the same document: a markanvisning covers municipal land, while an exploateringsavtal typically covers land the developer already owns.
Combify collects markanvisningar directly from the municipalities' own land and development offices, in a large majority of the country's municipalities, and makes them searchable alongside detaljplan status and bygglov.
Norwegian comparison: the closest Norwegian practice is municipal plot allocation, where a municipality sells or leases plots to developers under its own, locally set routines. Sweden, by contrast, has a national legal requirement that every municipality using markanvisning must adopt public guidelines for the process and the pricing. Norway has no direct statutory counterpart to this markanvisning act, and it is precisely the absence that matters: a Norwegian municipality can change its practice for plot sales without publishing guidelines or justifying its choice of allocation method, while a Swedish municipality is required by law to do exactly that.
From Placepoint's glossary: Markanvisning
More information: Boverket: Lagen om riktlinjer för kommunala markanvisningar, Lag (2014:899) om riktlinjer för kommunala markanvisningar
English: A time-limited exclusive right to negotiate with a municipality over municipally owned land for development (Swedish-specific, akin to a land allocation agreement).
Frequently asked questions
What is a markanvisning?
A markanvisning is an agreement in which a Swedish municipality gives a developer the exclusive right to negotiate over a specific municipal plot, for a limited period and on set terms. It does not in itself grant a right to build.
Must all Swedish municipalities have guidelines for markanvisning?
Only those municipalities that actually use markanvisning. The act on riktlinjer för kommunala markanvisningar then requires the municipality to adopt guidelines for goals, case handling and pricing.
What are the three most common forms of markanvisning?
Direktanvisning without competition, anbudstävling where price decides, and jämförelseförfarande where several criteria such as architecture and sustainability are assessed as a whole.
What is the difference between markanvisning and exploateringsavtal?
A markanvisning covers land the municipality itself owns and later transfers or leases out. An exploateringsavtal covers land the developer already owns.
How does a markanvisning end?
Normally in a marköverlåtelseavtal, where the municipality sells the plot, or a tomträttsavtal, where the municipality keeps ownership in return for a running fee for tomträtt.
Is there anything equivalent in Norway?
Not as a separate statutory instrument. Norwegian municipalities sell and lease out plots under their own, locally set routines, without a national requirement for published guidelines of the kind the Swedish markanvisning act sets.