The short answer
The word is felanmälan, a fault report, and it is how every repair starts in a Swedish rental. Most landlords take it through a form or an app rather than a phone call, and the message needs four things: what is broken, where it is, since when, and whether the flat can be entered with the master key while you are out. That last line is the one people forget, and it is usually the difference between a visit this week and a second appointment. Say akut only when water is running, there is no heat in winter, or the flat cannot be locked, because an emergency call outside office hours can be charged to you when it turns out not to be one.
What felanmälan is, and who pays
In a Swedish rental the landlord is responsible for keeping the flat in working order, and repairs to what came with the flat are not billed to you. That covers taps, radiators, the cooker and fridge when they belong to the landlord, the extractor fan, the windows and the front door lock.
What you can be billed for is damage you caused, and the boundary is narrower than people fear. A blocked sink from cooking fat, a broken cupboard door, a window left open in a storm. Normal wear is not damage.
The report goes through whatever channel the landlord has chosen, in the same way a parcel notification names one shop and not another. Large public housing companies have an app or a login page, smaller landlords take an email, and there is usually a separate emergency number printed in the stairwell, which is the one you save to your phone before you need it.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Jag vill göra en felanmälan. | I'd like to report a fault. | The opening line, on the phone or in a form. |
| Kranen i köket droppar. | The kitchen tap is dripping. | Name the room and the object. That is all the detail needed. |
| Elementet blir inte varmt. | The radiator isn't getting warm. | Element is a radiator, not an element. A common false friend. |
| Det har varit så här sedan i fredags. | It has been like this since Friday. | Since when matters, and it is the field people leave empty. |
The four things your message must contain
What is broken, in plain words. You do not need the technical term. Toaletten spolar inte is a better report than a guess about the mechanism.
Where it is. The room, and the position if there is more than one: badrummet, köket, sovrummet, hallen, or trapphuset for the stairwell.
Since when. A fault that has been there three weeks and one that started this morning get different priorities, and a landlord cannot see the difference unless you write it.
Whether they may enter. This is the decisive line. Writing ni får gärna gå in med huvudnyckel means they can do the job while you are at work. Leaving it out usually means a phone call to arrange a time, and then a slot that does not suit either of you.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Ni får gärna gå in med huvudnyckel. | You're welcome to enter with the master key. | The line that gets the repair done this week. |
| Jag är hemma efter klockan sexton. | I'm home after four o'clock. | When you would rather be present. |
| Det finns en hund i lägenheten. | There is a dog in the flat. | Say it. Nobody enters a flat with an unannounced dog. |
| Var snäll och ring innan ni kommer. | Please call before you come. | The polite way to ask for notice. |
Akut or not, and why the word matters
Akut means the sort of fault that cannot wait: water that is running and will not stop, a total loss of heating in winter, a door that cannot be locked, a lift with somebody in it, a smell of gas. For those there is a jouren, an out-of-hours service, and the number is on the noticeboard in the entrance.
Using that number for a dripping tap at nine in the evening can end with a charge on your next rent, because the call-out is priced as an emergency. The dripping tap goes in the ordinary form and gets handled in working hours.
If you are unsure, describe the fault rather than classifying it. Det rinner vatten på golvet i badrummet tells a professional everything; det är akut tells them nothing they can act on.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Det rinner vatten på golvet. | There's water running on the floor. | A genuine emergency. Call the jour number, do not fill in a form. |
| Vi har ingen värme alls. | We have no heating at all. | In winter this is urgent, and it is treated as such. |
| Ytterdörren går inte att låsa. | The front door can't be locked. | Security faults are always urgent. |
| Är det här akut eller kan det vänta? | Is this urgent or can it wait? | Ask. Nobody minds the question. |
The follow-up, and the words on the notice
When somebody has been in, you will often find a slip on the kitchen counter. Åtgärdat means the job is done, ej åtgärdat means it is not, and beställt material means a part has been ordered and they will come back. A slip saying ingen hemma means nobody could get in, which is what happens when the master-key line was missing.
A repair that never happens has a formal route. You report it again in writing, keep the reference number, and if nothing moves you can take the matter to hyresnämnden, the rent tribunal, which handles disputes between tenants and landlords. Doing it in writing from the start is what makes that route usable later.
For anything to do with the contract itself rather than a repair, including subletting, the rules are different and worth reading first: we cover them in the article on andrahand.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Är felanmälan registrerad? | Has the fault report been registered? | Ask for the reference. Keep it. |
| Jag har inte fått något svar. | I haven't had a reply. | The second message, a week later, in writing. |
| Kan ni ge mig ett ärendenummer? | Can you give me a case number? | Ärendenummer is the word for the reference on any Swedish case. |
| Problemet finns kvar. | The problem is still there. | After a slip that said åtgärdat. |
Writing it in Swedish when your Swedish is thin
A fault report is one of the easiest pieces of Swedish to write, because it is four short sentences and nobody expects prose. Room, object, verb, since when, then the key line.
Keep it to the pattern and you will be understood: Hej. Kranen i köket droppar. Det har varit så sedan i fredags. Ni får gärna gå in med huvudnyckel. Med vänliga hälsningar, … That message is complete, and writing it yourself is worth more than a perfect English one, because the next message in the thread will come back in Swedish.
The same skeleton works for every message to a landlord or an agency, and the greeting and sign-off conventions are the ones in our article on Swedish emails.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hej! Jag bor på Storgatan 4, lägenhet 1102. | Hello, I live at Storgatan 4, flat 1102. | Your flat number is on the door and on the contract. Always include it. |
| Diskmaskinen läcker. | The dishwasher is leaking. | Läcker for a leak, droppar for a drip. |
| Lampan i trapphuset är trasig. | The light in the stairwell is broken. | Trasig is the everyday word for broken. |
| Med vänliga hälsningar | Kind regards | The standard sign-off. Mvh in writing is its abbreviation. |
Questions people ask
- What does felanmälan mean?
- A fault report. It is the standard word for telling a landlord or a housing company that something in the flat or the building is broken, and it is normally done through their form, app or phone line rather than by speaking to a caretaker in person.
- Do I pay for repairs in a Swedish rental?
- Not for normal faults in what came with the flat: taps, radiators, the landlord's appliances, locks, windows. You can be billed for damage you caused, such as a sink blocked with cooking fat or a broken cupboard door. Normal wear is not damage.
- What should a fault report contain?
- Four things: what is broken, which room it is in, since when, and whether they may enter with the master key while you are out. The last one decides whether the repair happens on the first visit or needs a second appointment.
- When is a fault an emergency in Sweden?
- Running water that will not stop, no heating in winter, a door that cannot be locked, a smell of gas, somebody stuck in a lift. Those go to the out-of-hours jour number posted in the entrance. Calling that number for something that can wait until Monday can be charged to you.
- What if nothing happens after I report it?
- Report it again in writing and ask for a case number, ärendenummer. Keeping everything in writing is what makes the next step possible: disputes between tenants and landlords are handled by hyresnämnden, the rent tribunal, and a paper trail is what it works from.
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